The dream of a maritime center began to take shape in the mid-1970s as part of the South Norwalk Revitalization Project initiated by then-Mayor William Collins. Mayor Collins appointed a task force representing South Norwalk merchants, property owners and residents to guide the revitalization effort and hired a consultant to help develop a planning strategy. This resulted in a revitalization plan and, in 1980, a Feasibility Study and Design Program was prepared by Joseph Wetzel Associates of Boston.

Four community groups made a major commitment to the development of a maritime center: The City of Norwalk and its Redevelopment Agency, the Junior League of Stamford and Norwalk, The Oceanic Society and the Norwalk Seaport Association. These groups, and others, saw The Maritime Center as an anchor for the city’s revitalization efforts in South Norwalk.

The development of the Center was closely linked to the revitalization of the historic district as part of a two-fold attraction for visitors to Norwalk, creating a unique link between the historic district and the river.

The City of Norwalk created The Maritime Center Authority to provide financing for the Center, and subsequently, the Authority and The Maritime Center at Norwalk, Inc., a non-profit corporation, entered into an agreement for the construction and operation of the Center. In 1984, public improvements, including sidewalks and street lighting, were completed. Restoration of the historic waterfront buildings on Washington Street was essentially completed in 1985. In 1986, ground-breaking ceremonies took place on the current site of The Maritime Aquarium.

The site consisted of large buildings on the Norwalk River, several dating back to 1865. The buildings now known as Newman's Own Hall and Maritime Hall were built around 1867. The Norwalk Iron Works manufactured castings for propellers and boiler plates, as well as steam pumps, on this site. At the turn of the century, what is now the Aquarium wing was built for the assembly of boiler pumps and exceptionally heavy equipment. Railroad tracks entered the north end of the building so that trains could move the heavy materials in and out of the building.

After World War II, the Supreme Slipper Company used the building for manufacturing shoes. In the 1970s and 1980s, Wisner Boat Company built small boats and ocean-going catamarans using a process called cold laid fiberglass construction in what is now the Aquarium. The Maritime Hall building became a storage area.

There are many interesting anecdotes dealing with the opening of The Maritime Center, as it was originally named.  Perhaps the most interesting deals with the Open Ocean Tank. The tank was filled and the animals placed in the tank about a week prior to opening. The next day, a break was discovered in the 25- foot wide, four-and-one-half-inch thick baked acrylic “glass.” The sharks had to be removed and placed off site, while smaller animals remained in the water left in the tank. The “glass,” which weighs 50,000 pounds, was removed, shipped to California where it had been made, and repaired. It was shipped back on a flat-bed trailer, arriving two days before the Center was scheduled to open. It was reinstalled, the tank refilled and, the night before we opened, the sharks were returned from the swimming pool.

The Maritime Center opened its doors to the public on July 16, 1988. Since that time the Aquarium has received overwhelming support from the City of Norwalk and both the public and private sectors. In July of 1996, the name was officially changed to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk in order to more accurately describe what we are.  Major corporations and foundations have underwritten specific exhibits and programs and, as we look to the future, The Maritime Aquarium is confident additional exhibits and programs can be developed through similar public and private partnerships. Today, measured in terms of environmental activities, quality educational programs, total annual attendance or tourist dollars, The Maritime Aquarium is a major attraction in the tri-state area.

Today, The Maritime Aquarium serves approximately 500,000 guests per year.