Key West aquarium

Key West aquarium is a good old fashioned aquarium.

It's old because it was Key West's very first tourist attraction (opened in 1935 during the Great Depression when Key West was poor and bankrupt) and as such kicked off the tourist boom that puts us all here today.  It's a key piece of Key West history.  They display many murals, pictures of the past on the walls.  That's the first reason to visit the aquarium.

Second, it's a good old fashioned aquarium.  There's no shows or sea lion displays.  But lots of interesting tanks, many with local fish and sea life, and lots of explanatory signs so you learn about about the sea and oceans around you in Key West.

Finally, there are cute sharks and rays and turtles to see.

Entrance to the Key West aquarium right in the heart of Old Town.

It was windy the day we visited and the shark was in the wind.  They don't have nasty sharks like this btw!

Barracuda

Old photo of the Key West aquarium in the aquarium.

They have a bit of everything in the Key West aquarium.  There's also a hawk and an iguana.

These are the friendly nurse sharks in the Key West aquarium.

The main hall in the Key West aquarium

The new murals on the far (ocean) wall at the Key West aquarium

Modern day reproductions of the original Crimi murals at the Key West aquarium.  The originals were destroyed.

It's a great aquarium to see.  It's about $15 and you don't really need to allow more than 1 hour unless you're an aquarium fan.