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Remember When, Chattanooga? Sharks arrived at the Tennessee Aquarium

Staff file photo / In this 2005 photo, the original Tennessee Aquarium building, bottom, known as the River Journey, was joined by the new Ocean Journey building, top, featuring saltwater exhibits. The expansion was complete April 2005. Staff file photo / In this 2005 photo, the original Tennessee Aquarium building, bottom, known as the River Journey, was joined by the new Ocean Journey building, top, featuring saltwater exhibits. The expansion was complete April 2005.

By Mark Kennedy April 11, 2025 3 min read

Twenty years ago this month, kids in the Tennessee Valley got what they had been waiting for: sharks!

The Tennessee Aquarium’s Ocean Journey building opened in the spring of 2005, marking the first major expansion to the property since the attraction debuted in 1992.

Opening day for the Ocean Journey expansion was Friday, April 29, and schoolchildren from around Hamilton County were among the first to witness the new 700,000-gallon saltwater exhibit, which contained 10-foot sand tiger sharks.

A 25-foot-wide, 75-foot-high window was the main visual gateway to the giant tank, which contained some 4,000 sea creatures along a 97-foot reef.