New England Aquarium Were the penguin exhibits always penguin exhibits?

[DavidBrown]

A question for someone who knows the history of the New England Aquarium: were the penguin exhibits originally built for marine mammals of some kind? Their unusual design encircling the Carribean reef tank made me wonder if they might have been seal or even dolphin exhibits back in the early history of the aquarium.

 

[snowleopard]

New England Aquarium has had African Black-Footed Penguins since the facility opened in 1969, with Rockhoppers added in 1985, a renovation of the exhibit in 1998, and Little Penguins added in 1999. There are now more than 80 penguins in total at the facility and the current penguin exhibit is 47 years old. I'm not sure if the entire space was always used for penguins as there is a lot of room surrounding the Great Ocean Tank.