The Toledo Zoo’s aquarium is celebrating its 10-year grand reopening anniversary in 2025, along with the zoo itself celebrating its 125^th anniversary.

The zoo’s aquarium is one of five zoo buildings built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA was established in 1939 to provide jobs to “unemployed workers on public projects sponsored by federal, state or local agencies,” according to the National Archives.

“It was the last of the WPA buildings that were built here at the zoo, and it was just a gem, everybody loves the aquarium. Over the years, we have made some updates to it,” said Jen Brassil, the PR director of the Toledo Zoo.

After being constructed in 1939, the aquarium closed in 2012 to undergo a multi-year, $25.5 million renovation plan.

Brassil remembers when the building reopened in March of 2015.

“I was here for the opening. We did the ribbon cutting, and it was so exciting,” Brassil said. “My favorite memory is seeing people interact at the touch tank, just being able to lean over and touch the stingrays and different species that they have in that tank. It’s just fun to get that interaction.”

The renovations included expanding the total water in the aquarium from 46,000 gallons to

178,000 gallons. Additionally, 32 exhibits were added and are home to 3,000 aquatic animals.

Similarly, the updates added floor-to-ceiling fish tanks, a hands-on touch tank and diver interactions.

Brassil said another one of her favorite aspects is seeing the divers clean inside the tanks while visitors watch and interact from outside of the tank.

However, the building not only serves as an attraction to many but also as an educational resource.

“People can get involved and realize that we really need to take care of our waterways. It just gets people excited and learning about these different fish that they would see in the wild that maybe they couldn’t experience if they didn’t travel as much, and we have them right here in Toledo, Ohio,” said Brassil.

She also said there’s much more that goes on behind the scenes.

“All of the care that goes into taking care of these fish and the tanks, the filtration system, and all of the water and everything that they have to do. We have a wonderful aquarium staff—they take such great care of our fish,” Brassil said.

To learn more about the aquarium, visit the zoo’s website.