An Aquarium

Adolph Sutro will complete within the next three months a salt-water aquarium on the shore of the small bay to the north of the Cliff House. It will be for salt water only, 120 feet in diameter, and contain every variety of sea anemone and shellfish. There are now forty men engaged on the work. Mr. Sutro finds that he cannot donate his valuable library to the city without the passage of an Act of the Legislature similar to the Act passed in relation to the Stanford gift.

Daily Alta California - 8 Jan 1886

ADOLPH SUTRO'S AQUARIUM
It is Tested by Allowing the Salt Water to Run Into It

A test of the adaptability of the basin which Adolph Sutro has constructed at the Ocean Beach for the purposes of an aquarium, was made yesterday. The basin is located near the Cliff House. The arrangement for the filling of the aquarium is an ingenious [sic] one, and has perhaps never before been adopted. A cut has been made in the face of parallel rock and a shelf hewn out, and as the waters beat against it and curl around the rock, it finds its way into the mouth of the tunnel which leads to the aquarium. This reservoir has a continuous supply of fresh sea-water three hours before and three hours after high tide. The basin cannot overflow, as trap doors are prepared to let out the surplus water. The aquarium — a large, rock-walled tank — holds about 500,000 gallons of water. A year and a half has been spent by the workmen in its construction. Between the basin and the aquarium there will be a system of heated pipes, which will enable Mr. Sutro to keep the water at the proper temperature for the fish with which he will stock it. The lower aquarium is divided into two compartments. Above them is another, which will be filled by hydraulic pressure. The test made yesterday was perfectly satisfactory, the waves breaking on the shelf and running into the basin by means of the tunnel in accordance with the design, thus showing that the plan adopted by Mr. Sutro is a feasible one. Leading from the aquarium in the lower bank will be a large iron pipe conveyer of water to the baths, which will cover some two acres. The tunnel through which the water passes is one hundred and fifty feet long and six feet high. The work of finishing the tunnel is by no means complete as yet, it being expected that another year will be required. There is yet some heavy masonry work to be done before the actual work will commence upon the aquarium. There will also be an additional attraction in the shape of a grotto, for the tunnel at low tide will be empty and will be covered with lichens, sea-mosses and other marine curiosities. Mr. Sutro has announced his intention of building another rock bulk-head from the aquarium to the opposite rock under the Cliff House, and enclose about two acres of sandy beach. This will be supplied with water from the overflow of the tunnel. The large tank of the aquarium he will probably turn into a swimming [sic] resort with the depth grauated [sic] from three to eight feet. No danger could be apprehend [sic] from sharks or other dangerous fish, as a screen would be placed over the mouth of the tunnel. It is also expected by Mr. Sutro to pump sea water up the hill to an altitude of 200 feet, where he will have a glass aquarium stocked with all the varieties of salt water fish.

Daily Alta California - 4 Sept 1887

SUTRO'S AQUARIUM
The Successful Completion of One of Its Sections

Adolph Sutro and a number of visitors assembled at Parallel Point yesterday afternoon to witness the introduction of sea water to section one of his new marine aquarium. The large tank, built of rock and lined with cement, is situated in a cove to the north of the Cliff House, at a height of fourteen feet above the level of the sea at high tide. It is constructed in the form of a circle, having a depth of ten feet. It is eighty feet wide and forty feet long. Its capacity is estimated at 250,000 gallons. The water is conveyed to the tank by means of a tunnel 200 feet long, which has an incline of three feet from the opening to the extreme end. At the extreme north end of this passage-way and at the base of Parallel Point at an elevation of seventeen feet above high-water mark, a ditch or catchwater seventy-two feet long and twenty feet wide has been constructed in such a manner as to catch and deposit in the basin the heavy breakers that dash against the rocks at high tide. This overflow is conducted through the tunnel and finally deposited in the aquarium. On the west and southwest sides of the bluff similar trenches have been constructed, all emptying into the main passageway, which has been divided, for this purpose, into two sections of 100 feet each. The volume of water received by these trenches is conducted with extreme velocity through the tunnel as far as the main tank. The rock-walled aquarium will be connected by floodgates with the new tanks now in course of construction. As soon as they are completed Mr. Sutro intends stocking them with marine fish of all species. The third and largest tank will be used as a swimming bath. This will be enclosed by an immense glass structure. The work has occupied about one year and has been performed under the direction of A.D. Harrison. The aquarium was successfully filled yesterday in twenty minutes. There is little doubt that the new aquarium will prove a source of pleasure and instruction to those who visit the grounds of Mr. Sutro.

San Francisco Morning Call - 4 Sept 1887

PERSONAL NOTES

Sutro’s aquarium is giving him considerable trouble. A quantity of sand slid into the basin yesterday and he is now devising some means of retaining the sand.

San Francisco Chronicle - 27 Sept 1887

A Troublesome Landslide

A landslide occurred at Adolph Sutro’s aquarium recently, depositing a quantity of sand in it. He will have it removed and completed the work. His library building will be, when completed, one of the handsomest in the State, as no expense is spared in its construction.

Daily Alta California - 27 Sept 1887