THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 28, 1995 TAG: 9509260119
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 32 lines
Nauticus visitors will have a new view of the tropics by late fall.
Now in construction is a five-ton, 1,000-gallon aquarium to be placed on the site's first deck. The cylindrical sphere will be home for a rainbow of colorful sea life from the Indo-Pacific region. Builders have to reinforce the floor before they can begin erecting the giant fish bowl.
The aquarium is being made possible by a $100,000 donation from the Ford Motor Co. The check was presented to Mayor Paul D. Fraim and former Mayor Joseph A. Leafe, a member of Nauticus' board of commissioners, by Bill Boggs, manager of Norfolk's Ford assembly plant, last Friday at Nauticus.
Boggs said that ``Ford contributed the funds to emphasize its interest in the continued growth and development of Norfolk.''
Officials at Nauticus decided to spend the money on a new aquarium because of the public's interest in displayed marine life, said Sara Lowe, a public relations consultant for the maritime center.
``Although we have a beautiful aquarium on the third floor, we only have a small one on the first deck,'' Lowe said. ``The new one should be very dynamic in that it's cylindrical.''
There will be no extra charge to see the aquarium. by CNB