Built on a site selected by the City of Baltimore, the National Aquarium became the cornerstone and a landmark in Baltimore’s famous “inner harbor” revitalization. The exterior of this waterfront building, like the bows or sails of ships, captures the imagination and heralds the rich aquatic world within. Entering visitors find columns of bubbling blue water that lead them toward the main exhibit space. Moving ramps and escalators take visitors from the initial pools up through the submarine world until they emerge in a simulated rainforest in the glass pyramids that sit atop the building.