The aquarium opened on June 22, 1962, during the Century 21 Exposition and was initially owned and operated by Ted Griffin.

[3] Under founder Ted Griffin, the aquarium was home to many orca whales captured in the wild.

As a result of this operation, for a brief period, no less than five (small) orcas were swimming together in the one tank at the aquarium.

The sharks were taken from the Puget Sound at 500 feet deep, and were hooked with a long line.

The line was tied to a buoy and dressed with ham, raw beef, and lingcod.

Griffin entered the tank in a wetsuit to force-feed the sharks mackerel and to push them around.