United States Department of Commerce and National Aquarium building

National Aquarium is the oldest aquarium in the United States of America. It is now located in Washington, although it was originally built at Woods Hole in Massachusetts in 1873. It was relocated to National Zoological Gardens in Washington in 1888. Since 1873 it has been located in the basement of the United States Department of Commerce building, on the 14th Street between Constitution Avenue and Penn Avenue, N.W.

There are more than 1,200 specimens living in National Aquarium. 50 tanks are full of fish, frogs, alligators, sharks, and other sea life (over 200 species). There are several exhibition going on all year round, to those permanent belong shark and piranha feeding or “Touch Tank” where visitors can hold live sea creatures.

The National Aquarium is located in the same building as The United States Department of Commerce which is a Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. Originally, it was the United States Department of Commerce and Labor, established on February 14, 1903. It was renamed to the Department of Commerce on March 4, 1913, when also a new Department of Labor was created.

Besides department’s mission: "to promote job creation and improved living standards for all Americans by creating an infrastructure that promotes economic growth, technological competitiveness, and sustainable development", it is also gathering economic and demographic data for business and government.