A new road sign on Atlanta’s highest-profile road, the Downtown Connector, for one of the state’s highest-profile tourist destinations, the Georgia Aquarium, reads: “Aquairium.”

“We are aware,” said DOT spokeswoman Natalie Dale.

The sign is less than a week old, Dale said, and it should be fixed by Thursday rush hour.

DOT’s plans spelled it correctly, Dale said, so the fishy spelling is a mistake by the sign-making company, not DOT. That means taxpayers don’t have to shell out to send it back and get a new sign.

She explained: “Vanna, we’d like to return a vowel…”

Any such change on an interstate is a tricky job that would likely require lane closures, which DOT didn’t want to do during rush hour.

The aquarium’s staff did not return a query for comment Wednesday on the attempt to air-ate the Aquarium.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site is another destination that has complained about its signs, which may be placed too close to the exit for drivers to register the information.

DOT agreed this spring that they were problematic but said finding space to move the sign was more complicated because of the profusion of exit signs in that stretch. Dale could not say Wednesday afternoon what the status of those signs was.

About the Author

Keep Reading

People are silhouetted against a huge Pride flag before the start of the Atlanta Pride Parade on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal

Featured

A native of Columbus and a fine arts graduate of Clark Atlanta, Amy Sherald was chosen as the official portrait artist of former first lady Michelle Obama. On the same week that the portrait was unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, it was also announced that Sherald was awarded the High Museum's 2018 David C. Driskell Prize. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Credit: Andrew Harnik