Two 16-Ton “Whales” Return to SF After 20+ Years in Storage

After decades in storage, Robert B. Howard’s iconic Whales sculpture, featuring two playful orcas, has a new permanent home at City College of San Francisco’s Ocean Campus Student Success Center at Ocean Ave and Frida Kahlo Way.

The Whales sculpture is hard to miss. Standing roughly 10 feet tall, 14 feet wide, and 8 feet deep, and weighing an impressive 32,000 pounds, these intertwined orcas were first created in 1939 for the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. After decades in storage following a stint near the Steinhart Aquarium, their return to public display is a major moment for San Francisco’s art scene. More than just massive in size, the sculpture is a piece of the city’s cultural history, connecting a new generation of students and visitors to San Francisco’s artistic past.

The installation joins other historic G.G.I.E. artworks on campus and will soon be complemented by Diego Rivera’s Pan American Unity mural, making CCSF a hotspot for San Francisco’s artistic heritage.

Read more at San Francisco Arts Commission