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Friday Slide Show: Whales
10 October 2025
When we used to visit Steinhart Aquarium in Golden Gate Park, we would marvel at the two black orcas arcing over each other. It was actually a 16-ton sculpture made of cast stone and granite aggregate by Robert B. Howard.
And he didn't make it for the aquarium but for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. But after the exposition, it was put in storage until it resurfaced in 1958 in Golden Gate Park.
And there it cavorted until the aquarium was closed in the early part of century to make way for the new Academy of Sciences that also housed the aquarium.
After a full restoration, the sculpture has been permanently installed in the courtyard of the City College of San Francisco's new Student Success Center at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Frida Kahlo Way. Whales. Ocean Avenue. Get it?
"The iconic Whales sculpture is a bridge between San Francisco's past and present," said Ralph Remington, director of cultural affairs. "From the grandeur of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island to its new home at City College's Ocean Campus, the fully restored sculpture has found a new home at the Student Success Center. Its return to public view offers a new generation preparing for their future the opportunity to make new memories with this iconic work of art that represents endurance, strength and knowledge."
We waited for a sunny Saturday to take the 43 Masonic over to City College to photograph the sculpture. We used our Nikon D200 with the unrepaired 18-200mm Nikkor and a circular polarizer.
It's hard not to be captivated by the gracious curves of the leaping orcas. But if you look closely at them, you'll see they also host some seaweed, crabs and other ocean inhabitants.
