Robert Howard’s sculpture, “The Whales,” has a new home at City College of San Francisco’s Student Success Center!

Originally commissioned for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, the sculpture was displayed for many years in the California Academy Sciences courtyard. However, after spending the past two decades in storage, the historic sculpture was in need of significant repairs. 

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The restoration project was a full team effort involving the architect, Gensler, the contractor XL Construction, the landscape architect, historic committee, and more. The sculpture’s hollow construction was comprised of 2” thick stone pieces tied together with wires. Exposure to the elements, together with age, had rendered the piece and its supports worn and fragile. Rather than try to fix the piece’s existing delicate support system, R+C’s Project Manager, Erik Okstad, proposed the piece be filled in with grout—permanently stabilizing it and giving the 86 year old artwork the strength to last another century. 

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The addition of grout increased the sculpture’s weight from 20,000 pounds to more than 30,000 pounds. To support this, R+C worked closely with the historic committee’s structural engineer, Tuan and Robinson, Structural Engineers, Inc., to design a new corrosion-resistant stainless steel base, one end of which extends up into the base of the sculpture while the other attaches securely to a substantial footing.  

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This week, the newly restored sculpture was installed in the Student Success Center courtyard, marking a significant milestone in its storied journey. We are proud to have helped preserve this artifact of San Francisco history and excited for generations of students to continue to enjoy and be inspired by this evocative work.

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