
On the shores of San Francisco is a huge acoustic sculpture by the Exploratorium, a community museum dedicated to awareness. The Wave Organ was designed and built in 1986 by two of the museum’s artists in residence, Peter Richards and George Gonzales. The Wave Organ is quite literally played by the ocean. Here’s what the Exploratorium has to say about it:
“The Wave Organ is located on a jetty that forms the small Boat Harbor in the Marina district of San Francisco. The jetty itself was constructed with material taken from a demolished cemetery, providing a wonderful assortment of carved granite and marble, which was used in the construction of this piece. The installation includes 25 organ pipes made of PVC and concrete located at various elevations within the site, allowing for the rise and fall of the tides. Sound is created by the impact of waves against the pipe ends and the subsequent movement of the water in and out of the pipes.”
Doesn’t that sound fascinating? The Wave Organ is definitely something I need to go see. And when you’re arranging your trip, you should plan to be there at high tide, when the organ sounds the best.
You can learn more about the Exploratorium on their website, and you can read all about the Wave Organ on their page and on the #waveorgan hashtag on Instagram.
June 15, 2020 at 7:10 am
Well…I think there is another one …some where…maybe Europe …that really does sing. This one is interesting but I wasn’t too impressed with the music, if you can call it that.
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June 15, 2020 at 10:21 am
Point taken, though I do think it’s an interesting idea, and I love how it looks!
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June 15, 2020 at 9:02 am
I am happy that I didn’t get out my dancing shoes tfor this. Best I can say, Its interesting. Hal
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June 15, 2020 at 10:22 am
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June 15, 2020 at 2:41 pm
I really wanted to go and see this when we were last in SF but we could not make it work logistically. My in-laws saw it and experienced it a few years ago and thought it was amazing.
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June 15, 2020 at 5:53 pm
I think it looks marvelous!
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June 16, 2020 at 7:35 am
I hope you get to visit it some day.
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July 23, 2020 at 12:18 am
On my next trip to SF I will definitely check this out!
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July 23, 2020 at 5:09 pm
Me, too!
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