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Sandy is a life-size ferrocement sculpture of a gray whale by artist Larry Foster, resting on a concrete slab surrounded by sand in front of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, 165 Forest Avenue, Pacific Grove, California.
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Sandy Gray Whale
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Site-level location · 36.6177° N, 121.9166° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Sandy, the life-size gray whale outside the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, is a sculpture visitors have long climbed on and photographed. The Museum described her in 2024 as its life-size grey whale sculpture created by artist Larry Foster and as an '8,000 pound concrete cetacean'.
The Smithsonian's Art Inventories Catalog records the work as a ferrocement whale on a base of sand and concrete, by Foster (born 1934), dated 1975 and installed in 1982. It describes a life-size gray whale resting on a concrete slab surrounded by beach sand, to the left of the main entrance on Central Avenue. Some accounts give 1974 for completion.
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PRACTICAL
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WHAT TO EXPECT
A life-size gray whale sculpture on a concrete slab and beach sand outside the museum's entrance, left of the main doors on Central Avenue. The museum itself charges admission (adult admission was listed at $12); the outdoor sculpture is part of its grounds. Parking is on two sides of Jewell Park, across the street from the museum's front entrance, according to the museum.
ACCESS
In front of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, 165 Forest Avenue, at Forest and Central Avenues, Pacific Grove. The adjoining museum lists hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday.
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