San Francisco’s Wave Organ
Free 1-page printable
EXPERIENCE SAN FRANCISCO LIKE A LOCAL
San Francisco’s Wave Organ
A quirky memorable spot, a perfect place to take out-of-town visitors
By Frank Schulenburg — Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45923448
Whenever friends or family come to visit, I love to find memorable out of the ordinary experiences to share with them. You can find endless lists for places to visit around the city, and those typical suggestions create wonderful memories for their visit to this wonderful city.
Many of those suggestions won't eat up your time playing tour guide. Hopefully, you won’t see them driving around one of those little yellow three-wheeled motorcycles with the extra-loud audio tour.
Go have lunch at the Ferry Building.
Have a nice day out playing at the Exploratorium.
Tour the Academy of Science.
Find the best spot to catch a ride on a cable car.
Stroll out along the jetty to the Wave Organ
But, for those times when you want to create serendipitous memories, a walk out to the Wave Organ is just the thing to keep in your back pocket.
I try not to get into much detail when I tell people I’m taking them here. I tell them it’s called the Wave Organ which makes sounds from the moving tide. In fact, I make sure whoever I’m taking out here is walking out in front (and on my right) so they can “discover” it for themselves.
Getting There
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/37.80692/-122.44451
Starting from the Yacht Harbor parking lot at the eastern end of the Crissy Field Parking area, you want to wander toward the St. Francis Yacht Club, a Mediterranean Revival style building designed by Willis Polk. Polk was the architect of many notable building in and around San Francisco: Palace of Fine Arts, the Pacific Union Club at the top of Nob Hill, the Hobart building, the Hallidie Building, the Merchant Exchange, Carolands Mansion, and the Filoli Estate. The yacht club is private, but you can enjoy their view as you walk by.
Continuing along eastward toward the jetty, the path you are walking along will continue to narrow. There is an access road and locket gates (to prevent cars that don’t belong), but you can continue walking eastward. Eventually you will pass by the Golden Gate Yacht Club, “the friendliest club on the bay.”
The jetty will get noticeably narrower and you should be able to see the end in the distance. There will be a narrow beach on your left (Coughlan Beach).
The Wave organ isn’t noticeable until you are almost on top of it, so keep walking all the way to the end of the jetty. This makes for a great surprise once you arrive.
Once you are nearly to the end, there is a short stairway down to the right, and this brings you to the Wave Organ.
The Wave Organ
The structure you are visiting today was built in 1986 by a senior artist from the Exploratorium, which was located adjacent to the Palace of Fine arts until it moved to Pier 15 in the spring of 2013.
A rudimentary prototype was built for the 1981 New Music Festival, in the same location. This more permanent Wave Organ was completed in 1986 and dedicated to the memory of Frank Oppenheimer, Founding Director of the Exploratorium.
The best time to visit is at high tide, and the only way to hear the sounds from the pipes extending out of the ground is when the tide is in. The sounds come from water washing through the pipes submerged in the water. Each pipe will offer a unique experience.
Many of the stones used are reclaimed tombstones. San Francisco once had many cemeteries. They were moved to Colma to make space for a growing city. You can find many of these tombstones repurposed around the city.
This is a terrific spot to sit and enjoy a beautiful view of the Marina District, overlooking the boat harbor. I think it makes for a memorable experience to share with a friend or loved one.
When was the last time you visited the Wave Organ?
For more information, visit
Cody Tolmasoff is an author and publisher for Adventuring.in. He is a recovering programmer and a San Francisco native, raising two daughters, and regularly finding fresh adventures around the SF Bay Area.
Find him on Twitter @codyo, and read his most recent title Lost at the Pinnacles on Amazon, a middle grade adventure for the kids in your life that takes place at Pinnacles National Park.
Originally published on Medium on 26 October 2020