Outside the Lines Helps Complete Alaska's 50th State Anniversary Fountain

  

25-Foot Tall, 6 1/2 ton Whale Statue and Fountain
in Juneau, Alaska took 10 Years to Complete

JUNEAU, Alaska – Outside the Lines (OTL), a design-build construction company specializing in one-of-a-kind water features, rockwork and themed environments, has announced the completion of a unique celebratory construction project on behalf of Alaska’s 50^th year of statehood, according to Chris Roy, Director of Creative Design at OTL.

The whale sculpture and infinity fountain project is located on the banks of the Gastineau Channel at 350 Whittier St., Juneau, Alaska.

R.T. 'Skip' Wallen

A joint effort between The Whale Project—a non-profit created to finance and develop the project—and the City and Bureau of Juneau funded the sculpture and accompanying fountain. The project has been in the making for ten years.

Nature expert and sculptor R.T. “Skip” Wallen created “Tahku,”—a six-and-a-half ton, 25-foot tall breaching humpback whale statue. The park was designed by Tetra Tech, Inc., and the project was built by Admiralty Construction, Inc. of Juneau using local subcontractors for electrical, plumbing, control panels, concrete, waterproofing and finishes.

OTL’s Chris Roy was called in to help Tahku come to life. Using state-of-the-art engineering techniques as well as a quick and efficient timetable, Roy worked with all partners on the project to employ equipment supplied by Roman Fountains to operate the basin weir, splash effect jets, filtration system, lighting and internal plumbing, successfully replicating the effect of water streaming off the enormous bronze mammal.

Chris Roy

            “The intent of the fountain is that the water looks like it is naturally streaming off of the sculpture and not spraying out like a sprinkler,” says Roy. “The team worked tirelessly to ensure that the project’s ‘whale breach sequence,’ a five-minute centerpiece show set to run every half-hour, had a natural and exuberant appearance.”

Roy notes that setting the effects for the show was a particularly interesting endeavor.

“The cost of running 22 individual lines out to the sculpture from the equipment room—over 150 feet away—was prohibitive, so water is supplied into a stainless steel manifold located in a chamber below the whale sculpture,” he explains. 

“During commissioning, the basin was partially drained so that a contractor decked-out in waders and a heavy-duty rain coat could access the valves and adjust them as needed based on feedback provided by others from outside the sculpture.”

The installation comes at a time when the North Pacific beluga whale population is at an all-time high risk of extinction due to declining fertility and birth rates, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s recovery plan of 2017. 

Gastineau Channel, Juneau, Alaska

In fact, North Pacific right whales—which once appeared in the thousands along the Alaskan coast—have all but vanished, reaching numbers as low as 30 in 2010, according to Alaska Fisheries Science Center data. Positively, however, most humpback whales—the likes of which Wallen’s sculpture depicts in all their blubbery glory—dropped from the endangered species list in 2017.

Alaska’s 50^th statehood anniversary featured a celebration on the Gastineau Channel to bring attention to the natural beauty the land has to offer.

 “Now in regular operation, the sculpture, fountain and park are being enjoyed by Juneau’s citizens as well as the thousands of tourists that flock into the city each day from the large cruise ships that visit the port throughout the summer,” says Roy.

For more information, please contact:

Samantha Kay ·  Account Coordinator 
O 949 955 7940 

Brower Group, Inc.
The Smart Agency™ for Smart Clients who want Smart Work
895 Dove Street, Third Floor · Newport Beach, CA 92660

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Jenn Quader

Brower Group

(949) 955-7940

jquader@brower-group.com

www.otl-inc.com.