Seattle Wyland Whaling Wall 5

History of the Seattle Washington Whaling Wall 5

-The Orcas of Puget Sound

After completing the mural in White Rock, Wyland and his volunteer crew drove to
Seattle, Washington, where he had been invited to paint a wall that was suspended over water on Seattle’s Alaskan Way. “The big challenge was getting the scaffolding across the water and over to the wall,”; the artist recalls. “Finally, this guy suggested we use some buoys and float the scaffolding over to the wall, and that’s how we did it. A crew of volunteers then had to rappel down from the top and jump into the ice-cold water to set it up”.

Logistics aside, the mural was completed on the 550-foot-long x 140-foot-high north wall of the Edgewater Inn. It shows an entire pod of orca whales, also known as killer whales, frolicking in the cool waters of Puget Sound. Wyland remembers seeing numerous orcas swimming in the water nearby as he painted, and it occurred to him that perhaps the whales were watching him. “My ideawas that maybe the orcas could see me painting a tribute to them, and that inspired me even more.

The mural was later painted over by the new owners of the hotel, despite a furious protest from the community. But times change. Thirty-four years later, interest in the long-gone mural grew, and the new owners of the Edgewater invited Wyland back to reimagine his orcas of Puget Sound. With the assistance of local luminaries like Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Wyland created a new version of the mural that once again graces the waters of the sound.

Did you know?

• Puget Sound is one of the largest estuaries in the United States. A unique balance
  of mild climate, nutrient-rich waters, and local geology have created rich habitat
  for countless marine species.
• Like many of our largest coastal urban areas, urbanization has played a large role in degrading offshore habitat. Efforts by organizations such as the Wyland Foundation are more necessary than ever to bridge the knowledge gap between human activities upstream and their harmful impacts to our coasts.

Seattle, Washington
140 Feet Long x 50 Feet High
Dedicated November 10, 1985
By Ivar Haglund, Seattle Port Manager

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