Ruth Asawa at Ghirardelli Square

Ghirardelli Square
Fisherman’s Wharf

This fountain is titled Andrea’s Fountain and is by Ruth Asawa.  It sits in Ghirardelli Square.

There is a plaque next to the fountain that tells the story of the piece, it reads:

Then-owner William Roth selected Ruth Asawa, well known for her abstract, woven-wire sculptures, to design and create the centerpiece fountain for Ghirardelli Square.  Although it was unveiled amid some controversy in 1968, Asawa’s objective was to make a sculpture that could be enjoyed by everyone.  She spent one year thinking about the design and another year sculpting it from a live model and casting it in bronze.  Although landscape architect Lawrence Halprin attacked Asawa’s design of a nursing mermaid seated on sea turtles for not being a “serious” work, Asawa’s intentions were clear: “For the old it would bring back the fantasy of their childhood, and for the young it would give them something to remember when they grow old!  “I wanted to make something related to the sea…I thought of all the children, and maybe even some adults, who would stand by the seashore waiting for a turtle or a mermaid to appear.  As you look at the sculpture you include the Bay view which was saved for all of us, and you wonder what lies below that surface.”  The most photographed feature of Ghirardelli Square the fountain was named in honor of Andrea Jepson, the woman who served as the model for the mermaid.

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I found the sign to be of interest as I had always heard of this conflict between my two heroes, and it was nice that they put a sign up to “clear the air”.  Lawrence Halprin was responsible for Levi Plaza and was a man I admired both as a visionary and a legend in his field.  Ruth Asawa, who has appeared many times in this website is also one of my favorite local artists.

As far as Ghirardelli Square: San Franciscan William M. Roth and his mother bought the land in 1962 to prevent the square from being replaced with an apartment building. The Roths hired landscape architect Lawrence Halprin and the firm Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons to convert the square and its historic brick structures to an integrated restaurant and retail complex. Ghirardelli Square was the first major adaptive re-use project in the United States.

Sadly, Ruth Asawa passed away earlier this month.  The link to a lovely tribute in the San Francisco Chronicle can be read here.