Bubbles the Whale – From Performance to Preservation By Jon Sansom
Bubbles the Whale – From Performance to Preservation
By Jon Sansom
Here’s a little quiz for you.
What do the British rock ‘n roll duo Chad and Jeremy, Beverly Hillbillies, and stranded millionaire Mr. Howell from Gilligan’s Islands have in common?
They all performed at CBS-TV’s “Marineland Carnival” in 1966.
And they were just a smattering of stars in a long list of film personalities of the Boomer Generation. Over the years, Marineland of the Pacific hosted The Munsters, Batman, The Smothers Brothers, and yes, even Clint Eastwood.
Hamming it up on the sixty-five-acre site, a mile south of the Point Vincente Lighthouse, Chad and Jeremy’s 1963 hit, “Yesterday’s Gone” seems prophetic, now that Marineland is but a memory.
With one 28-foot exception. Bubbles the Whale.
For three decades, a whale measuring the length of two beetles (Volkswagen, that is), stood at the Marinelands entry, upright against a stylized splash, flanked by two Pacific white-sided dolphins. Like Disneyland’s Matterhorn, it became a beacon, instantly identifiable to a station wagon full of fidgety children.
The design of the Bubbles entry monument integrated seamlessly with architect William Pereira 1954 vision. Even the nearby Texaco station was a beneficiary of thoughtful mid-century split-level design, featuring “tons of Palos Verdes stone plus large planting areas with fruit and palm trees.”
There have been many stories written on the history and crushing closure of Marineland. Throughout the years, South Bay residents have shared their heartfelt, personal experiences of visiting and working at the park – a feeling of connection which remains to this day. Swimming in Baja Reef. A first job. Caring for the critters like you would family.
Not much however, has been shared about the design of the last (and one of the largest) pieces of Marineland history that still exists – Bubbles the Whale.
In 1957 a 12-foot-long, 1,600-pound female pilot whale was brought to Marineland. Very quickly Bubbles became an international superstar, and the promotions began. Books, toys, ash trays (remember, this was the MadMen ‘60’s) featured the star attraction. Designs for the entry of the world’s largest oceanarium, suitable for big - we’re talking really big - star was approved, and engineering began.
To accurately reflect a pilot whale of such monumental proportions, they turned to Leonard C. Bessom, Jr., a paleontologist with the LA County Museum of Natural History.
Bessom was uniquely qualified to take on the project. He was familiar both with Palos Verdes, and, coincidentally, with whale rescue. In 1956 Bessom was one of three scientists who worked to unearth the massive cranium of a prehistoric whale uncovered during excavation operations off Montemalaga Drive. The trio worked under the hot sun with trowels, chisels, hammers and small brushes removing the rock-like shale, uncovering (and preserving, thank you) skeletal remains estimated to be from the Miocene Era. (That’s 20 million to 35 million years old, give or take a million)
Leonard Bessom, paleontologist with the LA County Museum of Natural History.
Authoring a 1963 article “A Technique for Mounting Skeletons with Fiberglass”, Bessom’s familiarity with fiberglass techniques to mount fossils used at the LA County Museum played a key role in the fabrication design of the Bubbles sculpture. A scale-model made of balsa wood was created, providing precise measurements for production. At 28-feet long and 7-feet wide, and estimated to weigh 2,000 lbs., the remarkable sculpture is thought to have been completed in El Segundo, then transported by helicopter for placement at the entrance.
Measuring 28’ the replica of Marineland’s star performer stood upright against a stylized splash, flanked by two Pacific white-sided dolphins.
And there the iconic Bubbles stood until Marineland closed in 1987. In a remarkable act of preservation, the sculpture was eventually dismantled, removed, and placed in the care of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. Throughout the subsequent decades, Bubbles has waited patiently, survived the elements, and, like all of us Boomers, is showing its age.
In 2019, efforts began in earnest to preserve Bubbles. Councilwoman and former Mayor Susan Brooks rekindled City efforts to have it placed at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center, a fitting backdrop one mile from Marineland. The PVIC features exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the Peninsula and provides spectacular opportunities to view magnificent Pacific gray whale’s migration from December to mid-May.
Then COVID struck. The world was placed on hold – as was Bubbles. Undeterred, efforts persisted once again, and in August 2021, the RPV City Council, led by Mayor Alegria, voted unanimously to move forward.
A Request for Proposal was re-issued, and plans integrating the restored Bubbles into a new “Welcome” amenity at the Interpretive Center prepared. Most importantly, it requests Bubbles be placed in a “horizontal, breaching position”, in keeping with a natural pose. It’s a noteworthy shift that reflects shifts in attitudes from performance to protection.
Chad and Jeremy may think Yesterday’s Gone, but for those of us who love Marineland and Bubbles, it is not forgotten. A grassroots effort has begun to save this piece of our shared history growing up on “the hill.”
A tax-deductible donation for restoration and placement made at:
Bubbles the Whale Statue Restoration Fundraising Campaign
https://www.rpvca.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1787
Preserve Our Whale:
@PreserveBubbles
Jon Sansom
Jon first worked as paperboy for the Daily Breeze, a job that no longer exists. He later worked at the Prep Shop at the Peninsula Center, a store that no longer exists. He enjoyed visiting Marineland, which no longer exists. He attended Rolling Hills High School, which changed its name without telling him. He’s beginning to sense a pattern.
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