Entry No. 16 — the San Francisco file — filed under: sound sculpture

The Wave Organ

Twenty-five PVC and concrete pipes are built into a jetty made partly from salvaged headstones and crypt fragments hauled from a demolished San Francisco cemetery; incoming waves push air through them into a chorus of gurgles, hisses, and low moans that shift with the tide.

The move: Time it to high tide (when the sounds are loudest), walk the breakwater trail from Marina Green, and sit at a few of the different pipe listening stations to compare their voices before the sun drops behind the Golden Gate Bridge.

• 📍 Marina District
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: 1 Yacht Road, San Francisco, CA 94123

Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: exploratorium.edu · Wikipedia · sfheritage.org · en.wikivoyage.org

last checked: 2026-07-20