Wind Harp Tower

The fist time I visited the Wind Harp was in the late ‘60s. I was working in the area and saw this strange thing sitting to top of a small hill. There were no buildings back then. I found a road that led to it and pulled right up beside it. The wind was blowing dogs off of chains and it was singing away. I revisited whenever I could until I got transferred out of the area.
Years later I was on a date and driving home from the City. On a whim I told my date we were going to visit the Wind Harp. She thought I was crazy util we got there. She was blown away.
Genentec had just started to build in the area but you could still drive up to it. Apparently the area had turned into a passion pit as the ground was covered in broken glass.
It’s nice to see that the area has been turned into a well kept park.

We made our first visit to Wind Harp on a breezy Monday afternoon. There were no signs prohibiting the public from parking at 480 Grandview Dr. (right next to the park gate) so that’s were we parked. No problem. Wind Harp is a unique and wonderful find. It is called an aeolian harp for lack of a better term, however Wind Harp does not produce sound from wind powered strings. I haven’t been able to determine if the sound is produced by the arched spans, the I-​beam towers or both. The instrument produces a multitude of tones, some sustained and others intermittent. The sound changes relative to the listening position so plenty of room is provided to walk around the tower. I believe that the artists Lucia and Aristides Demetrios intended the sound to be somewhat dissonant and industrial, an aural memory of the old SSF ship yards. Wind Harp was built from Bethlehem Steel Mayari-​R, a low alloy steel. The rust coating actually protects the steel from weathering. The entire tower flexes with the breeze. The visual design is as striking as the sound the harp produces. The arches combine to form changing shapes as the viewer walks around the tower. There are style elements similar to the Golden Gate bridge. We will return to Wind Tower. I would like to hear it when a gale is blowing.

Ahh, the beloved whistling towers. How I love thee so. As long as I’m wearing a jacket!

This is a great spot to just chill and reflect. I come here to sit.

Very cool. The wind was blowing like mad today and it was also nice and clear so I finally went to visit. I love installations like this and am usually disappointed by their sound performance. The Wind Harp did not disappoint. It is amazing how much sound this thing makes when the wind is really cranking, and the sounds are other-​worldly. If you are in the neighborhood on a windy day check it out!

Really nice views from up here (if there’s no fog)…and pretty peaceful if you’re the only one around. It’s getting a little old and in need of a resurfacing, but that’s just patina right? :) Really cold up here though!

On a windy day, you can actually hear the Wind Harp (I’ve always known it as Whistling Tower) singing. The only problem is on windy days it’s too darn cold to be up there. It was warm, calm and clear enough to see the Bay Bridge and the East Bay when I visited (2÷13÷2011). The structure itself is really dated and is starting to rust (and really not that attractive to me). My buddy noticed a plastic bag in one of the bushes and pulled out some pamphlets about a scavenger hunt. Unfortunately, the scavenger hunt ended in 2010.
I really hate giving a low rating on one of the only landmarks in South City, but there really isn’t much to see here. Visit only if you absolutely have nothing else to do or if you need a place to bike to (it’s near a nice bike trail).
The End

While I was working out at Genentech I always saw the wind harp in the background but didn’t get a chance to check it out till the very end of my working out there. Well it is super hard to find parking like everyone else had mentioned. Even with our parking pass! Ha!
Sad I happened to go on a day it wasn’t windy. However, I enjoyed the open space that was up there and the 3 chairs to sit down on. It is worth checking out, but nothing like mind blowing. Maybe if I got to hear the wind blowing it would have been a bit more awesome.

Checked it out for the first time a couple of days ago, Pretty cool! Unfortunately there was no wind, but it was cool none the less.

After living in South San Francisco for so long. I never knew what this landmark was until the other day (sad, isn’t it?), but now it has become my favorite place to hang out, read a book, meditate.
And it’s surprising to me that not a lot of my friends know this place exists. And I love it! So for now, this will be my secret place.

Ah, the Wind Harp Tower… sort of South San Francisco’s version of San Francisco’s Coit Tower and Wave Organ rolled into one!
It’s perched atop a high hill and affords some pretty cool views of the surrounding areas, the Bay, San Bruno Mountain, the City and SFO… lots to see! When the wind blows through the long metal tubes of the wind harp, it emits these odd humming tones… I don’t know if they are A-​flats or E-​sharps, I didn’t bring a tuning fork, Maestro! Suffice to say, the sounds are kinda creepy yet soothing! You’ll stand there, transfixed, for a good 5 – 10 minutes by the sounds and vibrations… I have to admit, pretty cool idea that Aristides Demetrios came up with when he designed and built the Wind Harp!
There used to be a way to drive up and park right across from the Wind Tower (used to be a popular make out spot back in the day) but now it’s closed off and just for security folk (so they can make out, I suppose) so you have to park down the way and hoof it up the hill! (It’s not too steep) and frankly, it’s green and pretty and so much to see! Once atop the hill, there are several benches to sit and enjoy the Wind Harp and the views! You can also bike up the path (it’s generous in size to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians alike)
Come on over and check out the Wind Harp Tower! If you’re nice (and it’s windy) the Harp may play you a tune! (NOTE: The Wind Harp does not take requests!)

Every once in a while, it’s nice to come here.
The biggest issue with this place is finding parking. There used to be a parking lot right across the street, and now it’s for security only. This leaves parking in Genetech parking lots and hoping you’re not going to get towed or very far away ensuring a long walk. Without this sucky situation, it would be pretty nice to come here more often.
Good things:
–View of the bay (so-​so)
–Benches to rest and look out
–Cool sounds on windy days
–The Star Wars laser sound when you throw a rock at the structure
–The general ambiance of the place
It’s a cool spot. Now, South City needs to make a better way for people to park and conveniently see this thing.. .

I actually think it is better to look at than to listen to. I don’t know if it was just the direction of the wind, but I primarily heard only a single harmonic (something in the octave above middle C). The only thing that made the sound interesting is the mystery of how such a structure responds to the wind to produce the single note I heard.
The hill is nice and grassy and the views offer some nice perspectives of the bay area. The Wind Harp made for a nice bicycling destination.
I love these out-​of-​the way places that involve creative architecture. If you like the Wave Organ in SF, you’ll fancy this as well.

I’m sure it’s my fault and I plan on going back for a better experience — but. .. there was no wind whatsoever (rare for SoCity) but I was bored this Sat. afternoon and had no money for real entertainment so I was perusing Unilocal for no cost entertainment and read up on the tower — so off I went. It took a bit to find being the Genentech complex surrounds it, but after many trial and errors I found it!
Entrance is right next to 480 Grandview which is off East Grand Ave. Anywhooo, the entrance is clearly marked, the super short paved walk was a bit depressing with a LOT of debris and rusted metal stuff from the adjoining businesses and I was ready to turn back. .. but then the sweetest brown dove with HUGE black eyes crossed my path — no hurry, just hobbling across the path, stopped and looked at me and kept on. .. birds aren’t supposed to make you feel like that — peaceful and warm.
So. .. change mah mind and keep on going. I can see the huge tower right in front of me and after a 60 second walk I hit grass — freshly cut and I can smell the «lawfull grass» smell. Absolutely no one else up there but me — and the rooftop generators for the gazillion Genentech buildings. I, press one ear then the other to each tower — something, anything — no nothing. Only the generator sound. Oh, well. .. wasn’t bored any more. Took pics to boot.

«Beam me up, Scotty!»
OK. I know that’s corny, but that’s what I remember thinking when I first stood under this enormous structure. The Wind Harp, created by Aristides Demetrios, is one of those little known secrets tucked away in Oyster Point, the commercial area of South City. As the wind blows through the long metal tubes, it creates a sound that fills your ears with the most eerie echoes of low and high pitched tones. Think fog horns from distant alien ships!
I lived in South City for eight years and on a good windy day, typically in the summer, I could hear the harp from my house more than a few miles away. Now that I live in San Francisco, it’s the fog horns that greet me when I’m home. I would log this one into a side-​trip worth doing!

I remember going here 30 years ago. I think this is the closet I’ve ever come to experiencing a parallel universe.

Also known as the wind tower, this is an amazing part of my youth…
I am relatively sure that it has a plaque with the info about the artist and the install, and will take a pic first chance I get. Whatever the case, I will give you my nostalgia trip, as well as the short form review I ripped from a random site that had a few short words about it… cause succinct is key!
«The Wind Harp is a sculpture at the top of Oyster Point in South San Francisco. It’s designed to make noises when wind passes through it. The noises are kinda creepy, like a UFO on acid.»
– genome site.
We would come up here to hang out, play with friends, play with ladyfriends… and more.
It is really a eerie if not wholly peaceful part of the bay. The wind is typically making the harp vibrate a little bit, but certain days it is so loud and freaky that I shudder standing there.
And I haven’t the foggiest why we always went… it was almost a magical experience… like a pied piper leading us kids to a freezing and bizarre experience that was truly singular.
I cannot tell you how many times my 6’6″ frame would cower under the crazy-​making body rattling hum that shook my chest.
And though I was nervous every time, for some reason… I would put my ear to the base and hear the howling of ghostly wind as it reverbrated through the structure…
… this place is definitely iconic… and it is one of the most incredible outings in the city. It is just a tower, but it is one hell of a structure and concept.