A bird’s eye view of Tom Ralston Concrete's new Santa Cruz Roundabout with the “swimming concrete dolphins” and colorful splinter islands that flank the center piece. Each island is made up of multi-colored mounds that mimic wind swept sand dunes by-the-sea, and leave expanses of rock, shells and other sea-life impressions. Four different varieties of large flat rocks were turned on edge to mimic dorsal fins that meander through each island. Tom Ralston Concrete designed 30 hand-crafted concrete dolphins acid stained with multiple colors, custom cut abalone eyes, sea shells and beach glass. The dolphins were cast as families with 6’ mamas, 4’ babies and 8’ papas that weighed almost 1000 LBS each. A poet passing by said: “Round and round they go, Dolphins swim like traffic should flow”. A unique solution by one of Santa Cruz’s own to infuse creative design and beautify a Public Works project that helps to mitigate traffic jams at the Santa Cruz Wharf, Beach Street and Boardwalk area.
Aerial Photo: Levy Media Works
Inset Photos: Jeffery Luhn
Special Thanks to:
Graniterock
Central Home Supply
Coastal Evergreen Company
City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation
City of Santa Cruz Public Works
Scofield Decorative Concrete Systems
Davis Color Company
Stagnaro Bros. Seafood Inc.
Thanks to santacruzwaves.com for posting on Facebook.