Walking along the waterfront at Coronado Tidelands Park, it is easy to focus on the views of San Diego Bay, passing boats and the Coronado Bridge. But along the bike path is a striking piece of public art that has its own story to tell: “Penelope,” a bronze sculpture by artist Michael Stutz.
Standing nearly seven feet tall, Penelope depicts the legendary woman from Homer’s The Odyssey. The sculpture was commissioned through the Port of San Diego’s Public Art Program and was created in 2009. Today, it stands at Tidelands Park, where its location overlooking the bay provides an especially fitting setting for the story behind the artwork.
A Face Made of Bronze
At first glance, Penelope looks almost like a large bronze mask. Her face and flowing hair are formed from strips of welded bronze, creating an open, woven appearance.
That woven design is more than an artistic choice. It connects directly to Penelope’s story in The Odyssey. According to the ancient epic, her husband Odysseus was away for years, leaving Penelope to fend off numerous suitors who believed he would never return.
Penelope devised a plan to delay choosing another husband. She told the suitors she would make a burial shroud for Odysseus’ father and would choose a husband once the weaving was finished. During the day she worked on the shroud, but at night she secretly unraveled what she had woven.
The cycle allowed her to continue waiting for Odysseus.
Michael Stutz incorporated this idea of weaving into the sculpture itself. The bronze strips create a pattern that gives the figure an almost fabric-like quality while also allowing light and the surrounding landscape to show through the sculpture.
From the San Diego Waterfront to Coronado
Penelope has actually had more than one home around San Diego Bay.
The sculpture was originally installed on the San Diego waterfront near Seaport Village. It was later moved into storage during construction associated with Ruocco Park. After a period away from public view, Penelope returned to the waterfront in 2019 when she was installed at Coronado Tidelands Park.
Her current location adds another layer to the story.
From Tidelands Park, Penelope looks across the water toward San Diego. Boats move through the bay, and the Coronado Bridge stretches across the background. It is an unusually appropriate setting for a sculpture about someone waiting for a loved one to return from a long journey.
Public Art With a Story
One of the things I enjoy about public art is that you can encounter it without planning a trip to a museum. You might be walking, riding a bicycle or simply enjoying the waterfront when something catches your attention.
Penelope rewards that kind of encounter.
The sculpture is not simply a representation of a character from Greek mythology. Its design, location and subject all work together. The open bronze strips create movement and transparency, while the waterfront setting makes the ancient story of waiting and returning feel connected to the modern landscape.
The Port of San Diego lists Penelope as part of its Art on the Tidelands collection, and the sculpture is located along the bike path at Coronado Tidelands Park.
A Sculpture Worth Stopping For
The next time you’re at Coronado Tidelands Park, take a few minutes to look for Penelope. Walk around the sculpture and view it from different angles. The open construction changes the way the surrounding sky, water and landscape appear through the bronze.
It is also worth remembering the story behind the face.
Thousands of years after Homer wrote about Penelope waiting for Odysseus, her story has found a new setting beside San Diego Bay. Here, surrounded by boats and water, Michael Stutz’s sculpture gives an ancient story of patience, loyalty and hope a very modern home.
Penelope is more than a sculpture along the waterfront. It is a reminder that public art can connect a place, a story and a piece of history in unexpected ways.
