HONOR STATUE - SANTA CRUZ
The Story
Santa Cruz is the birthplace of surfing on the mainland United States. In 1885, three young Hawaiian princes rode redwood boards at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River and ignited something that has defined this community for over 140 years.
Surfing is woven into the fabric of who we are — our culture, our economy, our identity.
For more than 30 years, the iconic bronze statue “To Honor Surfing” has stood sentinel on West Cliff Drive, overlooking Steamer Lane. He is beloved. He is woven into the rhythms of daily life in Santa Cruz. He watches the surfers, gets dressed up at Christmas, and has become one of the most recognized landmarks on the California coast.
But he tells only half the story.
Women have been part of Santa Cruz’s ocean community from the very beginning — surfing, paddleboarding, swimming, competing, shaping boards, raising families along this coast, and building the culture that makes this place what it is. They have always been here. They have simply never had a monument.
“To Honor the Women of the Water” changes that.
The Project
A bronze female surfer statue — approximately 16 feet tall, the same scale as her counterpart on West Cliff — will be installed on a county-owned parcel managed by the county’s Parks Department, along East Cliff Drive at Pleasure Point, adjacent to the stretch of bluff known locally as the Dirt Farm, and near famed surf pioneer Jack O’Neill.
Like the male statue, she is not modeled after any one person. She is an archetype — representing every woman who has ever loved this ocean. She will stand in front of her longboard, wearing a wetsuit in honor of Jack, and gaze out over the surf break at Pleasure Point, just as the male statue gazes out over Steamer Lane.
Together, they will frame Santa Cruz from East to West — two landmarks, two surf breaks, one complete story.
The Women Making Waves
The waves in Santa Cruz have been shaped by women's hands for generations. The story begins with Antoinette Swan, a woman of Hawaiian royal lineage who settled in Santa Cruz in the 1860s and hosted the three young Hawaiian princes back in 1885. Antoinette herself surfed, making her one of the earliest known women to ride waves on the American mainland, and a founding thread in Santa Cruz's surf story that has too long gone untold.
The women who followed her carried that thread forward. Women like Pat Collins to Betty Van Dyke to Shannon Aikman, and then Jane McKenzie paddled out in eras when lineups were almost exclusively male, when simply showing up in the water was an act of quiet courage.
Later came Robin "Zeuf" Janiszeufski-Hesson — known to everyone simply as Zeuf, and known at Pleasure Point as its Queen. More than a surfer, she was a teacher, a connector, and an inspiration to generations of women in the water.
This installation is dedicated to women like them — the ones who showed up before it was easy, those who are making waves now, and the women of the water still to come.
The Installation
The installation is designed to enhance this beloved stretch of coastline:
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The ground surface is stabilized decomposed granite, an extension of the existing walking path. This permeable material reduces erosion from foot traffic far more effectively than bare compacted dirt. It will also make the space accessible to those who have mobility challenges in our community. No pavement.
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Native plantings throughout, chosen for the coastal environment.
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Three curved benches creating a welcoming gathering space with ocean views, including ADA-accessible seating.
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The existing palm trees stay. The view stays. The open character of the space stays.
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The project (footprint of the DG area with benches-excluding planting) uses 2.4% of the Dirt Farm (area includes from parking spaces to other side of palms). And we are using a combo of Native and drought/coastal tolerant planting (not 100% native)
This project was designed as an enhancement of a public space, keeping views open and paths of travel intact.
The Team
This project is the work of people who belong to this place.
Sculptors: Brian W. Curtis and Thomas Marsh — the same artists who created To Honor Surfing on West Cliff Drive
Board shaper: Bob Pearson, Pearson Arrow Surfboards
Lead designer: Alison Hobbs
Benches : Tom Ralston
The project is 100% community funded, with tax deductible donations flowing through County Park Friends, a local 501c3.
CONTACT US to learn more about opportunities to sponsor and donate.
Equity is the Point
Like her counterpart, she will become part of our daily lives. We will drive by her, walk by her, sit beside her on those curved benches. She will watch us surf, witness sunrises and sunsets over Monterey Bay, and stand as a quiet, constant presence through every season and tide.
In a few years, a young girl growing up in Santa Cruz will not remember a time when there was only one iconic statue on this coast. That is the point.