Stephen Kesler
Kesler created the permanent humpback sculpture beneath every painted version of the Whale.
Stories from 9th & 9th
The Whale Almanac
There is a real whale in a Salt Lake City traffic circle. Around it grew gnomes, a wandering baby Whale, snow claims, marathon laps, a sacred-whale church, changing murals, local businesses, and several stories that cannot all be literally true. Choose a current and decide which version follows you home.
A weather claim with no meteorologyDid the Whale bring the snow?
A tale from the CurrentThe boats that refused to leave landDocumented history
Facts checked against named public sources.
Community folklore
A real story people tell, not a literal claim or forecast.
From Whale Fortunes
Original fiction inspired by the Whale and its neighborhood.
Documented history
The whale in a Salt Lake City traffic circle
Its official name is Out of the Blue. It is a full-size humpback sculpture, not an ancient sea creature with an unusual commute. Probably.
Documented history
The baby Whale that appeared out of the blue
Michael Claflin built a little Whale for fun. Someone else carried it to the big Whale, the neighborhood declared a birth, and the calf kept wandering.
Documented history
The gnomes before the Whale
Before a whale breached from the roundabout, neighbors had already populated the little garden with gnomes. The change produced protest signs, jokes, and an unusually good time capsule.
Community folklore
Did the Whale bring the snow?
A record snow season followed the Whale's arrival. The neighborhood did what neighborhoods do with suspicious timing: it made a legend.
Community folklore
The Church of the Sacred Whale
After the Whale arrived and the snow followed, Riley Adamson gave the neighborhood joke commandments, a Whalecoming, and fins open to everyone.
Documented history
Whaleathon and the runners around the Whale
Four friends looked at a very small traffic circle and found a very long race inside it. The Whale watched every return and offered no shortcut.
Documented history
A Whale's field guide to 9th & 9th
The Whale is at 900 South and 1100 East. The business district that lends it a neighborhood name is centered two blocks west. Between them are coffee, fly rods, wedding dresses, bicycles, gifts, and several opportunities for a sea creature to misunderstand land.
From Whale Fortunes
The boats that refused to leave land
The Whale has spent years studying the neighborhood harbor. Its conclusions are careful, sincere, and almost entirely wrong.
Credit the hands
Meet and support the artists
The Whale is a collaboration across sculpture, murals, and community making. Follow the artists, spend time with their other work, and support them through verified channels when available.
Artist links last reviewed August 1, 2026Michael “Mike” Murdock
Murdock painted the Whale's inaugural mural and helped establish the colors the neighborhood first adopted.
Jiyoun Lee-Lodge
Local reporting identifies Lee-Lodge as the Salt Lake City artist selected in 2026 to create the next mural for the Whale; the city's project page has not yet posted the result.
Michael Claflin
Claflin made the miniature Whale as a personal side project. We found no public creative shop or art account that could be confidently verified as his.
Whale Fortunes is independent and receives no commission from these links. Purchase links appear only when we can verify an artist-owned shop.
Beyond this Almanac
Follow the neighborhood
The Whale belongs to a living community. These official, community-run, and locally reported links are places to learn what is happening beyond our stories.
Curated, not exhaustive · Last reviewed August 1, 2026Community destinations
Salt Lake City Public ArtOut of the Blue
The city's official home for the sculpture, mural program, and public-art details.
ELPCOEast Liberty Park Community OrganizationThe recognized community organization representing residents and businesses around the Whale.
Neighborhood volunteers9th & 9th Street FestivalThe official site for the annual neighborhood festival, participation, accessibility, and vendor information.
Salt Lake City9th & 9th Business DistrictThe city's overview of the district, its character, and neighborhood destinations.
Local reporting
Axios Salt Lake City · August 2026The Whale's new look
Local reporting on Jiyoun Lee-Lodge's selection to create the next mural for Out of the Blue.
KSL · July 2026How a goofy side project added to the Whale's loreThe documented story of Michael Claflin, the miniature Whale, and its mysterious journey.
KUER · October 2023How many laps make a Whaleathon?Local reporting on the first marathon-distance orbit around the Whale and the snow lore surrounding it.
KUER · March 2021A Whale, a roundabout, and a colony of gnomesA foundational account of the gnome garden and the neighborhood debate before the Whale arrived.
Links are references, not sponsorships or endorsements. External pages can change. Suggest a correction.