If you’ve driven I-89 through South Burlington, there’s a good chance you’ve spotted two enormous black whale tails rising from a field beside the highway. They look like a pair of whales have just plunged beneath an imaginary sea of grass, which raises a fairly obvious question when you’re in landlocked Vermont: why are there whale tails here?
The sculpture is called Reverence, and its story involves 36 tons of African black granite, Vermont sculptor Jim Sardonis, an unexpected move from another part of the state and a surprisingly legitimate connection between whales and Vermont’s prehistoric past.
Those tails beside the highway aren’t just one of Vermont’s most recognizable roadside landmarks. They also have a much longer story than you might realize when you’re passing them at 65 miles per hour.
Meet Reverence, Vermont’s Famous Whale Tails
Vermont artist Jim Sardonis created Reverence in 1989, carving two enormous whale tails from approximately 36 tons of African black granite. Rather than depicting entire whales, Sardonis created only the flukes, positioning them as if two whales are diving beneath the surface of the earth.
The surrounding landscape completes the illusion. When the grass is green and moving in the wind, the dark granite tails seem to disappear into an imaginary sea, turning an otherwise ordinary field into something completely unexpected.
Today, Reverence stands at Technology Park in South Burlington, where the sculpture has become a familiar sight for people traveling I-89. But despite how closely associated the whale tails have become with South Burlington, this isn’t where their story began.
The Whale Tails Originally Lived in Randolph
When Sardonis created Reverence, the sculpture was installed roughly 50 miles south of its current home on a hillside beside I-89 near Exit 4 in Randolph.
For about a decade, the whales became a landmark for people traveling through central Vermont, appearing unexpectedly from the landscape beside the interstate. Then, in 1999, the property was sold and Reverence needed a new home.
The sculpture was purchased by developer David G. Farrington and relocated to Technology Park in South Burlington, where the whales once again found a grassy landscape beside I-89.
South Burlington gained an instantly recognizable landmark.
Randolph, however, lost one. That part of the story becomes important because Vermont’s whale tale, if you’ll forgive me, wasn’t finished yet.
Why Are There Whales in Landlocked Vermont?
A pair of whales diving into a field might seem wonderfully random, but Vermont actually has a much stronger connection to whales than you’d expect.
To understand it, you have to go back thousands of years to the end of the last Ice Age.
As the massive glaciers that covered this region retreated, the land had been pushed downward by their weight. Ocean water from the Atlantic flowed inland, creating what scientists now call the Champlain Sea across parts of present-day Vermont, New York and Canada.
For a period of time, marine animals were swimming through a landscape that is now very much dry land.
The most famous evidence surfaced in 1849, when workers building a railroad in Charlotte discovered the fossilized skeleton of a beluga whale. The animal had lived thousands of years earlier when the Champlain Sea covered the area, and today the Charlotte whale remains one of the most fascinating pieces of evidence of Vermont’s prehistoric marine landscape.
Knowing that history changes the way I look at Reverence. The whales aren’t simply absurd creatures dropped into a Vermont field. In a strange way, they’re returning to a landscape where whales actually once swam.
Get Off I-89 and See the Whale Tails Up Close
Most people probably know Reverence exactly as I did for years: something you see through a car window while traveling I-89.
But this is one Vermont landmark worth getting off the highway to see.
The sculpture stands at Technology Park in South Burlington, and seeing the tails up close gives you a completely different appreciation for their scale. From the interstate, it’s easy to miss just how massive these pieces of granite actually are or how deliberately Sardonis positioned them to create the illusion of whales disappearing beneath the landscape.
You can also appreciate the stone itself in a way that’s impossible from the highway. The polished black granite gives the sculptures a sleek, almost wet appearance, strengthening the illusion that the whales have just slipped beneath the surface.
Stand back far enough and the grass becomes water.
For a moment, South Burlington starts looking a little more like the Champlain Sea.
The Story Doesn’t End in South Burlington
Here’s what makes Reverence even more interesting: moving the sculpture to South Burlington eventually resulted in Vermont getting another set of whale tails.
The people of Randolph had grown attached to the original sculpture during the decade it stood near Exit 4, and its absence was noticeable after Reverence moved north. Years later, conservation efforts helped protect the original hillside where the sculpture had stood, opening the door for Jim Sardonis to return to the site.
This time, he didn’t simply recreate Reverence.
He created something new. In 2019, a much larger bronze sculpture called Whale Dance was installed near the original Randolph location. Instead of two granite tails disappearing into the earth, the newer sculpture presents whales in a more dynamic composition, creating a companion piece to the South Burlington landmark rather than a replica.
So today, Vermont has two sets of whale tails beside I-89, both created by the same artist and connected by the same unusual story.
If you find yourself wondering why there are giant bronze whales beside the interstate when you’re farther south near Randolph, I’ve got that story for you, too.
Make a Stop for One of Vermont’s Most Recognizable Roadside Landmarks
Reverence has become such a familiar part of the South Burlington landscape that it’s easy to forget how strange it actually is.
We’re talking about 36 tons of black granite carved into whale tails and positioned in a grassy field beside an interstate in Vermont. That’s worth getting out of the car for.
The next time you’re traveling through South Burlington, don’t settle for pointing out the whale tails as you pass them on I-89. Make the detour to Technology Park, see Reverence up close and take a minute to imagine this part of Vermont thousands of years ago, when whales really could be found swimming through the region.
Suddenly, those enormous tails rising from the grass don’t seem quite so out of place.
Know Before You Go
- What
- Reverence, commonly known as the Whale Tails
- Where
- Technology Park, South Burlington, Vermont
- Artist
- Jim Sardonis
- Created
- 1989
- Material
- African black granite
- Weight
- Approximately 36 tons of granite
- Original location
- Near I-89 Exit 4 in Randolph
- Moved to South Burlington
- 1999
- Cost
- Free to see
- Don’t miss
- Walk far enough back to see how the two tails interact with the surrounding field. The illusion of whales diving into a sea of grass is much easier to appreciate when you’re not passing them at interstate speed.
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