Bruin Bear - Two Tons of Bronze Mascot
A stop on UCLA Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.
Say hello to the Bruin, the bronze bear that has stood guard over Bruin Plaza since 1984. The UCLA Alumni Association commissioned it for its 50th anniversary, and Albuquerque artist Billy Fitzgerald sculpted the larger-than-life grizzly. It is more than 10 feet long and weighs over two tons, and when it was unveiled on September 30, 1984, it was believed to be the largest bear statue in the country.
The bear is the campus meeting spot and its favorite photo stop, from new students on their first day to graduates in caps and gowns. It is also a target. In the week before the football game against crosstown rival USC, the statue is wrapped in a protective cover, and students have kept watch over it, because rival fans have splashed it with paint before.
Why a bear? UCLA began as the southern branch of the University of California, whose Berkeley teams were already the Golden Bears, and after a few early names the Los Angeles teams settled on Bruins. Take your turn for a picture.
Getting here: Walk past the west end of Ackerman Union into Bruin Plaza, where the bronze bear stands.
Did you know?: Casting the bear cost $37,000, plus another $10,000 for the artist's fee.
Photo op: Stand in front and a little to one side so the bear's head and Ackerman Union both fit in the frame.
More on Wikipedia: Joe Bruin · UCLA-USC rivalry
Stops on this tour
- Royce Hall - Two Towers, Not Twins
- Powell Library - Where Fahrenheit 451 Was Typed
- Inverted Fountain - Where the Water Falls In
- Kerckhoff Hall - A Widow's Gothic Gift
- Ackerman Union - The Campus Living Room
- Bruin Bear - Two Tons of Bronze Mascot
- Pauley Pavilion - The House Wooden Filled
- Wilson Plaza - UCLA's Front Porch
- Janss Steps - 87 Steps and a Legend
- Fowler Museum - World Art Behind Brick Arches
- Murphy Sculpture Garden - Masterpieces Under Jacarandas