San Francisco is a museum mecca. With a land mass of 46.7 square feet , the city of San Francisco is home to over 30 museums. The art exhibitions displayed in these museums are incredible to say the least and many of the buildings that house these museums are marvels of their time.
One of these incredible museums is the M.H. De Young Memorial Museum (called, the De Young) was designed by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of the Swiss architect firm, Herzog and Meuron and is located in Golden Gate Park at 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, SF, CA 94118. The principal architects of these M.H. De Young Memorial Museum
“Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs,” was a remarkable exhibit at the De Young last year.The museum is closed on Mondays, Tuesday – Sunday (open 9:30 AM – 5:15 PM), Fridays – mid January – November (open 9:30 AM – 8:45 PM. Admission is free the first Tuesday of the month, children 12 and under are admitted free and muni riders receive a $2.00 discount by showing a muni transfer. View the museum website at http://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/visiting for detailed admission prices, including senior and student discounts as well as Espana at Twilight (Wednesday night Discount with a Spanish inspired menu). There is an additional cost for some exhibits and most exhibits are free for museum members.
Friday nights at the museum can be an exciting time with lectures, live music, dancing, poetry, film, cocktails and other activities. June 24, 2011 Friday Night at the Museum features a lecture on Picasso by Dakin Hart, live music by Betty Roi and Open Studios featuring Kevin Epps, Todd T. Brown and Campo Santo. Kevin Epps is a local filmmaker who made “Straight Outta Hunters Point” and “Straight Outta Hunters Point II”. Todd T. Brown is an artist whose work entitled “Invisible Passage” is definitely worth seeing. Campo Santos is a theatre located in the Mission that has graced the stage with plays like “Mirror in Every Room” and “Pieces of the Quilt”. Go to http://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/artist-in-residence/campo-santo-intersection-arts to obtain additional information about the artist in residence.
The California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is located at 55 Music Concourse Drive, SF, CA, 94118 in Golden Gate Park and includes the Kimball Natural History Museum , Planetarium, Aquarium, Library, Exhibits, Research Rooms and Cafes. |
Hours of admission are Monday – Saturday (9:30 AM – 5:00 PM) and Sunday (11:00 AM – 5:00 PM). There are also member only hours. Admission is free every third Wednesday of the month and there are SF Resident Free Days. Go to the website to compare your zipcode to the schedule to see what day of the month your neighborhood is admitted free. The California Academy of Sciences can be reached at (415) 379-8000 or view http://www.calacademy.org/visit/ for additional information on parking and visits to the California Academy of Sciences.
I can never say enough about this wonderful place. I am in awe every time I visit and walk through the Rainforest Dome (with butterflies and incredible bird life flying about my head). You feel the humidity as you venture higher up the dome into the rainforest and you can’t wait to see what’s around the corner.
Summer of Slither features a 15 feet albino python, gila monsters (Heloderma Suspectum) and a red spitting cobra among other reptiles that will be on display until September 5, 2011. See posting ( ) for additional information on The California Academy of Sciences.
Check out this Live Webcam at the Farallones Island and see if you can identify the seabirds that fly by. http://www.calacademy.org/webcams/farallones/
SF Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is located at 151 Third Street, SF, CA,94103. Admission is free to SFMOMA members, U.S. Military and children under 12 years old accompanied by an adult. It is also free the first Tuesday of each month. Admission on Thursday (6:00 PM – 8:45 PM) is half-price. Admission is free the first Tuesday of the month and the museum offers free tours for non-profits and colleges by calling (415) 357-4095. View their website at http://www.sfmoma.org/visit for ticket price information or telephone (415) 357-4000. The hours of operation are Monday – Tuesday / Friday - Sunday (10:00 AM – 5:45 PM), Wednesday (Closed), and Thursday (10:00 AM – 8:45 PM).
The Stein Collection, currently at SFMOMA includes works of Picasso, Matisse and Parisian Avant Garde. Avant Garde is often defined as pushing the boundaries which is characteristically accurate when describing the beautiful Stein collection that will be on exhibition until September 6, 2011. The David Claerbout exhibition is also on display until September 6th. David Claerbout’s exhibit explores the relationship between photography and cinema. There are curator talks, lectures, films and other activities that will increase your knowledge about art and art history. On June 23, (Thursday) at 7:00 PM, the 1968 film, “I love You Alice B. Toklas will be showing in the Phyllis Wattis Theatre. There is a $5.00 admission charge or no charge with a museum admission.
SFMOMA is planning a major expansion to house their increasing permanent collection, which includes over 26,000 works. Go to http://www.sfmoma.org/projects/artscope/#r=64 and click on 5,000 of the museum’s collections and view them up close (incredibly cool…)Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD)
The MOAD is located at 685 Mission Street, SF, CA 94105. Telephone MOAD at (415) 358-7200 or visit their website at http://www.moadsf.org/ for additional information. Their hours of operation are the following: Wednesday - Saturday (11:00 AM – 6:00 PM) and Sundays (12:00 PM – 5:00 PM). The works of Romare Bearden will be on display until July 3, 2011. The film, “From the Quarters to Lincoln Heights” will be shown and a discussion of the movie with director and producer, Mark Oliver and co – producer, James Langford will take place after the movie. The movie depicts the 1920 migration of blacks from the South to work in large lumber mills and the aftermath.
Note: From July 15 – September 18, 2011, see Patchwork Quilts by Africans living in India at the MOAD.Contemporary Jewish Museum
The Gertrude Stein exhibition is on display until September 6, 2011. Works by Charlotte Solomon entitled, “Charlotte Salomon Life? or Theatre?” is on exhibit until July 31, 2011. This is a group of paintings completed by the artist between 1940 and 1942 while Solomon and her family were hiding from the Nazis in the South of France. In 1943, she and her husband and unborn child were captured and taken to Auschwitz where they were killed. Charlotte Solomon created over 700 paintings while she was hiding in the South of France and gave them to a friend for safe keeping when the search for Jews intensified. Solomon’s paintings are autobiographical and reflect her life and relationships with those around her.
The Contemporary Jewish Museum is the first museum to incorporate the StoryCorps – Story Booth into its on-going exhibits. StoryCorps is part of an oral history project that primarily consists of a booth where you can bring important people in your life and interview them in a recording studio. You receive a copy of the interview and with written permission; chosen interviews are aired on local and national radio stations. See http://storycorps.org/ for additional information on Story Corps.
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
The “Bali: Art, Ritual Performance” exhibition is on display until September 11, 2011. It consists of 131 works of art, including shadow puppetry and masked dances. Maharaja: The Splendor of India’s Royal Courts will be on exhibit at the museum from October 21, 2011 – April 8, 2012. The museum showcases over 2500 pieces of incredible art in their on-going collection and has tea gatherings / tastings, lectures, and documentary showings. On Thursday nights (5-9) for $10.00, come to Matcha to experience a relaxing and fun time with cocktails, music, gallery tours and more.
Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4roG0EhmyDw&feature=channel_page see the making of the SF Asian Museum tearoom.
Exploratorium
The museum often has very interesting presentations as well as on-going science displays. On July2, 2011 (12:00 PM – 4:00 PM) there will be a presentation entitled, “Oaxacan Dyes / Textiles”, which will feature artists, Elena Gonzalez Ruiz, Fidel Cruz and Maria Luisa Mendoza who will create handmade rugs from natural materials and dye made from cochineal insects. See a preview of this process by going to http://www.exploratorium.edu/tv/index.php?project=107&program=1235&type=clip/ .
Note: The Exploratorium is moving to the Embarcadero (Piers 15 and 17 by year 2012).
California Palace of the Legion of Honor
Photo: Legion of Honor _Wikipedia Commons
The Legion of Honor is a fine arts museum located in Lincoln Park at 100 34th Avenue, SF, CA, 94121. The museum is opened Tuesday – Thursday (9:30 – 5:15 PM) and closed on Mondays. Admission is free on the first Tuesday of the month and there are senior and student discounts. Children under 12 years old are admitted free. View the website at http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/legion/visiting for additional information on admission. The Legion of Honor is located at a beautiful site in the city. The grounds as well as the building that occupies the collections are a tranquil sanctuary. There are three French period rooms, a large bronze cast of Rodin’s Thinker, early photography as well as some of Annie Liebowitz’s work and Japanese prints. There is a Faberge’ tea service, lectures, pipe organ concerts, films and performances.
The museum is a member of the French Regional / American Museum Exchange (FRAME), which promotes cultural exchange between France and the United States. They often share exhibits and promote the cultural needs of each country. View the shared website at http://www.framemuseums.org/ . You can reach the Legion of Honor at (415) 750-3600. Note: The San Francisco Holocaust Memorial designed by George Segal is located in Lincoln Park near the Legion of Honor.
Mexican Museum
The Mexican Museum is located at Fort Mason, Building D, SF, CA 94123. They are open Wednesday – Saturday (12:00 noon-4:00 PM). Admission is free of charge / donations and memberships are accepted. The museum exhibits a12, 000 piece art collection that is categorized into Pre-Conquest, Colonial, Popular, Modern Contemporary Mexican / Latino and Chicano Art. The current exhibition is entitled, Independence and Revolution. Architect, Ricardo Legorreta, designed the new Mexican Museum scheduled to be built across from St. Patrick’s Church / next to the Jewish Museum. An underground 460 space garage is also scheduled to be built. The ground breaking ceremony for this project occurred in 2003. Construction on the new building is scheduled to begin in 2013. Call (415) 202-9700 for additional information on the museum or tour their website at http://www.mexicanmuseum.org/index.asp?language=english or http://www.mexicanmuseum.org/index.asp?language=spanish .
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Museum of Craft / Folk Art
Museum of Performance and Design is located at in the Veteran’s Building at 401 Van Ness, Suite 402, SF, CA 94102. Admission is free with a $5.00 suggested donation. The MPD is dedicated to performing arts and theatrical design. It houses over 3.5 million items and programs including, oral histories of performing artist, archives, books, playbills, radio plays, video tapes, sheet music, photographs, interviews, design collections and much more. It was founded over sixty years ago by Russell Hartley, a SF ballet dancer and costume designer. The museum provides educational programs for children and has an extensive Performance Arts Library. Appointments are recommended to access the library by calling (415) 255-4800. Go to http://www.mpdsf.org/PAGES/MAIN/about.html for additional information.
Other Museums include:
SF Cable Car Museum – 1201 Mason St., SF, CA 94108; (415) 474-1887; http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/info.html
Walt Disney Family Museum - 104 Montgomery Street, SF, CA, 94129; (415) 345-6800; http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/visit/location_hours.html
SF Fire Department Museum – 655 Presidio Ave., SF, CA 94115; (415) 558-3546; http://guardiansofthecity.org/sffd/index.html
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