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San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The
city’s stylish home for 20th-century European and American art and
contemporary multimedia works is a sparkling cultural hub in the South
of Market area. Its collections span the whole modern spectrum, from
proto-Impressionists to cutting-edge digital installations . -
Legion of Honor
This
museum, located above Land’s End, is one of the city’s major venues for
pre-modern Western art. It is also a beautiful building in a gorgeous
natural setting, so well worth the time it takes to get to. It contains
mostly European works, including masterpieces by Rubens, Rembrandt,
Georges de la Tour, Degas, Rodin, and Monet.Lincoln Park
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34th Ave & Clement St
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415 863 3330
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Open 9:30am–5pm Tue–Sun
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Dis. access
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Adm
The Shades by Auguste Rodin, the Legion of Honor
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de Young
The
old de Young was too damaged in the 1989 earthquake to be saved, but a
new state-of-the-art facility opened in 2005. The museum’s extensive
collection includes 19th-century and contemporary American art, and
pre-Columbian-American, African, and Oceanic works.-
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park
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415 863 3330
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Open 9:30am–5pm Tue–Sun, until 8:45pm Fri; closed major public hols
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Dis. access
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Adm
de Young
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Asian Art Museum
The
new Asian Art Museum is set in the entirely restructured and
seismically retrofitted old Main Library in the Civic Center. The vast
and important collection of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Himalayan, and
Southeast Asian works is displayed according to their country of origin.
But the layout also demonstrates the flow and transformation of
Buddhist art from India and outward into the entire Far East. Included
is the fabulous Avery Brundage collection of Oriental jade.-
200 Larkin St
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415 581 3500
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Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sun, 10am–9pm Thur
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Adm
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San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design
Established
in 2004, this one-of-a-kind museum, housed in an elegant building
fronted by a charming courtyard, celebrates and promotes contemporary
craft and design through innovative exhibitions and educational
programs. They organize lots of lectures, special events, and programs
for children. There is also a great museum store with many original
pieces for sale.-
550 Sutter St
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415 773 0303
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Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sat (to 7pm Thu), noon–5pm Sun
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Dis. access
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Adm
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Musée Mechanique and Holographic Museum
A
quaint, time-warp experience awaits you here. As you approach the lower
level, you’ll be greeted by the loud guffaws of Laughing Sal, the
enormous, buxom figure that is a relic of the old Playland at the Beach.
There are also many other often ingenious mechanical devices that once
crowded the arcade. Don’t miss the recreation in miniature of a Chinese
opium den. In addition, there is a small collection devoted to the art
of holography.-
Pier 45, Fisherman’s Wharf
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Open 10am–7pm Mon– Fri, 10am–8pm Sat–Sun
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415 346 2000
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Free
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Wells Fargo History Museum
The
Wells Fargo stagecoaches are the stuff of legends, above all for the
tales of their stalwart drivers and the robbers who held them up.
Visitors can hear how it must have been to sit on little more than a
buckboard for days by listening to the recorded diary of one Francis
Brocklehurst. Other exhibits include Pony Express mail, gold nuggets,
and photos, and Emperor Norton’s currency .-
420 Montgomery St
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Open 9am–5pm Mon–Fri
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415 396 2619
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Free
Bronze stagecoach (1984), Wells Fargo History Museum
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