Golden Gate Park De Young Museum 1

It was a beautiful “almost-Fall” day when the wife and I took a familiar drive on the 280 Freeway from San Jose into San Francisco and spent some time at Golden Gate Park, specifically at the De Young Museum.

In all the years I’ve traveled to San Francisco, the De Young Museum was one place I’d never stepped foot in. The last time we were at Golden Gate Park back in 2009, we were walking toward the Japanese Tea Garden adjacent to the museum when a woman asked if we wanted to buy two of her tickets (at a discount) to the King Tut exhibit that was on display at De Young.

We declined because it was a bit late and it was too cold for the wife. Oh well, timing is everything.

This time, I parked in the familiar underground lot near the California Academy of Science, discovering only later that there is additional parking right next to the museum and connected via a very short underground walk. Oh well, preliminary research is everything, right?

One of the first pieces you see at the museum’s entrance (it’s seven pieces actually) is called “Drawn Stone” by Andy Goldsworthy. Created in 2005, the seven rocks represent San Francisco and the cracks that threaten the city – the faults that cause its earthquakes.

Admission is quite reasonable: $10 for adults 18-64, $6 for youths 13-17, $7 for seniors 65 and over (make sure you have an ID with you), $6 for college students (ditto the ID), and free for children younger than 13. Stick part of the ticket to your clothes to show you’ve paid your admission.

De Young is huge, with several galleries devoted to geographical location and historical periods. We spent most of our time wandering the American Art galleries, the Art of Africa, and the Art of Oceania. I’ll tell you about the galleries at a later date.

The Sculpture Garden

Today, however, I’ll tell you about the Sculpture Garden that’s accessible from the De Young Café. It’s a peaceful place, lots of grass, and relatively quiet. I spent about 45 minutes just wandering about, taking pictures, examining the sculptures from all angles:

 

"Corridor Pin Blue," 1999, by Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen

"Conversation Piece V, 3 Figures," 2001, by Juan Munoz

The last thing we did was go up the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Tower to the ninth-level observation deck where we were treated to a 360-degree panorama of the city and surrounding areas.

View toward Entrance to San Francisco Bay

It’s a bit unsettling to approach the edge, despite the fact that the observation area is totally enclosed in glass. One older gentleman refused to get any closer than 15 feet or so, and promptly went back down the elevator.

Golden Gate Music Concourse and California Academy of Sciences

I’m getting a bit squeamish in my old age, but walked close to the edge despite the squinchies I was experiencing.

If you haven’t gone to the museum, you should, the next time you’re in San Francisco.