California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
(between 3rd St & Annie St)
San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 357-1848
28 reviews
Mountain View, CA
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8 Reviews for California Historical Society
Currently, the California Historical Society has a Chinese in California exhibit running at the museum.
The history of Chinese-Americans in California is often overlooked in California and American history, but there is a lot to know about the integral role that the Chinese had in California history. Most of the time these stories are relegated to Asian American-only venues, but I'm glad that the California Historical Society has presented the Chinese-Californian story as one that is relevant to California history overall.
So, yes, this museum is quite small, Really, what you see is what you get. The exhibit is just on the main floor of the building, though I thought the exhibit would be much smaller than it actually was. I thought I would be able to breeze through and see most everything in ~20 minutes. Since I had made this into a work field trip (plus lunch), I felt compelled to move along quickly, but I would've spent ~45 minutes there. The exhibit mostly consisted of photographs, newspaper articles, letters, immigration papers, and old maps.
Overall, I thought the installation was well-done and hit the highlights of Chinese-American/Californian history. All of that entertainment for the bargain price of $3!
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Went here for the Yerba Buena Free4All Sat 11/10/07. It's tiny, a couple rooms with some historical Calif. stuff.
Friend V. liked it, I thought it was weak. Exhibit was "Past Tents" Staircase was named after Nancy Pelosi but only staff can go up. Lame. No photos allowed.
Bathrooms available and drinking fountains.
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My sister and I went to the CA Historical Society for the Yerba Buena Free4All, and this was closer to the last few museums that we visited. I would definitely not come back to this museum as only half of the museum was filled with exhibits. I didn't pay attention to any of the exhibits as they were really boring. I need more artifacts rather than reading throughout the entire museum. In addition, the gift shop didn't have any enticing stuff to purchase.
Definitely would not come back or pay for admission.
This was sort of the end of the Yerba Buena Arts and Culture Free 4 All. By this point, my mother was dead tired and my best friend wanted to get some rest. So onward.....1, 2, 3!
The California Historical Society should not be classified as a museum, but more of a space that acts as an information kiosk for anyone wanting to go camping, hiking, biking...you know, the nitty, gritty outdoors.
We stopped by several paintings (furnished by the awesome Bancroft LIbrary in Berkeley! Represent!), which coincidentally enough, were of tall redwood trees (the tree sitters are indeed still there!). We moved on to another room, which had diaries from people who had experienced the great outdoors like we never will. The utter enchantment, adventure, was just a neverending life for these folks. The quote, which I cannot remember off the top of my head, actually summed it up quite nicely: It so seemed that the more dangerous the adventure, the greater the stories and tales.
And who knew that one should collect a bit of the dirt after you make a fire to fill your wet shoes and by morning, they should be dry? And that to make a pillow, you should carry around some muslin and fill it with moss!
All useful...anyone want to go camping?
Cute little museum - I went in to see the show of Jack London's earthquake photographs that are up now. The prints and other 1906 memorabilia were very interesting. I thought the $3 admission was very reasonable (considering other museums in town) plus I got a free fancy booklet about the show. The limited hours (12 - 4:30, W-Sa) make visiting a bit difficult. The shop has some nice books and cards. Get a snack at A. G. Ferrari next door afterward.
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Nice little shop to nose into when going to MOMA. Filled with California stuff that's relevant and that would amuse even the locals as opposed to all the fake crap they have at Fisherman's Wharf for the tourists. Good place to educate yourself about the state and it's history through archival photos and documents.
Great buildup and display of April 1906 earthquake in San Francisco information for $3. Get educated y'all
Located around the corner from the Museum of Modern Art, this is a treasure trove of artifacts related to California's history. The facility also includes the requisite gift shop selling books, T-shirts, and assorted tchotchkes. Galleries are open Wednesday through Saturday, from noon until 4:30pm; adult admission is $3.
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