Niche Museums

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Inside the conservatory.

Conservatory of Flowers

0.18 miles away

A building of unknown origins. The conservatory was bought as a kit by James Lick for his estate in San Jose, then purchased as a gift for the city of San Francisco after his death in 1876. it was assembled as the first formal structure in Golden Gate Park in 1879. The origin of the kit itself is unknown, though it is thought to have come from somewhere in Europe. Today it hosts over 1,700 plant species, including some rare tropical plants that are over 100 years old and the world’s largest public collection of high-altitude orchids. Their Corpse Flowers attract a substantial crowd when they bloom for 2-3 days every 7-10 years.

Website | Wikipedia

100 John F Kennedy Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118 - Map

25 November 2019

Inside the Columbarium.

Neptune Society Columbarium

0.73 miles away

San Francisco has few cemeteries: most of them were relocated to the nearby city of Colma in the 1920s. This Columbarium (a repository for human ashes), built in 1898, is now the only non-denominational place in the city that still accepts new burials. Interments include FORTRAN creator John Backus, politician Harvey Milk and Harry August Jansen, aka Dante the Magician - the last representative of the Golden Age of Magic. Many of the urns are accompanied by small dioramas representing details from the life of the person interred there.

Website | Wikipedia

One Loraine Court, San Francisco, CA 94118 - Map

22 November 2019

Inside Cookin'

Cookin'

1.14 miles away

Judy Kaminsky has been selling high-end vintage cookware (mostly French) to the residents and chefs of San Francisco since 1981. Go with intent to buy something - cake stands and antique cocktail glasses are a good target. Don't bring your coffee!

Website

339 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 - Map

16 November 2019

Museum of Russian Culture

1.41 miles away

The Museum of Russian Culture "was established by those who left Russia as a result of the Civil War of 1917–1922". It is located on the third floor of the Russian Center Building and is open 10:30am to 2:30pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Website

2450 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California 94115 - Map

23 October 2019

Painted toilet seats in Isotope.

The Comic Rock Star’s Toilet Seat Museum

1.94 miles away

Voted "Best Comic Store" in Best of the Bay for 17 years running (2002 - 2018), Isotope Comic Book Lounge plays host to a unique museum of toilet seats. The collection was founded by accident in 2002 when Brian Wood (DMZ and X-Men) vandalized their bathroom and owner James Sime kept the toilet seat. Over 100 comic artists have now contributed illustrated seats, and a subset of the collection can be seen lining the walls of the lounge.

Website

326 Fell Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 - Map

26 November 2019

Outside Audium

Audium

2.25 miles away

Describing itself as "Perhaps one of San Francisco's least known eclectic treasures", Audium is a unique sound art event presented weekly since 1967 in pitch darkness in a custom theater with 176 speakers. Founder and composer Stan Shaff still presents his compositions in person every week and will enthusiastically answer your questions after the show.

Website | Wikipedia

1616 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 - Map

19 November 2019

A weird alien bed

The Gregangelo Museum

2.65 miles away

Incredibly varied installation art located in a 1920s Mediterranean-style house. Visits by appointment only.

Website | Wikipedia

225 San Leandro Way, San Francisco, CA 94127 - Map

25 October 2019

A plaque with an effervescent caption.

International Art Museum of America

2.7 miles away

Founded in 2011 by H. H. Dorje Chang Buddha III, who claims to be a reincarnation of Buddha and is responsible for most of the art in the museum. Each piece is accompanied by a plaque which explains its artistic merit in effervescent terms.

Website | Wikipedia

1023 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 - Map

28 October 2019

Technicians replacing a cable.

San Francisco Cable Car Museum

3.05 miles away

Housed in a historic cable car barn and powerhouse, this free museum tells the story of San Francisco's unique under-road cable pulled street cars. In addition to vintage cars and other exhibits illustrating the history of the system visitors can descend below the street to see the cables running, or watch the engines that power the cars from a viewing platform.

Website | Wikipedia

1201 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 - Map

18 November 2019

The outside of the bookbinders museum.

The American Bookbinders Museum

3.1 miles away

Showcasing the artistry, history, and craft of bookbinding. The New York Times described it as "a small, obsessive collection of machinery and ephemera."

Website | Wikipedia

355 Clementina Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 - Map

23 October 2019

Looking down the pier at the Eureka

Hyde Street Pier

3.3 miles away

This historic ferry pier now hosts a collection of ships, including an 1886 square rigged sailing ship (the Balclutha), a 1907 steam tugboat (the Hercules) and Eureka, a side-wheel paddle steamboat built in 1890 which is now the largest existing wooden ship in the world. The museum is run by the National Park Service so if you have their annual pass you can get in for free.

Website | Wikipedia

2905 Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 - Map

23 October 2019

Mechanical circus at Musée Mécanique

Musée Mécanique

3.55 miles away

Unique collection of antique coin-operated arcade games, orchestrions and other artefacts, some of them over 100 years old. This type of machine breaks constantly so they are usually held in private collections, but Musée Mécanique has its own maintenance workshop allowing it to continue running them interactively for the public.

Website | Wikipedia

Pier 45, Fishermans Wharf, San Francisco, CA 94133 - Map

23 October 2019

A nuclear missile inside the bunker

Nike Missile Site SF-88

5.47 miles away

The only fully restored Cold War era Nike missile site in the country, hosting surface-to-air nuclear missiles for shooting down incoming Russian bomber planes! The first Saturday of the month is Veterans Open House, providing an opportunity to hear from the veteran missile techs who used to run these sites.

Website | Wikipedia

Field Road, Sausalito, CA 94965 - Map

23 October 2019

A portion of the Bay Model

The Bay Model

6.77 miles away

A working hydraulic model of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento to San Joaquin River Delta System, approximately the size of two football fields. Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s to study the impact of proposed changes to the delta.

Website | Wikipedia

2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965 - Map

23 October 2019

An impressive collection of neon signs.

Neon Works

11.04 miles away

Neon Works is a neon sign fabrication and restoration business based in a 17,000-square-foot studio in North Oakland. Founder Jim Rizzo also collects historic neon signs, and displays them in the workshop. Any time he hears about a Neon sign being taken down anywhere in the Bay Area Jim will swoop in and see what can be salvaged. His collection has signs from throughout the previous century, including the 1500 pound 42 foot long Kilpatrick's Bakery sign rescued from 16th and Folsom street in San Francisco in the late 1990s. Neon Works carried out the $70,000 restoration of the Castro Theatre’s 85 foot tall sign for the production of “Milk” in 2008. The workshop is not open to the public, but occasionally hosts tours.

Website

967 Grace Avenue, Oakland, CA 94608 - Map

30 November 2019

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