Top 3 museums in san francisco to visit

CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM (CJM) Founded in 1984, the Contemporary Jewish Museum (theCJM.org) moved in 2008 to an audacious new home within a block of MoAD, also on Mission Street. Designed

by famed architect Daniel Libeskind, there’s no other building in the city like it. From the outside, it appears as though geometrical shapes fell from the sky and landed on the points of

their corners. Inside, the two main floors and three galleries challenge tradition with unconventionally shaped spaces, such as the Stephen and Maribelle Leavitt Yud Gallery between the

ground floor and the lofty second-floor hall. The mid-level gallery is shaped like the Hebrew letter yud, a sort of trapezoidal shape. PLAN YOUR TRIP ​LOCATION: 736 Mission St.​ GETTING

THERE: Park in the Jessie Square public parking garage at 223 Stevenson St. (you exit the garage elevators in the plaza in front of the museum). Or take the BART; the museum is two blocks

from the Powell Street station. VISIT: Thursday through Sunday (closed on New Year’s Day, the first day of Passover, Independence Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Thanksgiving) ADMISSION: 

$16 for adults; $14 for adults 65 and older ​ACCESSIBILITY: You can drop off and pick up the mobility impaired in front of the museum, and the parking garage has accessible parking. The

museum is fully accessible, with elevators. Wheelchairs (first come, first served) are available at no charge. Large-print directories aid the visually impaired. Originally built as a power

station in the 1880s, the blue steel structure serves as a bridge from past to present; the preserved brick facade evokes the history of the South of Market neighborhood. The design aligns

the Jewish idea of reverence for tradition with the CJM’s modern commitment to intellectual exploration and artistic innovation. Chief operating officer Kerry King says the museum puts a

“Jewish lens on art” but that it’s not just for Jews. About half the visitors aren’t Jewish, she says. Adam Hirschfelder, programs manager for the Commonwealth Club, a San Francisco-based

public affairs forum, notes that the CJM’s “significant and beautiful building” symbolizes the historic importance of the Jewish community in San Francisco. Jews persecuted in Europe found a

refuge in the city, Hirschfelder notes, to the point where the city’s oldest synagogue, Sherith Israel, has a stained-glass image of Moses carrying the Ten Commandments with Yosemite

National Park’s Half Dome in the background. The message: For many contemporary Jews, San Francisco is the promised land. Like MoAD, the CJM doesn’t have a permanent collection. Some

exhibitions honor influential or popular Jewish figures — Stanley Kubrick, Gertrude Stein and Amy Winehouse, for example — while others entice with themes such as “Veiled Meanings:

Fashioning Jewish Dress.” Some consider Jewish history, such as an exploration of the kibbutz movement; others are pure fun, such as a 2014 exhibition about the Chinese game mah-jong and how

it was widely adopted by Jewish women starting in the 1930s. In 2020, the museum featured an exhibition about San Francisco pioneer Levi Strauss. The German immigrant came to the city in

the 1850s to open a dry goods store and later helped develop and market the blue jeans that became an international phenomenon. “It’s about telling a Jewish immigrant story,” says King, “but

it’s also classically American. It’s embedded in the cultural fabric of San Francisco, and then it’s the story of blue jeans. So it’s universal.” INSIDER’S TIP: Don’t miss the Yud Gallery,

where 36 diamond-shaped windows create fabulous natural light and provide inspiration, says King. “In Jewish culture, multiples of 18 are considered good luck, so the 36 windows are double

good luck,” she adds. “The gallery was designed for great acoustics, so it’s a perfect spot to enjoy a talk or a performance. If you find yourself in the space and it’s quiet, just sing a

few lines of a favorite song. You will not be disappointed!” _Michael Shapiro, a San Francisco Bay Area freelancer, has contributed to _National Geographic Traveler_, the _San Francisco

Chronicle_, _The Washington Post _and many other publications._