MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO
The Museum of San Francisco, located in downtown San Francisco, is the site of the first mint in the West. The museum showcases San Francisco’s unique and colorful history through a variety of permanent and rotating exhibits. The museum is also available to rent for private events.
Museum
Address
608 Commercial Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
Hours
Thursday - Saturday
10 AM - 4 PM
Docent Tours
Free Docent Tours:
Sat. 11:30 AM & 1:30 PM
Museum Temporarily Closed for Renovations
Please note that the museum is closed from April through June for renovations and exhibit installations. Walking tours, History Live! presentations, and previously scheduled school group visits will be offered as usual. We’ll reopen in early July.
Exhibits Coming Soon
The Museum of San Francisco’s first community-based exhibit is We Were There: Views of San Francisco’s Urban Renewal. It tells the tragic story of how the government-mandated urban renewal of the 1950s-1970s destroyed thousands of homes and displaced tens of thousands of residents...
City Lab for Kids is a fun and interactive learning center full of play-based activities to entertain families and engage visitors of all ages.
San Francisco has always been a city on the edge—the edge of the continent the edge of technology, of art, of politics and activism, of social boundaries. This is an exhibit you won't want to miss!
Museum Venue Rental
The Museum of San Francisco is the site of the first mint in the West: a one-of-a-kind venue guests will remember forever. Conveniently located in San Francisco’s Financial District, the museum offers elegant spaces for events of all types, for 25 to 250 people. This historical landmark is also a museum featuring stunning exhibits about San Francisco’s history in five galleries easily adapted as event spaces. The Museum is perfect for presentations, cocktail parties, weddings, and conferences.
Venue rental at a glance:
-
4,400 Sq. Ft. on 2 Levels, Plus 3rd Floor Outdoor Deck
-
Easy Access to MUNI, BART & Parking (Portsmouth Square Garage)
-
Rental Includes: 100 Chairs, Projector, Screen, Sound System, 3 Six ft. Tables, 4 Highboy Tables, Wi-Fi. Live Streaming Offered for an Additional Fee
-
Special Non-Profit Pricing for Venue Rental & Live Streaming!
-
Clients Work with SFHS Preferred Caterers for Food & Beverage Services
Event Production
We've partnered with Strategic Development Studios to offer the option of professional live streaming, to broadcast to an online audience of unlimited participants. Clients receive an edited video of their event.
Production at a glance:
-
Professional multi-camera production with operators and on-site director
-
An on-site producer who manages camera feeds, audio system, live streaming protocols, in-house projector, and more
-
Advanced audio and microphone systems to ensure sound clarity
-
Production of marketing assets, such as an event video trailer, to help the client promote their event
-
Fundraising expertise to help non-profit organizations exceed event goals
-
Post-production services to deliver a final film to the client
Museum and Mint Background
The Museum of San Francisco is located in the heart of the city’s Financial District at 608 Commercial Street, on the site of the first branch mint in the West (1854–1877). The U.S. Government purchased the building from a private assay and smelting operation to handle the massive amount of gold coming in from mines during the Gold Rush. It became a subtreasury in 1877, when coin minting moved to the second SF mint at 5th and Mission Streets.
The subtreasury’s main floor and the underground brick vault survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, saving more than 13 million dollars worth of silver and gold. the 1906 earthquake and fire, the main floor and the brick vault underground survived the inferno and saved more than 13 million dollars in silver and gold.
The district surrounding Commercial Street has served as the core of San Francisco’s business sector since the Gold Rush. Commercial Street is also the site of the Long Wharf, also called the Central Wharf, which housed dozens of Gold Rush-era ships and served as the main unloading station for goods coming by ship into San Francisco.
The building that houses the San Francisco Historical Society Museum is both a city and a state historic landmark. It is situated where Chinatown, North Beach, the Barbary Coast, and the Financial District converge. Many other historic landmarks exist nearby, including the site of the Hudson Bay Trading Company, the Pony Express office, the first Wells Fargo Bank, Domenico Ghirardelli’s chocolate factory, the What-Cheer House (California’s first free public library and museum), and the U.S. Customs House. The central gathering place for early San Franciscans, Yerba Buena Plaza, now known as Portsmouth Square, is just around the corner from us. The plaza has served as San Francisco’s main assembly area since the days of Mexican rule.