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California Historical Society Review

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California Historical Society

Address: 678 Mission St., SoMa, San Francisco, CA | Map It
Phone: 415/357-1848
www.californiahistoricalsociety.org

Category: Libraries
Location: SoMa

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Fodor's Review:

If you're not a history buff, the CHS might seem like an obvious skip—who wants to look at fading old photographs and musty artifacts? If the answer is an indignant "I do!" or if you're just curious, these airy galleries are well worth a stop. A rotating selection draws from the society's vast repository of Californiana—hundreds of thousands of photographs, publications, paintings, and gold-rush paraphernalia. The Living New Deal Project, coming in 2008, will include at least one special exhibit about Depression-era recovery programs. Many of the city's best-loved buildings (Coit Tower, the Beach Chalet) are adorned with WPA-era art, and the Bay Bridge itself was a New Deal project. From out front, take a look across the street: this is the best view of MoAD's three-story photo mosaic.

Cost: $3
Open: Wed.-Sat. noon-4:30; galleries close between exhibitions

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