de Young Museum

50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Adam Douglas

Absolutely disgusting how they treat people who just want to visit a museum and look around. One particular staff was absolutely whack. He is a built black man who is probably around 6 feet. Avoid him at all costs - he will bark at you. On vacation, I was just taking a look at their summer of love just maybe around 10 minutes before their closing time. I was looking down at my camera walking into the entrance into the indoor exhibit when he yells "NO ENTRY". At first I didnt register what he was saying suprisingly but then he says it again louder. I turn around saying sorry as he just stares at me. Then a flood of people are rushed out by the same man through the doors I got kicked out of. A few seconds later he is screaming at everyone to get out of the outdoor exhibit because the gates were going to be brought down. In a flash I run out and while doing so I look back in to the staff yelling at a family who is waiting for a mother to come out of the exhibit. He continues to exclaim he doesnt care and that the mother will be escorted out through the side doors. I didnt see what happened after that but I frankly wasnt sure if I wanted to. Ironically this exhibit highlights peace and love XD. Would not recommend stepping foot on to their property unless you want to get scolded at. Possibly going to call the management but not even sure if its worth wasting my time for - I just dont want others having the same experience as mine. Thanks for reading :)

Lucky Charm

I just visited this place today with my mom, and it was an overall great place. There were lots of beautiful and winsome pieces...just exquisite. I learned about different cultures(European, African, and Native American). As being a person of color, I was being observed more than others, and the security was always following me(its not even unusual anymore). My mom had to file a complaint about one of the security guards. All he had to do was politely tell my mom to stand farther away from the picture(which had no borders around it), but no...he felt like he had to raise his voice at her, and looked like he was going to touch her. He made it seem like everybody in the entire museum had to hear what was going on..which wasnt even necessary.Supposedly, this same security guard has gotten other complaints, so I hope he gets fired. I had people follow me the whole time I was there. At the end of my day there, we went to that little workshop area, where you could design some little postcard, with anything you wanted(paint, stitch,print, etc). That was really fun. The lady there, will make a collage out of all them...I cant wait to see it. Mine is the one that says,"K-pop 4 Life". So if you go there...please design one too.

Chris Marsh

What is it with the de Young. They have bizarrely strict rules. I was there today, walking in to the outside cafe area at the side of the museum and one of the guards told me I couldnt have my young daughter (2yrs) on my shoulders in case she fell off, theyd be liable. On a separate occasion we were in really early before almost anyone else was there and my daughter sat on the steps behind where the ticket desks are. A different guard told her Id need to get her up as others could be coming down. Like I wouldnt have done that if there were others. Another occasion, yes another one, a member of staff barked at my two year old for being about a meter from one of the guard rails around a picture, even though I had my arms around her waist. Utterly bizarre over reactions on each occasion. Totally unwelcoming, really old fashioned. Most of the really good world class museums and galleries realized a few decades ago that democratizing access, creating a welcoming environment, not being stupid ass hats to guests who are t doing anything remotely wrong, is actually not only good for business but is good for arts in the society. Seems like the de young hasnt caught on yet.

Bruce

The day we came, was early in the morning and the museum wasnt open. Of course the "typical" San Francisco weather, which is the fog, was upon us but burned off by early afternoon. We have been to this particular museum in the past and have always enjoyed their displays, which changes periodically, as new artifacts or exhibits arrive into this part of the country. On one of our many visits here in the past, we got a chance to see the "Tutankhamen Exhibit," which was fascinating just to view the coffin and learn about its rich history. We walked the grounds and discovered the many plants all over this park and observed a strange plant, which had enormous leaves and started a discussion as to its origins. But, to this day, we have never answered that question. There were also a few vendors in the center of the park selling their crafts. This is a very nice park to take the family to. Parking can get overwhelming at times so I would plan according if you come here and since this museum is next to the Japanese Tea Garden and across from The California Academy of Science, by noon, this place is pretty much inundated with vehicles trying to find parking spaces.

Lauren Brissette

I really like this museum, it looks like it is smaller than it is, but once you go inside everything just opens up. Ive only been here two times so far, once for the whole museum and an exhibition and the second time for the Frank Stella and Danny Lyon exhibition. Both times I was really happy with the exhibitions and with the experience. The museum staff have all been friendly and helpful, and the exhibits much bigger than expected. Sometimes you go to an exhibit and what they have is a single room and it can be a little disappointing, however so far they really have set up each room well. I think that the snuff jars and the room with the tribal art or the African art as my favorite, I dont get to see art like that very often and they had a wide range of different art weapons, and furniture. Very large room. They have a good variety of things to see and photography as well. The museum itself is great too, with places you can sit outside and eat lunch or have some of the food trucks that they have outside. Its also near the Japanese Garden where you can walk around and take pictures. The Japanese garden isnt free but its nice to see if you havent already.

A Private User

The Tutankhamun exhibit was somewhat disappointing. Although many of the artifacts were magnificent to see -- there just werent very many in the collection. Conspicuously missing was Tuts sarcophagus which is prominently displayed in the shows advertising. The narration ($6) is good but brief, and (again) not very many items have audio commentary. Oddly, the narration mentions inscriptions on the backside of some items, but they are displayed too close to the wall to view them. The de Young museum is just a little too small for this exhibit. When we purchased our tickets we were told that the childrens audio was different (simpler) but there was no difference. It would have been nice to know that our Tut tickets were good to tour the museum also, but we did not plan for that and so we had to make do with an abbreviated visit to the observation deck and a portion of the second floor. The de Young has a reputation for textiles, but they also have a surprisingly good collection of paintings, sculpture, and historical art. The buildings exterior is shockingly ugly, but nice inside. We would like to visit the de Young again when we have more time.