A few weekends ago, I was lucky to get a preview of San Francisco’s new Academy of Sciences complex in Golden Gate Park. The area has a lot of memories for me as I used to go there as a child many years ago. It was a magical yet historic place with beautiful older architecture that packed all sorts of displays (from the Morrison Planetarium, to the Kimball Natural History Museum to Steinhart Aquarium). I remember well the alligator pit as well as the two-headed gopher snake that excited kids of all ages.
Originally established in 1853, the Academy is one of the 10th largest natural history museums in the world. According to Wikipedia, the Academy was founded only 3 years after California joined the United States and was the first society of its kind in the Western US. The first official museum opened in 1874 and it was moved to Golden Gate Park in 1916 after the original site was impacted by the 1906 Earthquake. Various building were added over time to make it what came to be a monument in San Francisco. The building (see picture to the left) was damaged again in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and parts were closed down. After inspection, it was decided that it would be more expensive to retrofit than to rebuild and thus started the mammoth process that brought about today’s structure.
I personally did not follow the construction of the new facility and had no expectations on what the design would hold. However, I did have my memories and hoped that what ever the architects had decided to do would not ruin those images in my mind.
Unfortunately, what I eventually saw with the Charter Member Preview was quite different than what I had envisioned. Now don’t get me wrong, it is an amazing work of engineering and is elegant in its own ways. And, it is a work that does reflect our modern times and concerns over energy and the environment. I DO recommend that you see it and experience it. I think that I need to go back again (and will do so) once the “dust settles.” What follows are some pictures that I took of the Academy and some of the surrounding Museums to provide some perspective.
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