Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The California Historical Society 5 (678 Mission St., at 3rd; % 415/
357-1848; www.calhist.org; Wed-Sat noon-4:30pm; $3) maintains a col-
lection of some half a million photographs, books, and paintings concern-
ing the state's complicated history. There's also a well-respected library,
the Kemble Collections, devoted to the history of printing; its star hold-
ing is the Taylor & Taylor Archive, one of the world's two most complete
archives of a printing office. Obviously, it's for font nuts.
The famous Sierra Club, the century-plus-old society dedicated to the
preservation of America's natural treasures, maintains a library of its
archive material, the William E. Colby Memorial Library (85 2nd St., 2nd
Floor; % 415/977-5506; www.sierraclub.org/library). Probably the most
interesting holdings are the 20,000 photographs—many were taken on
trips in the early 1900s, and some are more modern masterpieces by Ansel
Adams.
The Museum of Performance and Design (401 Van Ness Ave., 4th Floor,
at McAllister; % 415/255-4800; www.sfpalm.org; Tues-Sat noon-5pm) was
being renovated at press time. But its previous incarnation had a top rep-
utation as a repository for artifacts of theatrical history, and it booked
several themed exhibitions a year. The library includes a 60,000-piece
sheet-music collection and a 10,000-item musical-theater collection.
Because so much of theatrical history dovetails with general American
history, it's a fairly fascinating place to explore for 30 minutes or so.
The Chinese Historical Society of America Museum and Learning
Center (965 Clay St., at Joice; % 415/391-1188; www.chsa.org; Tues-Fri
noon-5pm, Sat 11am-4pm; $3 adults, $2 seniors and students, $1 kids
6-17) takes a long look at the establishment of Chinese people in the
Americas, starting in the 1600s and focusing on their contributions to
recent national history and to recent struggles for equality.
See also the Mechanics Institute (p. 136).
populations are active and long-established. The churches in this city are also big
on something that Jesus himself was big on: mercy, diversity, and non-judgmen-
talism, which makes visiting them not just easy, but also encouraged by the local
congregations. Of course, there are lots of houses of worship where the congrega-
tion would be glad to welcome you, but these are among the most notable or
unforgettable.
When you first walk into the sanctuary of Glide Memorial Church (330 Ellis
St., at Taylor; % 415/674-6000; www.glide.org), the first thing you'll notice—
other than the fact that about three different people will have warmly welcomed
you—is the big, blank white wall above the altar. That's because back in the
1960s, when the church's legendary pastor, Texas-born Cecil Williams, took over
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