The California Palace of the Legion of Honor: A San Francisco Museum

The California Palace of the Legion of Honor is located in Lincoln Park in the northwest part of San Francisco. The building alone is a work of art as it's a three-quarters scale imitation of the Hotel de Salm in Paris. An interesting piece of little known history is that the Lincoln Park Golf Course that surrounds the museum was once the site of the Golden Gate Cemetery. The bodies were moved down to Colma, CA in 1908 when the cemetery was closed; however, in the 1990s when the city was doing seismic retrofitting of the surrounding park, coffins and skeletal remains were still unearthed. Very cool history for a very cool spot in the city. Also, the beautiful historic building is a popular backdrop for couples taking their engagement pictures as well as day-of pictures with their wedding party.

The name is used for both the museum building and the collection it houses. The Legion's collection spans more than 6,000 years of ancient and European art. Some of the collection highlights and my favorites are: St. John the Baptist by El Greco (1600), The Trotting Horse by Edgar Degas (1881), and Waterlilies by Claude Monet (1914). The museum has a variety of classic and innovative traveling exhibitions. I've seen a traveling exhibit of beautiful Cartier jewelry and works from the Louvre and Museum de Orsay.

Currently the Legion is showcasing Pulp Fashon: The Art of Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave. de Borchgrave creates fashion literally out of manipulating paper. The exhibition features masterpieces of intricate paper clothing inspired by early European paintings or from famous museum pieces from around the world. The exhibit is somewhat of a history of fashion from such famous individuals as the Medici family, Elizabeth I, Marie-Antoinette and Christian Dior, and Coco Chanel, to name a few. The pieces are literally amazing and its mind boggling how she was able to create these extraordinary pieces of clothing (and shoes) out of paper. The Legion is the first American museum to dedicate an entire exhibition to these works of textile art.

The exhibit costs $15 for adults, $12 seniors, $11 for kids 6-17 and college students with ID. The museum is open from 9:30am to 5:15pm and has a delicious cafe with outdoor seating.

Friday Nights at the San Francisco de Young Museum

The de Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is now open late Friday nights mid-January through November for its sixth season of the FREE Friday Nights Out. Although its not as trendy hip (and overcrowded) as the Academy of Science's Thursday night, it's a great place to spend Friday night getting a bit of education while being entertained. The museum is open until 8:45pm so don't waste your time hitting happy hour before, come after work to soak up the culture and enjoy the no-host bar with reasonable prices. Plus the cafe offers a special Friday night menu and the museum store is open late for compulsive shoppers.

The de Young is offering a wide range of activities on Friday nights from poetry readings, live bands to behind the scene tours and all the exhibits are open free to members, but at a minimal cost to non-members. In addition to entertainment for the adults in the form of booze and beats, the museum also offers crafts for kids (and their parents). The de Young Friday nights appeals to most demographics but the overall vibe was couples of all ages and young families.

Every week is different so check the de Young website calendar for the nightly theme. We had the pleasure of hitting Opera Night last Friday. This Friday, Feb 4th a selection of musicians will be playing in honor of Black History Month. And Friday, Feb 11th, the museum will be launching their new iphone app and celebrating with music and online tour of the app. Lots to choose from, so get your culture on and visit the de Young on Friday nights!