Asian Art Museum and San Francisco Car Rentals
Located on 200 Larking Street in San Francisco the Asian Art Museum is one of the largest museums in the United States focusing solely on Asian art. You will want to spend several hours here with your San Francisco car rentals so make sure you plan ahead.
The beginning
It all began with Chicago industrialist Avery Brundage in 1959 when he decided to donate a part of his large collection of Asian art to San Francisco on the condition that the city build a new museum to house it. A new facility, the Golden Gate Park was completed in 1996, and the facility officially opened on June 10, 1966. In the following decade, Avery Brundage continued to collect, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. Upon his death in 1975 he bequeathed his remaining Asian art museum to the art museum, making the collection one of the greatest in America. In total, Avery Brundage donated more than 7, 700 Asian art objects to the city of San Francisco. When you travel with your San Francisco car rentals today you will find that the Asian Art Museum contains a collection of more than 17, 000 objects.
Going bigger and better
As the Asian Art Museum collection continued to grow, the need for a larger space was apparent. The city of San Francisco offered the citys former Main Library to the museum after it was obvious that the museum was library relocating to a new space. In 1987, the city of San Francisco approved the plan to revitalize the Civic Center. The Golden Gate Park facility stayed open until October 7, 2001 until it moved to its current Civic Center location on March 20, 2003.
Helping hands
The Asian Art Museums new facility was designed by renowned Italian architect Gae Aulenti, her award-winning projects include the Muse dOrsay in Paris, which was created from an enormous railway station built in 1900; the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, adapted within the framework of an 18th century Venetian palace; and the National Museum of Catalan Art in Barcelona, the former National Palace built in 1929 for an international exposition.
Discovering Asias history
See over 2500 displays in the Asian Art Museums permanent gallery when you visit with your San Francisco car rentals. Located on the 2nd and 3rd floor artworks on display include South Asian stone sculptures, luminous Chinese jades, vibrant Korean paintings, mystical Tibetan thangkas, serene Cambodian Buddhas, richly decorated Islamic manuscripts, and subtle Japanese ceramics. The main feature of the permanent exhibit is the worlds oldest dated Buddha (in Gallery 16). This seated Buddha can be dated back to 338.
For a better visit
You can take a free audio tour (available in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish and French) but the docents who give the tours love their subject, are well-informed, and provide an excellent introduction to the collection. The museum cafeteria is also Asia-themed and offers an excellent menu of many of Asia's most popular rice and noodle-based dishes (including salads) at very reasonable prices. Also, dont forget to drop by the museum gift shop when you travel with your San Francisco car rentals to pick up some unique gifts to bring home.
Before you go
The Asian Art Museum is open from Tuesday through Sunday 10 am to 5 pm, the museum is closed on Monday. Admission is $12 for adults, $13 for seniors, and $7 for children.
For more information when you travel to Asian Art Museum with your San Francisco car rentals visit their official website at http://www.asianart.org/ or call 415 581 3500
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