New de Young Museum to Open Oct. 15

By Jonathan Farrell

The mysterious copper-covered structure that has been rising above the trees in Golden Gate Park over the past five years is finally completed.

The new M.H. de Young Museum will make its official debut to the public Oct. 15. Threaded throughout with a series of courtyards, the new three-level structure replaces the familiar Egyptian-style museum that was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. The new de Young is a collaboration of design and architecture between Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron and San Francisco-based Fong and Chan Architects.

The new site returns nearly 2 acres of open space back to the park. Constructed at a budget of $135 million, the spacious 293,000-square-foot building is intended to bring visitors and the landscape together in the museums interior. Over time, the new structure is supposed to blend into the natural surroundings of Golden Gate Park as its copper facade's patina changes to green.

"You might say the building itself is a work of art," said Alexandra Quinn, a de Young media representative. "The facade is intended to mimic dappled light filtering through a canopy of trees," she said.

The exterior is enriched by ribbons of windows that reflect the landscape and allow park visitors glimpses of the art within the museum. It also provides museum-goers with panoramic views of the park. A two-day preview event in August had streams of people visiting the museum non-stop. The most popular spot people visited at the preview was Hamon Tower. Long lines to the nine-story tower formed continuously.

Staff and volunteers greeted visitors and provided a docent tour highlighting specific points of interest. They also answered questions. Anne McCarthy and Tom Rogers, both visiting from the peninsula, were pleased with what they saw and raved about the tower.

"The view is panoramic. It's everything you know about the City but have not seen from that viewpoint," McCarthy said.

"There is no admission fee to walk into the museum," Quinn said. "The Sculpture Garden and the Children's Garden will also be free of charge." Admission to the galleries and exhibits, however, is not free.

"We will close for a couple of days before the 15th just to add finishing touches and to get ready," said Wendy Norris, communications officer for the de Young. Quinn pointed out that many of the familiar aspects of the old museum will return. The pool of Enchantment will return and so will the sphinxes, which were at the 1894 fair. As well, a 100-year-old palm trees have been restored.

"We will always have the classical art that people will recognize as being part of the de Young collection," said Norris. "These have to come back. These are what people remember."

But, she said, much more of the de Young collection will be able to be fully displayed at the new museum. The old building was un able to accommodate all the pieces so many were stored away for years. Now, with a new state-of-the-art museum and educational center, most of the artwork and collections will be displayed.

"Our aim is to cover a large survey of art and culture," Norris said. Established by Michael H. de Young as part of the Midwinter Fair and Exposition of 1894, the de Young museum was initially a temporary institution. Inspired by a fair and expo that Chicago had hosted a year earlier, de Young wanted to rival other existing fairs and expos held in major cities at the time.

Wanting to highlight San Francisco's mild climate and future prospects as a cosmopolitan center, the Midwinter Fair was a profitable success for de Young. During its run, it was attended by 1.3 million people.

According to historical author Mick Sinclair, "one of the popular features of the Expo was the art collection in the Egyptian-themed Fine Arts Building." When the 1894 fair ended, the museum remained.

"By 1916, de Young took responsibility for acquiring materials/artifacts for exhibits on his regular overseas trips," wrote Sinclair.

Over the decades, the museum building had many incarnations, sometimes with scaled down or very ornate appeal, but the classical pylon-style remained until 2000. Norris noted that what de Young presented to audiences in his time would not go over well today.

"What they had for the 1894 fair/expo was incorrect ethnographically," Norris said because their knowledge and representation of various peoples and places in the world were inaccurate according to today's exacting standards. The new facilities the de Young is able to host many more exhibits and truly reflect the ever-changing multi-cultural and eclectic aspects that make San Francisco unique, according to Norris.

"This is truly a blending of the old and the new," she said. "The amount of space and access for the public is so much more. One-third of the museum will be free to the public."

For more information about the de Young Museum and its exhibits and programs, visit: www.deyoungmuseum.org.