The de Young and Its Disappearing Building

The de Young and Its Disappearing Building

Herzog & de Meuron rebuilt the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park in 2005 with a copper-clad exterior designed to oxidize and slowly turn the same green as the park's eucalyptus. The building is its own longest-running exhibit — currently somewhere between bronze and verdigris.

Inside: American art from colonial to contemporary, strong Pacific Island and African collections, Oceanic galleries with war canoes and ancestor figures connecting SF to its Pacific identity. The Hamon Observation Tower is free even without admission — ninth-floor view over the park, Sutro Tower, the Pacific beyond the dunes. On clear days the Farallon Islands appear 30 miles out.

The sculpture garden between the de Young and the California Academy of Sciences is the part most people walk through without stopping. Sit on the bench near the Calder mobile while fog rolls through the treetops. Ten minutes of free meditation.