The culture of San Francisco is major and diverse in terms of arts, music, cuisine, festivals, museums, and architecture but also is influenced heavily by Mexican culture due to its large Hispanic population, and its history as part of Spanish America and Mexico. San Francisco's diversity of cultures along with its eccentricities are so great that they have greatly influenced the country and the world at large over the years. In 2012, Bloomberg Businessweek voted San Francisco as America's Best City.San Francisco Is America's Best City in 2012 Bloomberg Businessweek. Accessed January 16, 2013.
Museums
The Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) contains 20th Century and contemporary pieces. It moved to its building in South of Market in 1995 and attracts 600,000 visitors annually. Corporate Sponsorship (SFMOMA Facts and Audience) San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Accessed September 1, 2006. The California Palace of the Legion of Honor contains primarily European works. The de Young Museum and the Asian Art Museum have significant anthropological and non-European holdings.
The Palace of Fine Arts, a remnant of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, used to house the Exploratorium, a popular science museum dedicated to teaching through hands-on interaction, which moved to a new location on the Embarcadero in 2013. The California Academy of Sciences is a natural history museum and hosts the Morrison Planetarium and Steinhart Aquarium. The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco has one of the most comprehensive collections of Asian art in the world. From 1958 until 2003 the collection was housed in a wing of the original de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. When the de Young closed while constructing a new building, the Asian Art Museum moved to the former San Francisco City Library building, which was renovated for the purpose under the direction of Italian architect Gae Aulenti who had previously overseen the conversion of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.
The San Francisco Zoo cares for a total of about 250 animal species, 39 of which have been deemed endangered or threatened.About the Zoo: Media Center (Press Kit) San Francisco Zoo. Accessed September 3, 2006.
Other museums include the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Museum of Craft & Folk Art, the Cartoon Art Museum, and the Mexican Museum. Some "offbeat" museums and galleries dealing in unconventional topics include the Antique Vibrator Museum, the Musée Mécanique (dedicated to penny arcade machines), the Museum of Ophthalmology, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, the Stamp Francisco/Stamp Art Gallery (rubber stamps not postal stamps), the Tattoo Art Museum (old tattoo machines and instruments), the UFO, Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster Museum, and the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf.
Music and nightlife
Classical and opera venues in San Francisco include the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Ballet. They all perform at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. San Francisco's Ballet and Opera are some of the oldest continuing performing arts companies in the United States. San Francisco is the birthplace and home city of the vocal ensemble Chanticleer. The city is also home to the American Conservatory Theater, also known as A.C.T., which has been routinely staging original productions since its arrival in San Francisco in 1967. Additionally, the New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC) is known for being an intimate theater that routinely stages original productions by the local, national, and international LGBTQIA+ community. Hundreds of smaller, alternative theatres also attract a significant portion of the audience given their historical role in the San Francisco performing arts culture. The oldest of these are Intersection for the Arts, founded in 1965, and the Magic Theatre, founded in 1967. A major player in the promotion of theater in the Bay Area is Theatre Bay Area (or TBA). A non profit organization, Theatre Bay Area has members from more than 365 Bay Area theatre and dance companies, is the publisher of Callboard Magazine, and runs San Francisco's Half-Priced Ticket Booth.
The Fillmore is a music venue located in the Western Addition. It is the second incarnation of the historic venue that gained fame in the 1960s under concert promoter Bill Graham, housing the stage where now-famous musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and Jefferson Airplane first performed, fostering the San Francisco Sound. Beach Blanket Babylon was a zany musical revue and a civic institution that performed to sold-out crowds in North Beach from 1974—2019. In its former location, the Club Fugazi, now resides Dear San Francisco, a revue featuring acrobatics, choreography, spoken word, video projections, shadow play, and original music, focused on the emotional impact and the myths of San Francisco. Bimbo's 365 Club, in North Beach, is one of the city's oldest entertainment venues and plays host to music shows of all genres. Most nightclubs in San Francisco are exclusive to audiences age 21 and older; the two most prominent nightclubs in the city which are open to ages 18 and older are 715 Harrison (known locally by its two event names Club X and City Nights) as well as DNA Lounge. The Independent on Divisadero Street offers all-ages shows as well as 18+ and 21+ shows. Nightlife venues occasionally have a strong affiliation with a certain theme or culture, such as 1015 Folsom, which has a history with BDSM culture, or Temple, noted for its futurism and energy-generating dance floor.
Additionally, San Francisco is home to the 200-member San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the world's first openly gay chorus, as well as the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band. Two additional gay choruses, the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco and Golden Gate Men's Chorus,Golden Gate Men's Chorus. GGMC. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. also perform throughout the year.
Theater
San Francisco has a large number of theaters and live performance venues. Local theater companies have been noted for risk taking and innovation,Liang, Evelyn. "Stage Left: San Francisco's Theater History. 7x7 as documented in the film Stage Left: A Story of Theater in San Francisco. The Tony Award-winning non-profit American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a member of the national League of Resident Theatres, and has been in San Francisco since it moved from Pittsburgh in 1967. Other local winners of the Regional Theatre Tony Award include the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and Berkeley Rep in nearby Berkeley.Jones, Chad. "Tonys By the Bay". Theatre Bay Area Magazine, May/June 2014. The Magic Theatre was the home theater of the playwright Sam Shepard during his most productive period, and many of his plays were first staged there. San Francisco-based SHN hosts productions of Broadway shows in its vintage 1920s-era venues in the Theater District: the Curran, Orpheum, and Golden Gate Theatres.
San Francisco has had a thriving improv theatre community, with a distinctly different style of improv than much of the rest of the country. Unlike Chicago where one venue will host three 30–45 minute shows in one evening, most San Francisco improv shows are 2 hours long, complete with their own intermission. And while Chicago and New York are full of improv companies who perform formats based on the Harold (with multiple storylines going on at the same time), San Francisco is full of improv shows with single-story formats. Often referred to as play-length improv shows, these improv shows are rooted in the idea that if someone can perform something scripted (like a play, movie, or musical) then it can also be improvised just as well. Some groups that define the improvisation scene in San Francisco are: BATS Improv, The Un-Scripted Theater Company, and The San Francisco Improv Alliance.
San Francisco theaters frequently host pre-Broadway engagements and tryout runs, and some original San Francisco productions have later moved to Broadway.Tonys by the Bay. Theatre Bay Area (2014-06-02). Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Plays and productions that have been staged in San Francisco (or nearby) prior to their Broadway productions include the following: A Chorus Line (revival) at the Curran Theatre (2006)A Chorus Line (Broadway Revival, 2006). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Ain't Too Proud at Berkeley Rep (2017) Amélie at Berkeley Rep (2015) American Idiot at Berkeley Rep (2009)American Idiot (World Premiere, 2009). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Angels in America: Millennium Approaches at the Eureka Theatre (1991) Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Curran Theatre (2013)Beautiful (Original Broadway Production, 2014). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Biloxi Blues at the Curran Theatre (1985) The Boys in the Band at Theatre Rhinoceros (1990) Brighton Beach Memoirs at the Curran Theatre (1983) Bring It On the Musical at the Orpheum Theatre (2011–2012)Bring It On - The Musical at Orpheum Theatre San Francisco, CA - tickets, information, reviews. San-francisco-theater.com (2012-01-07). Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Buried Child at the Magic Theatre (1978) Cabaret (revival) at the Golden Gate Theatre (1987)Cabaret (Pre-Broadway Revival Tour, 1987). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Carnival in Flanders at the Curran Theatre (1953)Carnival in Flanders (Original Broadway Production, 1953). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Choir Boy at the Boyer Theatre (2015)Choir Boy. Marin Theatre Company. Retrieved on 2018-11-09. Dame Edna: Back With a Vengeance at the Curran Theatre (2004)Dame Edna: Back with a Vengeance Begins Pre-Broadway Run in San Francisco Aug. 31. Playbill.com (2004-08-31). Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Defending the Caveman at The Improv San Francisco (1991)Lincoln, Ivan M.. (1997-09-07) . Deseret News. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Diversions & Delights at the Marines Memorial Theatre (1977)Diversions & Delights . Thesoundofvincentprice.com (1977-07-11). Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Evita at the Orpheum Theatre (1979)Evita (Broadway Production, 1979). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Fences at the Curran Theatre (1987)August Wilson's Fences Marin Theatre Company. Marintheatre.org. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Fool for Love at the Magic Theatre (1983) For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf at the Bacchanal Bar in Albany, California (1974) Forever Tango (1994–1996)Forever Tango . Creativetango.com (2010-06-28). Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Gigi at the Curran Theatre (1973)Gigi (Original Broadway Production, 1973). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Godspell at the Geary Theater (1972)Daily Independent Journal from San Rafael (July 19, 1972, p. 19). Retrieved on 2017-04-17. Head Over Heels at the Curran Theatre (2018) High Society at the Geary Theater (1997) Home Sweet Homer (Odyssey) at the Curran Theatre (1975). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2019-01-08. Hugh Jackman in Performance at the Curran Theatre (2011)» Broadway May Soon Host Hugh Jackman in Concert Hugh Jackman Fan . Hugh-fan.com (2011-07-08). Retrieved on 2015-10-27. In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) at Berkeley Rep (2009) Jitney at the Curran Theatre (2002) Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (revival) at the Golden Gate Theatre (1993)Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Broadway Revival, 1993). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Kismet at the Curran Theatre (1953)Kismet (Original Broadway Production, 1953). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. La Boheme (Baz Luhrmann's production) at the Curran Theatre (2002)La Bohème Opens Pre-Broadway Run in San Francisco Oct. 15. Playbill.com (2002-10-15). Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Latin History for Morons at Berkeley Rep (2016) Legally Blonde at the Golden Gate Theatre (2007)Season History 2007. Shnsf.com. Retrieved on 2015-10-27. Lennon at the Curran Theatre (2006)Lennon (Original Broadway Production, 2005). Ovrtur. Retrieved on 2015-10-27.