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Happy 125th Birthday De Young

Celebrate de Young’s birthday with a virtual visit and tour six of the American art galleries
By - posted 3/30/2020 No Comment

Happy birthday to de Young! The museum celebrated being open 125 years on March 25, 2020.

The museum got its start as the Fine Arts Building during the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park. After the exposition, the building was designated as a museum, the Memorial Museum, for the people of San Francisco in 1895. Best of all, it didn’t charge an admission.

It was later renamed to the de Young Museum in honor of Michael H. de Young who helped created the original exposition and served as the pioneer for its remodel after the great earthquake of 1906. Read more about its history.

Virtual Visit

Unfortunately we can’t visit the museum in person to celebrate right now, but you can explore over 200 works of art from its collection from the comfort of your home through the Google Art Project.

Through the Google Street View function, users can tour six of the American art galleries. This 3D, virtual experience is enhanced by links to object records that enable art enthusiasts to zoom in on the work of art and learn more about it from the curators via video and audio content.


Local Bay Area institutions wished a happy birthday to the de Young on Twitter.