15 Things You Didn't Know About the de Young Museum

The San Francisco-based institution has much more of a history than you realize.

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Complex Original

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San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is home to many things, but the best among them may be the de Young Museum. Also known as the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, the institution has a range of collections and galleries, including American art from the 17th through the 21st centuries (over 1,000 paintings, 800 sculptures, and 3,000 decorative arts objects). In 2011, it boasted over 1,344,112 visitors. 

Whether you've had a chance to visit or not, get to know this museum that's a lowkey masterpiece in its own right.

15 Things You Didn't Know About the de Young Museum

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The entrance to the 2005 de Young Museum building features sphinx sculptures from the original 19th century museum.

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Jacques Herzog, one of the architects responsible for the design of the museum, is quoted saying that the corrosion of the copper exterior is supposed to "express the fact of change."

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When the copper exterior was first installed, it was reflective and shiny. Its current appearance is intentional and due to prolonged exposure to the elements.

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150 public meetings were held concerning the design and construction of the museum, involving the public in the construction of the private museum.

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The seats of the auditorium in the de Young museum are made with leather from old baseball gloves.

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Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron designed the de Young museum building in 2005. They are also responsible for the design of the Tate Modern in London.

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Following extensive damage to the 20th-century de Young building, the 2005 structure was designed to shift horizontally up to 3 feet during an earthquake.

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The observation tower of the museum is 144-feet tall and offers a 360-degree view of San Francisco.

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The floor and ceiling of the galleries are covered in eucalyptus wood as an homage to the eucalyptus trees that grow around the museum.

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The architects of the de Young Museum, Herzog and De Meuron, were inspired by a collapsed windmill made out of wood and copper that they saw on a walk at Ocean Beach.

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The de Young Museum is San Francisco's oldest public museum, having opened in 1895.

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The exterior of the museum, which is covered with copper, is designed to eventually oxidize and take on a green color, to mirror the surrounding eucalyptus trees.

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The de Young Museum is the most visited museum west of Mississippi.

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The de Young Museum building was constructed from 5,122 tons of structural steel.

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