"The museum offers a decade-by-decade history of the park department, from the construction of Portsmouth Square Park in the 1850s to the recent establishment of Sunset Dunes on a former stretch of the Great Highway."
"The name Commission Vault Museum is literal. The exhibit is located inside an actual vault, the kind built to store money."
"On one wall, you can see a photo of tents in Golden Gate Park, where the city's refugees flocked after the 1906 earthquake; turn to the right, and you can see an old photograph of Monarch, the grizzly bear that lived in captivity in the park until his death in 1911."
"Christopher Pollock, the department's historian-in-residence, pointed to a colorized photo of MacLaren Lodge from 1896. 'Here's the lodge we're in. It looks exactly like that,' he said."
The Commission Vault Museum, located in McLaren Lodge, highlights the history of San Francisco's Recreation and Park Department. Opened in December, it attracts 75 to 100 visitors monthly. The museum features a decade-by-decade history, showcasing archival photos and plaques. Notable exhibits include images of Portsmouth Square Park and Golden Gate Park after the 1906 earthquake. The museum is housed in an actual vault, previously used for storing cash and records, adding to its unique charm and historical significance.
Read at SFGATE
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