San Francisco MOMA (Museum)

Tickets to the San Francisco, California Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) can be purchased outside the building on the sidewalk. Once inside, make your way left back side to access the elevators. 5 floors are all worth exploring; it’s recommended to start at the top and work your way down. Every floor but the 3rd floor has restrooms. When you first walk into MOMA on your right will be an information booth but in almost every room are helpful employees of the museum. The MOMA is very sensitive to people with various disabilities and has a number of programs and services to make one’s visit more comfortable and accessible.

There is a wide range of Modern & Contemporary Art from MOMA’s permanent collection and exhibitions. You can expect to find many paintings, lithographs, statues, and works that combine several media. There is a big selection of contemporary art, some off the wall, like a plastic statue of a man’s upper torso with fake hair on the chest sitting on a whiteboard. However, with so much to see, you can bypass what doesn’t interest you.

The MOMA has quite the extensive Photography Collection, which is spread out between the 2nd and 3rd floors. The museum began acquiring modern and contemporary photography in 1930 and today consists of over 25,000 pieces Like the rest of the museum, MOMA has a permanent collection of photography but also displays new exhibits. A number of the photographs have some California history references.

The Rooftop Garden has a number of statutes in and outside that are a part of the permanent collection of the MOMA but there are also special exhibitions held in this area. In addition, The Rooftop Coffee Bar serves satisfying coffee and tea beverages as well as various pastries (see menu). Though this area is called a garden, it is entirely paved and easily accessed by a wheelchair user. Besides the Rooftop Coffee Bar wheelchair users also has access to the cafe on the first floor, called Caffe Museo, with an Italian-inspired menu as well as indoor and patio seating.

There is a parking garage nearby that charges an hourly or day rate. However, there are meter spots all over the city, so I suggest you find one and walk to MOMA. The streets in San Francisco are one-way most of the time so be aware of that and rarely can you make a left turn. If not driving, a great alternative is the BART system. By getting off at either Powell or Montgomery Street will put you at a short distance to the museum.