Plateau Strategy
The story
SFMOMA opened in 1935 as the first museum on the West Coast devoted to modern and contemporary art. It moved to Mario Botta's building on Third Street in 1995. A major expansion by Snøhetta opened in 2016, rising as a pale rippling wall behind the older striped brick facade.
The museum's seven floors hold painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, design and media arts. The building also offers another collection of experiences: a broad public stair, terraces, shifting daylight and framed views back into the city.
Choose one work and give it five quiet minutes before reading the label. Then use the Universal Gallery tool if you want to investigate the artist, object number or a private work that the visit brings to mind. The Golden Gate Bridge remains an optional red leg, best decided with distance, time and weather visible first.