SFO Museum

In honor of our 40th anniversary, every week this year we are highlighting one of our past exhibitions. In 2014, we presented Doors: Entryways to World Cultures from the Fowler Museum at UCLA. The exhibition featured house, ceremonial, tomb, granary, and palace doors dating from the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries from countries such as Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Iran, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Suriname. Do you remember this exhibition? https://bit.ly/379tshf

Nine days after their first ever service, Pan American Airways’ first scheduled mail service departed from Key West, Florida, to Havana, Cuba, #onthisday in 1927. Pan American's first aircraft was a Fokker F-VIIa/3m. This Fokker, registration number NC 53, shown here, inaugurated Pan Am's first scheduled flight carrying airmail from the United States to Cuba. The airplane was subsequently christened the General Machado, in honor of Cuba’s president. Pan American Airways, Fo...kker Trimotor 1927 SFO Museum Collection Gift of the Captain John B. Russell Family 2012.149.0861 See more

Inspired by American folk art, quilting, and storytelling, #ClareRojas creates dreamlike images executed in tightly drawn, crystalline shapes. Rojas intends to bring a sense of warmth and comfort to the viewer, and she often changes the exhibition space to better fit the feeling of her work. Here, she transforms the wall in the International Terminal G91 gate room into space more reminiscent of home. Blue Deer is based on a children’s book Rojas wrote and illustrated, Blue Deer and Red Fox. Blue Deer by #ClareRojas is online at: https://bit.ly/2F3MPwF

#Onthisday in 1958, the first scheduled Pan American World Airways jet service took off from Idlewild, New York. Flying to Paris, Pan Am carried 111 passengers across the Atlantic. The 707 was developed by Boeing as the result of an initial 1955 request from Pan American for a large jet-powered airliner. The jet’s greater speed and higher passenger capacity enabled the airlines to substantially reduce their seat-mile costs, and thus lower ticket prices opening up air travel t...o a large percentage of the public. Have you ever flown on a Boeing 707? Pan American World Airways, Pacific-Alaska Division [digital scan] 1958 SFO Museum Collection Gift of William E. Talbott 2012.151.356

The world has lost an extraordinary man in Tom Taylor. From all those who have taken such heart in seeing the Rainbow Flag flying at Market and Castro, and all along Market Street during Pride; to those who delighted in the deliciously over-the-top holiday display at the Tom and Jerry house each Christmas; to the countless lives touched by Tom through his humor, his tireless work ethic, and his extraordinary generosity, Tom's absence from our community will be profoundly felt.... It would be difficult to find someone who did more for others without ever seeking recognition. SFO Museum remembers Mr. Taylor with great fondness and gratitude for welcoming us into his remarkable world and sharing his stories with us. Our heartfelt condolences to his husband, Dr. Jerome "Jerry" Goldstein, together since 1973, and all those in Tom's closest orbit. In honor of Tom, get up, get out, and do something for someone else today, and every day. Rest in Power Tom. See more

#OnThisDay in 1974, the Concorde landed at SFO. This brief visit was part of a promotional tour to airports around the world. The Concorde was a supersonic transport aircraft that flew primarily commercial transatlantic flights. British Airways and Air France were the two main operators of the Concorde. The inaugural Air France flight from Paris to Washington, DC on May 24, 1976, took 3 hours and 50 minutes, and a ticket cost about $8,000 in today's currency. Comparatively, a... standard direct flight from Paris to Washington took about 8 hours. The Concorde was in service between 1976 and 2003. Did you ever fly on a Concorde? British Airways brochure, Concorde c. 1980 SFO Museum Collection Gift of Thomas G. Dragges 2001.080.271

This is your last week to see Extra ’O’!: African Barbershop and Hairdressing Signs. Hand-painted barbershop and hairdressing signs are a vibrant form of African folk art in the form of advertising. Barbershops and hair salons may consist of a simple structure with a hand-painted sign nailed to its exterior. These signs are painted on wood or particle board by self-taught sign artists who work in studios or independently. Our exhibition displays a variety of colorful signs from the past forty years from West Africa and Kenya, where barbershops are called kinyozi. What is your favorite sign? See Extra ’O’! African Barbershop and Hairdressing Signs online at: http://bit.ly/Extrao

Bonnie Jones Moon worked for Pan American World Airways from 1972 to 1989. Of her time with Pan Am, she says she loved being part of a flight attendant corps that included so many smart, resourceful, funny, educated, sophisticated, dedicated, talented, and committed women and men. I felt so honored to be part of the long heritage that is Pan Am. One of her most memorable experiences included being on a flight from San Juan to New York, where a passenger, brought on a paper... bag full of crabs and they made their way out the bag during take-off. The crabs fell on the floor and started to crawl around nibbling at people’s feet as the embarrassed passenger tried to gather them all. Personal stories are treasures within our collection. We’d like to give a special Thank you! to World Wings International, Inc., an organization of former Pan Am flight attendants, for their donation in 2012 of over 500 member career history questionnaires, each of which shines a unique light on what it meant and means to be a flight attendant. Pan Am flight attendant Bonnie Jones Moon 1970s SFO Museum Collection Gift of World Wings International, Inc. 2012.155.001.483

On October 11, 2016, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ’s new air traffic control tower was officially put into operation. Standing 221 feet tall, the new tower is seismically fitted to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake and is protected against lightning strikes. The tower cab offers almost 270-degree views of the airfield. SFO’s air traffic control tower was a partnership between the FAA and the City and County of San Francisco; the City commissioned the constructi...on of the new control tower and base building began in summer 2012, with the FAA taking over in 2015, installing equipment and conducting training and testing. San Francisco International Airport (SFO), air traffic control tower 2015 SFO Museum Collection 2017.120.172

#Onthisday in 1919, KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V., or KLM Royal Dutch Airlines) was founded. The company is the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name. On May 17, 1920, KLM operated its first flight from London to Amsterdam. The airline now services over 145 destinations worldwide. Have you ever flown on KLM? KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) poster, Lockheed L-049 Constellation c. 1950 (reproduced c. 1990) SFO Museum Collection... Gift of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 1996.47.02 See more

James Chronister approached making California (1) by first hiking in the Bodega Bay area of Northern California and taking hundreds of color photos of the terrain. Back at the studio, he searched the many photos to find an image with the perfect balance of movement, rhythm, space, and an energy akin to music. Chronister then digitally changed the source photo into black and white, bumped up the contrast, and projected the image onto the canvas. Using a very small brush, he painted with black oil paint directly from the projection, and over the course of a few months, the completed landscape emerged. See California (1) by #JamesChronister online at: https://bit.ly/34gIb6S