Do yourself a favor: Today is the California Academy of Sciences Free Day. Emphasis on day -- perfect for the funderemployed, who more than anyone deserve a day of brain-melting beauty. So ditch the gray pounding and run-run-run pace of the city, in favor of the 4-story rainforest exhibit, to... More >>

Between 1853 and 1861, Fort Point was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prevent entrance of a hostile fleet into San Francisco Bay. The fort was occupied throughout the Civil War, but the invention of faster, more powerful rifled cannons made brick forts obsolete. In 1886, the... More >>

Forty-five bird species. Fifty-two plant species. Twenty orders and 39 families of arthropods. All these have been identified at the California Academy of Sciences, but it’s probably not what you think; these life forms aren’t preserved in exhibits indoors. Rather, they inhabit the... More >>

Radical social and political upheaval in 18th century France came at a cost, and you know who suffered the most? Decorative arts enthusiasts. Aristocratic and religious privilege was replaced by Enlightenment principles, which were disastrous for collectors of diamond-and-gem snuffboxes. The... More >>

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, for all its legendary impact and influence, was an enormous gamble on the part of Walt Disney. His Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony cartoon shorts had been successful, but producing a feature was another venture entirely. The Hollywood press saw Snow White as a... More >>

This might shock you, but San Francisco has a debaucherous past. Once home to less than 500 people, as soon as James Marshall found gold in them thar hills, the population began to double every 10 days, creating a Boomtown full of saloons, sailors, slummers, and sinners. This was an era where... More >>

Anyone who has neglected to visit the California Academy of Sciences is severely missing out, and not even because of the famous undulating grassy roof. One of the first sights to greet visitors is also one of the best: the Mangrove Lagoon holds those vicious angels, the stingrays and the... More >>

Truss up your breeches for this one: The ships down at Fisherman's Wharf are well known to children and tourists, but once a month, in the dead of night, locals creep to the C.A. Thayer and the Balclutha. For 20 years, the National Parks Service has hosted the Chantey Sing on these two... More >>

Did you know that when the Golden Gate Bridge gets hot, it sits low in the saddle? Course you didn’t: You don’t have a Bridge Thermometer, which looks like one of those scenic coin-op binoculars crossed with a first-person shooter. Peer into it (no coin needed!) and it shows the... More >>