Flowers in Your Hair: The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco

City by the Bay, Land of Hippies, the place where they riot when their baseball team wins ... San Francisco is known for all those things (and more!) today.  But for those of use who have never lived there, the city's past is probably murky.  So if you've ever wanted to know what events led to the San Francisco that we know today, the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco wants to enlighten you.

The Museum is laid out in 68 exhibitions that cover every subject you can possibly think of and go back as far as the 18th century.  Within each exhibition are a number of articles, some accompanied by a few images, that cover different aspects of San Francisco's history.  These articles are written by scholars or knowledgeable hobbyists or are sources from the past, transcribed online so we can get a first-hand account from the people who lived through each era.

All of this information creates a vast, well-documented history of the city of San Francisco, and I'm guessing that there's not one question you might have that can't be answered by this museum.  I'm especially impressed that historical documents are woven in with the scholarly articles to give a multi-faceted perspective of the city's history.

But this is a format better suited to a book, not a museum.  After all, a museum isn't a lecture, it's an experience.  There is way too much text and not enough images (or other supporting items) to be of interest to the average visitor.  I wish this wasn't the case, because there is so much to be learned here, but the fact is that only the most curious would be able to stay on the museum's website for long.


The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
Mission:  To bring the fabled history of San Francisco into the light of historical accuracy.
Website:  www.sfmuseum.org