ArtandCulture, San Francisco

The San Pedro Square Market is the Downtown San Jose meet-up place for foodies, music lovers, locally-made shop supporters, demanders of coffee perfection, history seekers, old-time barbershop hunters, social media followers, and wine and beer libation imbibers. http://www.sanpedrosquaremarket.com/about-san-pedro-square-market

The San Jose Museum of Art celebrates new ideas, stimulates creativity, and inspires connection with every visit. Welcoming and thought provoking, the Museum delights visitors with it’s surprising and playful perspective on the art and artists of our time. https://sjmusart.org/about

Located in the Downtown core with its own parking garage, the Convention Center boasts 372,754 sq. ft. of total space, is connected to two hotels, is within walking distance of 5 additional hotels, multiple visual and performing arts facilities and an abundance of restaurants. The Center and its surroundings are connected by public transportation including Light Rail, Caltrain and free Downtown shuttle and is home to popular public events like Fanime, The Silicon Valley Auto Show and the Harvest Festival. The Center also houses its own UPS store able to meet a multitude of shipping, packing, notary and printing needs Monday-Saturday. https://www.sanjose.org/listings/san-jose-mcenery-convention-center?listingtype=attraction

Sikh temple in San Jose area and one of the largest temple in California. It was founded in the Early Eighties by former President late Jit Singh Bainiwal, Teja Singh, and late Baba Pyara Singh Obhi. http://www.sanjosegurdwara.org/

The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History (SCMNH) has been connecting people to the wonders of nature for over 100 years. Located above Seabright Beach, the Museum highlights the region’s diverse plant, animal, and human communities from the shoreline of Monterey Bay to the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains. We strive to fulfil our mission to connect people to nature and inspire stewardship of the natural world through an array of educational programs and exhibits focused on the natural and cultural history of the region. http://www.santacruzmuseum.org/

The Haggin Museum, an art and history museum, has been referred to by Sunset magazine as “one of the undersung gems of California.” Its art collection features works by such noted 19th-century painters as Albert Bierstadt, Rosa Bonheur, and William-Adolphe Bouguereau, J.C. Leyendecker, as well as many other American and European artists. https://www.visitstockton.org/directory/haggin-museum/

The Bob Hope (Fox California) Theatre in Downtown Stockton, built in 1930, was one of only two "movie palaces" in the Central Valley. Today its 2,042 seats are host to year-round live theatre, musicals, concerts, family events, classic cinema and comedy. https://www.visitstockton.org/directory/bob-hope-fox-theatre/

The California Museum educates visitors on the Golden State’s history and unique influence on the world through ideas, innovation, the arts and culture. Through interactive exhibits and engaging programs, the Museum inspires visitors to make their own mark on history. http://www.californiamuseum.org/

First opened to the public in 1976, the California State Railroad Museum complex is one of Sacramento’s largest and most popular visitor destinations. Over 500,000 visit the Museum annually, with guests traveling from throughout the world to experience this world-renowned facility. https://www.californiarailroad.museum/visit

Exploring some of the unique artifacts from Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park is just a click away! Our online exhibit highlights the reconstruction of Sutter's Fort in the 1890s and explains how the Fort's collection of pioneer and early California artifacts was formed. https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=485

Authentic 6.5-acre Japanese Garden created by Dr. Koichi Kawana to provide beauty, relaxation, inspiration and a better understanding of Japanese culture using reclaimed water. https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/what-to-do/activities/japanese-garden

A visit to the Getty Villa offers an experience of ancient Greek and Roman art in a setting that recreates a first-century Roman villa. Home to the J. Paul Getty Museum antiquities collection, the two-floor museum displays art that spans the 7,000 years from the end of the Stone Age to the fall of the Roman empire. The presentation of the collection focuses on the development of art among the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean. Visitors are invited to explore how and why the styles, subjects, and ways of making art resemble each other and differ across cultures and times. The Getty Villa has four gardens that blend Roman architecture with open air spaces and Mediterranean plants. In ancient times, gardens served both practical and aesthetic purposes at Roman country homes. They let fresh air and light enter the home, and also acted as gathering places to have conversations or to escape the heat. https://www.getty.edu/visit/villa/

Looking for a picture-perfect view of the Sign? For many visitors to Los Angeles, there is no more coveted photo than a shot of the world famous Sign. Though it is visible from all over the city from its lofty perch on Mt. Lee, it can actually be surprisingly difficult to get a well-angled shot. Stunning views of the Hollywood Sign unfold at your own pace on hiking trails that meander through the rolling chaparral of the Santa Monica Mountains. Trails originally blazed by paws, hooves, and yucca-thatched moccasins now connect us to cultural as well as natural wonders. The western frontier of Griffith Park offers hikers amazingly close encounters with the Sign, which is off-limits to human hands, just below the ridgeline at the 1,708-foot summit of Mt. Lee. On the longest hike, you can ascend above and behind the Sign’s 45-foot-tall aluminum letters, where you look out over a windswept vista encompassing the DOOWYLLOH sign, the dreamy towers of downtown Los Angeles, and, on a clear day, the ageless blue Pacific. https://hollywoodsign.org/seeing-the-sign/

Gone are the glory days of the Wild West, but you can still get in on the action at the Autry Museum of the American West. Just across from the entrance to the L.A. Zoo in Griffith Park, you’ll find this 3,345 sqm complex with over 500,000 works of art and artifacts from the American frontier. Co-founded by musical western star Gene Autry in 1988, it’s natural that the museum would dedicate space to cool Western film memorabilia, from the pistols used by Steve McQueen to costumes from 2005’s Brokeback Mountain. There’s even a replica movie set of an Old Western town with storefronts. (Little-known fact: The first-ever feature-length movie filmed in Hollywood was a Western—the 1914 silent film The Squaw Man, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The camera used to film it is here, too.) A bronze statue of “the singing cowboy” Autry greets you at the entrance, but the museum covers much more than just Hollywood gunslingers—you’ll learn all about the real Old West, too. You’ll find engraved golden pistols given to Annie Oakley by her husband Frank Butler. There’s an extensive saddle display, a mail stage coach from 1855, Smith & Wesson revolvers, pioneer portraits, cowboy hats, buckskin jackets—even a saloon with a mahogany bar and roulette wheel. https://www.visitcalifornia.com/au/attraction/autry-museum-american-west

One of the world's most iconic cinemas, the TCL Chinese Theatre opened as Grauman's Chinese Theatre on May 18, 1927, with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings. Thousands of people lined Hollywood Boulevard for the theatre’s grand opening. The theatre opened to the public the following day, on May 19. The Hollywood landmark has hosted many movie premieres since then, as well as three Academy Award ceremonies and numerous events. The TCL Chinese Theatre boasts the single largest IMAX auditorium in the world, and the third largest commercial movie screen in North America. The theatre welcomes more than four million visitors from around the world every year. Besides its Chinese design, the theatre’s most distinct feature is the famous Forecourt of the Stars, with nearly 200 celebrity handprints, footprints, and autographs immortalized in the concrete. Visitors can literally touch Hollywood history, from Marilyn Monroe to Tom Hanks, Betty Grable’s legs, Jimmy Durante’s nose, and the magic wands of Harry Potter’s heroic trio. While the origin stories vary, the theatre's official account in its books and souvenir programs credits actress Norma Talmadge for inspiring the tradition when she accidentally stepped into wet concrete. Sid Grauman himself claimed in a radio interview that he came up with the idea when he stepped in soft concrete - his autograph and handprint, dated 1927, remain today. https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/blog/tcl-chinese-theatre-hollywood

The world’s most famous sidewalk boasts 2,500 stars and counting! When you’re in Tinseltown, posing with a sidewalk star along the Hollywood Walk of Fame is practically a rite of passage—and it’s also one of the city’s most beloved free attractions. Honoring luminaries in motion pictures, television, radio, live theatre, and recording since 1960, the famous sidewalk includes both sides of Hollywood Boulevard from Gower to La Brea, plus both sides of Vine Street from Yucca to Sunset. The handsome terrazzo-and-brass stars (each costs about $30,000 to install and maintain) are unveiled at free public ceremonies, which are often attended by honorees and their celebrity entourages—a great way to see stars if that’s one of your Hollywood goals (and isn’t it everyone’s?). And don’t think this is about honoring has-beens or where-are-they-nows: Getting a star is still considered an honor, with an impressive roster of recent honorees (Javier Bardem, Viola Davis, James Franco, Kevin Spacey, to name a few). Want to find a particular star? Use the Walk of Fame’s online Star Search tool to send you to the location for your dream photo op. http://www.visitcalifornia.com/attraction/hollywood-walk-fame

Today LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection of over 135,000 objects that illuminate 6,000 years of art history from new and unexpected points of view. A museum of international stature as well as a vital cultural center for Southern California, LACMA shares its vast collection with the Greater Los Angeles County and beyond through exhibitions, public programs, and research facilities that attract over 1.5 million visitors annually, in addition to serving millions more through community partnerships, school outreach programs, and creative digital initiatives. http://www.lacma.org/

For over 50 years the Ahmanson Theatre has presented a wide variety of dramas, musicals, comedies and classic revivals. A unique, state-of-the-art reconfiguration proves a variable seating capacity from 1,600 to 2,000. It currently enjoys the largest theatrical season ticket base on the West Coast in a year-round season from early fall through late summer. https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/things-to-do/ahmanson-theatre

Music is power. And at the GRAMMY Museum you can experience that power first-hand through four floors of exciting interactive exhibits in vibrant downtown Los Angeles. On the fourth floor our touch-screen Crossroads table allows you to explore over 160 genres of music. On the third floor, you can pretend you’re a rock star in our Roland Live corner. And on the second floor you’ll find our latest special exhibit, along with our Clive Davis Theater, where both Taylor Swift and Ringo Starr have performed, plus many others. https://www.grammymuseum.org/exhibits

The Bradbury Building is the oldest commercial building remaining in the central city and one of Los Angeles’ unique treasures and make this one of downtown's most photographed icons. Built in 1893, this building’s light-filled Victorian count rises 50 feet with open-cage elevators, marble stairs and ornate iron railings. In the true spirit of Los Angeles, it has been featured in many movies, from DOA to Blade Runner. https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/bradbury-building

At the Natural History Museum discover your world past and present. Encounter dinosaurs, experience nature, explore our dioramas, marvel at one of the most impressive gem and mineral collections in the world, and learn how L.A. went from tiny pueblo to sprawling metropolis in our Becoming Los Angeles exhibit. Seasonally, take stroll through our Butterfly and Spider Pavilions, or check out one of our upcoming special exhibitions. https://nhm.org/site/

Grand Central Art Center is located on a promenade on Broadway and 2nd Street in the heart of downtown Santa Ana. The center is easily accessible through both the Interstate-5 Broadway and Main Street exits. http://www.grandcentralartcenter.com/visit-4/

For more than 60 years, the Catalina Island Museum has collected, preserved and presented the rich cultural heritage of Catalina Island for visitors from all over the world to enjoy. Located in the brand new Ada Blanche Wrigley Schreiner Building on Metropole Avenue, the Catalina Island Museum invites you to discover more than 7,000 years of Catalina history through dozens of engaging and visually exciting exhibits. Ever wondered what it's like to live on an island? Who discovered Santa Catalina Island? What rich-and-famous people have lived on Catalina throughout the decades? Catalina Island Museum’s knowledgeable staff and guides will help lead you through the unique history of our special island so you can get the most out of your visit. Attend a lecture, workshop or special event to get a personal perspective of Catalina island history. Take a piece of Catalina home with you from the Museum gift shop. Discover Catalina at the Catalina Island Museum! https://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/about-the-island/points-of-interest/catalina-island-museum/

The Heard Museum was established in 1929 by Dwight and Maie Heard and is dedicated to the portrayal of Native arts and culture. The museum has partnered with American Indian artists and tribal communities to highlight the world the art and culture of Native people. https://heard.org/

Explore on your own or join a docent-led tour for an interactive and unique adventure into the world of contemporary glass. Explanatory commentary in the form of interpretive text panels, interactive technology and gallery guides are provided to ensure your experience is meaningful and engaging. The galleries at Museum of Glass are dedicated to both temporary exhibitions, as well as works from our Permanent Collections that feature twentieth and twenty-first century glass. The exhibitions span a wide range and convey the meaning and motivations of the artists with the help of Curatorial Team of Museum. On the third Thursday of every month, Museum of Glass is open late, 5-8pm, with no admission fees. Stop in to see Hilltop Artists in the Hot Shop, explore our current exhibitions, and discover special hands-on projects in the Education Studio. https://museumofglass.org/

Altamira Fine Art specializes in the exhibition and sale of Western Contemporary artwork. The gallery offers an exciting, fresh take on life in our region, representing leading artists who are redefining the West. Genres include Modern Landscape, Abstract, Pop, Contemporary Western, Sculpture, Contemporary Native and more. http://scottsdalegalleries.com/galleries/altamira-fine-art/

The museum is owned by the City of Scottsdale and managed and operated by Scottsdale Museum of the West, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. It relies upon private support including tax-deductible contributions, memberships, exhibition and program sponsorships, and private hosting of events to fund its operation. http://scottsdalemuseumwest.org/about-us/mission/

One of the premier museums in the state! “Dinosaur Mountain” is the largest dinosaur exhibit west of the Mississippi River. See a constantly flowing 50-foot-high indoor waterfall and hear the thrilling roar of life-size, animated dinosaurs, including a saber-tooth cat and a Columbian Mammoth. http://arizonamuseumofnaturalhistory.org/plan-a-visit/mesa-grande

The Mesa Arts Center, owned and operated by the City of Mesa, is a unique, architecturally stunning, international award winning facility located in the heart of downtown Mesa. Arizona's largest arts center is home to four theaters, five art galleries, and 14 art studios. Guests, patrons, and students come to Mesa Arts Center to enjoy the finest live entertainment and performances, world-class visual art exhibitions, and outstanding arts education classes. http://www.mesaartscenter.com/index.php/visit/getting-here

The Chandler Museum campus features both locally produced and nationally travelling exhibits exploring culture, history, and art; the East Valley History Center for researchers; educational programming in the new classroom; and more. Reopened in December 2018, the new museum boasts a new 10,000 square foot facility adjacent to the historic McCullough-Price House. The modern building is the centrepiece of the new museum campus and it was designed to complement the historic house, preserving and honouring the past while representing our progress as a community with a bright future. Visitors to the Chandler Museum also can see Infinite Shade. This sculpture, by artist Jeff Zischke, functions as a shade structure for the museum’s outdoor courtyard during the day and at night it is bathed in multicoloured light. Chandler Museum is an interdisciplinary learning environment where the community comes together to share its stories, preserve its cultural heritage and experience Chandler as a people and place. The vision of the Museum is to be the community’s principal resource to explore its people’s history, culture, and their place in the rapidly changing world of today. https://www.visitchandler.com/listings/chandler-museum/261/

The Chandler Center for the Arts is a premier cultural resource that focuses on leading, advocating and advancing arts and culture in the greater Chandler area. https://www.visitchandler.com/listings/chandler-center-for-the-arts/23/

Seattle’s best view since 1914 now offers a reimagined visitor experience. Travel through fascinating exhibits that take you on a journey through Smith Tower’s storied past including a ride in the tower’s historic Otis elevator. Make your way to the top of the tower for an amazing vantage point from the Observatory, including an open-air deck with 360-degree views of Seattle and beyond. http://www.visitseattle.org/partners/smith-tower/

The tallest observatory of all is located inside the sleek Columbia Center. Head to the 73rd floor, where you’ll be treated to 360-degree views that include the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, Elliott Bay, and all of Seattle’s skyline. https://www.skyviewobservatory.com/