| San Francisco has been characterized by a high | | | | Francisco often hosts national touring productions of |
| standard of living. The downtown has seen a | | | | Broadway theatre shows in a number of year |
| renaissance driven by redevelopment of the | | | | 1920s-era venues in the "Theater District" including the |
| Embarcadero, with the strong neighborhoods South | | | | "Curran", "Orpheum", and in "Golden Gate Theatres". |
| Beach and Mission Bay. Boutiques along Fillmore Street | | | | Museums |
| in Pacific Heights are centralized by commerce and | | | | The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art |
| shopping districts downtown, with the Financial District | | | | (SFMOMA) has 20th Century contemporary pieces. It |
| and the area around Union Square, are very | | | | moved to iconic building in South of Market during 1995 |
| well-known. | | | | and attracted 600,000 people annually. The "Palace of |
| Performing arts | | | | the Legion of Honor" has primary works done by |
| San Francisco's "War Memorial" and the "Performing | | | | Europeans. The "De Young Museum" and the "Asian |
| Arts Center" features some of the longest running and | | | | Art Museum" have a significant anthropological and |
| performing arts companies throughout the United | | | | non-European holding. |
| States. The "War Memorial Opera House" houses the | | | | The "Palace of Fine Arts", was originally built for the |
| "San Francisco Opera" and "San Francisco Ballet", | | | | 1915 "Panama-Pacific Exposition", now houses the |
| where as the "San Francisco Symphony" is played in | | | | "Exploratorium", a popular science museum devoted to |
| Davies Symphony Hall. The "Herbst Theatre stages" | | | | teaching through hands-on-hands interaction. The |
| an eclectic mix of real music performances, plus public | | | | "California Academy of Sciences" is a natural history |
| radio's "City Arts & Lectures". | | | | museum, which hosts the "Morrison Planetarium" and |
| The "Fillmore" is a music venue located in the Western | | | | "Steinhart Aquarium". The "San Francisco Zoo" cares |
| Addition. It is the second incarnation of a venue that | | | | for about 250 animal pet's species out of which 39 |
| gained fame in the 1960s. Beach "Blanket Babylon" is a | | | | have been deemed endangered or threatened. |
| zany musical revue and also a civic institution. San | | | | |