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All 792 San Francisco Attractions »

Contemporary Jewish Museum

736 Mission Street (between Third and Fourth streets), San Francisco, CA 94105
415-655-7800
Ranked #112 of 347 attractions in San Francisco
3.5 of 5 stars 24 Reviews
Type: Speciality Museums
Description: This museum houses fascinating and sometimes controversial exhibits on Jewish history and culture.
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24 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
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    10
    3
    3
    1
Date Rating
New Haven, Connecticut
Contributor
15 reviews 15 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
8 helpful votes 8 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 25 May 2012 NEW

This small museum was close to our hotel. It gave us several fun hours of touring and a lovely lunch. There was an exhibit providing a insightful history of San Francisco as well as another exhibit with some great music highlighting Black- Jewish connections. More

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New York City, New York
Contributor
19 reviews 19 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
13 helpful votes 13 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 23 April 2012

Fascinating place. Makes very interesting connections and presents them in a fun, light way. Interesting how they integrated the Daniel Liebeskind annex. Not preachy. Just informative, beautiful - & fun!! Didn't expect it to be so provocative - & glad I was talked into going. Now, I would recommend it unhesitatingly. GO - you'll like it!! More

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See 3 more reviews by cej18 for San Francisco
San Diego, California
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 2 cities Reviews in 2 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 March 2012

went on the architecture tour. Even though it is rather modern for my taste, the guide gave a great summary of the history of the building and the renovation by the architect Daniel Liebeskind. Liked the exhibits, apparently they change often. The one on black singers and Jewish songs was educational and enjoyable. More

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Livermore, California
Contributor
13 reviews 13 reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
62 helpful votes 62 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 20 February 2012

Several friends and I visited the Contemporary Jewish Museum the first Tuesday in February, which is a free admission day. Otherwise, admission is about $10 for seniors. It is easy to access from a BART train station approximately 2-3 blocks. When we visited they were giving tours of a special exhibit depicting the Jewish influence in San Francisco dating from... More

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San Francisco
Senior Contributor
47 reviews 47 reviews
Reviews in 21 cities Reviews in 21 cities
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 15 January 2012

We really enjoyed the mixed media exhibition about HOudini. Movies, art and artefacts. We especially enjoyed the large mystery picture with thousands of onlookers and the water torture part. Also the Black Sabbath Jazz/music listening devices and material. This is a nice neighborhood to hang out, with benches and parks nearby. Parking at the Jesse garage is easy and less... More

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See 2 more reviews by sherlock1954 for San Francisco
Modesto, California
Senior Contributor
43 reviews 43 reviews
Reviews in 16 cities Reviews in 16 cities
15 helpful votes 15 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 10 January 2012

I've been twice and both times in the non-member line was ignored. This has never happened at any other museum I've visited. The building is very unique and interesting both inside and outside. Security is stringent, but I don't blame any institution for that nowadays. I went to the Stein exhibit awhile back and yesterday to the Houdini exhibit. The... More

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See 13 more reviews by RDHOnTheGo for San Francisco
Lafayette, California
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 8 January 2012

We just went to the Houdini exhibit which in itself was interesting but the museum needs help from the bag check to the cashier to the cafe. Very slow and unorganized. The American Box cafe was the worst we have ever experienced in a museum. Very short staffed, tables never wiped down, long lines to order, ran out of water,... More

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Key West, Florida
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews 10 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 January 2012

We were not only impressed by the exhibit and the fantastic display but the organization was by far supreme. We attended Christmas Day as we were in town visiting family and the exhibit was FREE. This also included a free coat check. We were met at each station with hand outs and helpful courteous staff. We were simply amazed at... More

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See 3 more reviews by kwartist for San Francisco
ocean,nj
Contributor
17 reviews 17 reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 15 December 2011

Some very interesting history of Jewish settlement in California, showing family life and development of the different communities. More

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Sacramento, California
Senior Contributor
30 reviews 30 reviews
Reviews in 18 cities Reviews in 18 cities
32 helpful votes 32 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 December 2011

I went to the Contemporary Jewish Museum at 736 Mission Blvd between 3rd and 4th to see the Harry Houdini exhibit, along with an exhibit on the California Jewish presence since 1849. Both exhibits were short but informative, with lots of photos. Houdini’s had a couple movies that he had parts in, plus some of his filmed public escapes. quick... More

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See 6 more reviews by spunkykvf for San Francisco

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