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Named for M. H. de Young, the San Francisco newspaper magnate, the De Young Museum is a fine arts museum that was opened in January 1921. Its original building, the Fine Arts Building, was part of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition, of which Mr. de Young was the director. The Fine Arts Building featured several artists, twenty-eight of which were female. One of these revolutionaries was Helen Hyde, who is featured in the De Young Museum today. Once the fair ended, the Egyptian-styled building remained open, at this point “brimful and running over with art.” Most of these pieces were paintings and sculptures purchased by De Young himself, and others were donations of household antiques from the older community, which were “more sentimental than artistic” . By 1916, the Fine Arts Building’s collection had accumulated to 1,000,000 items, and the overflow made it appear that a more suitable museum may need to be constructed.

Construction to build a new museum began in 1917. With funds donated by De Young, and Louis Mullgardt as head architect, the De Young Museum was completed in 1921 in a “sixteenth century Spanish Renaissance design, with pale salmon colored facades that were burdened with rococo ornamentation.” At its center was a 134-foot tower from which its wings extended. At the entrance was the Pool of Enchantment, which consisted of the sculptured Indian boys created by M. Earl Cummings. The museum contained four wings: the East Wing (featuring ever-changing paintings, sculptures and photography by artists such as Vincent Van Gogh); the Central Wing (famous American and European work); the Northeast wing (Asian collections); and the West Wing (artistic history of San Francisco).

The original De Young Memorial Museum stood for most of the twentieth century, until 2001 when it was completely rebuilt, reopening in 2005. The head-architects, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, when asked on their design, said they wanted to create a place “where the art would be less hierarchically presented – more like contemporary art than like bijoux.” The building is mostly constructed of copper, and its unique design was created with the idea that the “building would be enhanced not only by sunlight but also by San Francisco’s constant fog.” Since the opening of the De Young in 1921, its galleries have mostly changed, but some of the art originally featured during the fair and in the early twentieth century still exists in the museum today. The galleries of Asian art have since been relocated, but the De Young still features American art, Modern art, African art, textiles and sculptures, and special alternating exhibitions.  

The Tea House has been a part of the Japanese Tea Garden since its creation at the Mid-winter Fair in 1894, though it has been rebuilt several times. In a description of the garden published in 1950, at a a time when it was "dubbed the Oriental Tea Garden" the author, Katherine Wilson, states that "further along from the Wishing Bridge was the thatched teahouse, where for three generations the women of the Hagiwara family, in their gaily, flowered kimonos, served tea and rice cakes" (Wilson 70). Within Japanese Culture, the connection between the serenity of nature and the drinking of tea comes from a sacred tradition, the Japanese Tea Ceremony. The origin of the tea ceremony dates back to "1203 A.D, beginning with Buddhist priests of the Zen sect, who found the infusion [tea] useful in keeping them awake during midnight devotions" (Chamberlain 456). As it developed, the ceremony eventually earned the name Chanoyu, which, in literal translation means "hot water for tea." Today, the heart of the tradition is the elegant making and pouring of whipped green tea, also called Matcha. When the "ceremony is well executed, an unspoken and perhaps inexpressible Zen quality lingers in the air" (Elwood 123). As Tea Ceremonies became more widespread, they eventually became associated with the presence or nature, more specifically with the presence of a garden. Overtime, the tea house became "the transcendent viewing place for contemplating the landscape" in a traditional tea garden.

In San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden today, the Tea House is one of a few man-made structures that can be found within the garden, placed there by Hagiwara when creating his garden many years ago. It is located by the water, and is surrounded by views of different aspects of the garden. The Tea House currently offers six kinds of tea: Jasmine, Sencha, HojiCha, Genmaicha, Green, and the traditional tea used in cermonies, Matcha. It also offers a variety of snacks, some of which are savory including Edamame and Tea Sandwiches, and some of which are sweet including Kuzumochi and Green Tea Cheesecake.

Within the Garden, the Tea House is located between the Buddha Statue and the Gift Shop. The Tea House offers six kinds of tea including Jasmine, Sencha, HojiCha, Genmaicha, Green, and Matcha. The Tea house also provides a variety of snacks, some of which include Edamame, Dorayaki, Kuzumochi, and Fortune Cookies, which, "according to family members, was introduced to the U.S by Mr. Hagiwara in the 1890's" at the Midwinter Fair. (cite 1) Built in a traditional style, the Tea House features "farmhouse style family tables with a custom designed irori." (cite 1) The use of the Tea House within the Japanese Tea Garden relates back to the Japanese Tea Ceremony, also called Chanoyu. The tea traditionally used is called Matcha, a stronger form of Green Tea, which is said to be "prepared with the heart of the Japanese who poured it." (cite 2) Dating back to the Muromachi Period, Japanese have liked the idea "a tea house located in a deep, rustic mountain retreat," making tea synonymous with nature through this tradition.

The Tea House offers six kinds of tea including Jasmine, Sencha, HojiCha, Genmaicha, Green, and Matcha. The Tea house also provides a variety of snacks, some of which include Edamame, Dorayaki, Kuzumochi, and Fortune Cookies.

During the Midwinter Fair, there was controversy surrounding the Japanese Tea Garden. The main issue was the use of rickshaws in the attraction, specifically, George Marsh hiring Japanese men to pull American fair-goers around in rickshaws. Members of the Japanese community were extremely offended, claiming that that "it was acceptable for Japanese to pull people around in Japan, but in America such a job was suitable only for horses and was an insult to the emperor." (cite) Those upset with Marsh decided to form an Anti-Jinrikishaw Society, announcing that any Japanese who decided to pull a rickshaw would be killed. Marsh avoided the problem completely by hiring germans to pull the tourists around, he also "darkened their faces and dressed them in oriental garb." (cite)

The Fine Arts Building featured the artwork of sixty-eight artists, twenty-eight of which were female. Many of these female artists received their education at the California School of Design, which eventually became today's Art's Institute. At the time, the California School of Design accepted women as students, and hired females as instructors. Many of the women showcased at the Midwinter Fair came to San Francisco after showing in exhibits at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. For example, Evelyn McCormick and Clara McChesney had work featured in both expositions. Some of the other female artists featured in the Fine Arts Building included Alice Chittendon, Helen Hyde, Matilda Lotz, Dora Williams, Eva Withrow and several more. The artwork produced by these women consisted of various oil paintings, many focusing on California. "At a time when camera film could make only black and white images, their colorful paintings of famous early California subjects are visual memories of important local history."

Sam is from Los Angeles, CA. She now lives in San Francisco, the city in Northern California that is currently enduring a housing crisis.