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  Location within San Diego Show map of San Diego Museum of Us (California) Show map of California Museum of Us (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Established | 1915 |
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| Location | California Quadrangle 1350 El Prado,Balboa Park San Diego, California, United States |
| Coordinates | 32°43′54″N117°09′09″W / 32.7317°N 117.1524°W /32.7317; -117.1524 |
| Type | anthropological museum |
| Visitors | 220,000 annually |
| Director | Micah D. Parzen, CEO |
| Website | museumofus.org |
TheMuseum of Us is a museum ofanthropology located inBalboa Park inSan Diego, California. The museum is housed in the historic landmark buildings of theCalifornia Quadrangle.
The museum traces its starting point to thePanama–California Exposition, which opened in 1915 on the occasion of the inauguration of thePanama Canal. The central exhibit of the exposition, "The Story of Man through the Ages," was assembled underarchaeologist Dr.Edgar Lee Hewett of the School of American Archaeology (later renamed the School of American Research and since 2007 theSchool for Advanced Research).[1] Hewett organized expeditions to gather pre-Columbian pottery from theAmerican Southwest and toGuatemala for objects and reproductions ofMayan civilization monuments. Materials were gathered from expeditions sent byanthropologistAleš Hrdlička of theSmithsonian Institution, who gathered casts and specimens from Africa, Siberia, Alaska, andSoutheast Asia.Osteological remains andtrepanated crania fromPeruvian sites were also obtained.[2]
A group of citizens led byGeorge Marston formed the San Diego Museum Association to retain the collection and convert it into a permanent museum, with Dr. Hewett as the first director. Notable additions to the museum's collection after the exposition included the Jessop Weapons Collection and a rare collection of artifacts from the ancient Egyptian city ofAmarna, donated byEllen Browning Scripps and theEgypt Exploration Society.
Between 1935 and 1936, the museum's name briefly changed to thePalace of Science to correspond with theCalifornia-Pacific International Exposition. During this exposition, the museum housed special exhibitions from a variety of sources, such as the Monte Alban exhibit, which featured many artifacts on loan from the Mexican government.
In 1942, the museum underwent a name change to theMuseum of Man, reflecting its commitment to anthropological pursuits. The addition of "San Diego" occurred in 1978.[1] During World War II, the museum underwent conversion into a hospital, necessitating the temporary storage of its exhibits and collections. Post-war, the institution shifted its focus to the people of the Western Americas, eventually leading to significant growth in its collections from the 1980s through the early 1990s. Currently, the museum's holdings comprise nearly two million objects.
The museum is housed in four original buildings from the 1915 Exposition. These include theCalifornia Quadrangle, which was designed for the Exposition by American architectBertram G. Goodhue, and the California Tower, one of the key landmarks in San Diego. The Quadrangle and Tower are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[3] The exterior sculpture on the building was created by thePiccirilli Brothers.
The main museum is housed in the California Building with its landmark tower. The tower, which had been closed to the public for nearly 80 years, reopened in time for the 2015 centennial of the Panama–California Exposition.[4] The tower contains acarillon and quarterly-hour chimes which can be heard all over Balboa Park.
The museum also occupies three other original 1915 buildings. Administrative offices and an auditorium are housed in the Gill Administration Building, west of the museum. Originally known as the Balboa Park Administration Building, it was built in 1911 and designed by architectIrving Gill. It was the first building erected in Balboa Park.[5] On the opposite (south) side of the California Quadrangle, housed in what was originally the Fine Arts Building, is Evernham Hall, a banquet room that is also used for temporary exhibits. Immediately adjacent is Saint Francis Chapel, a non-denominational Spanish-style chapel available for private events.[6]
On August 2, 2020, after a several-year process and during a wave ofname changes made by institutions all over the world after themurder of George Floyd, the museum officially changed its name to the Museum of Us to be in the spirit ofinclusiveness anddecolonization.[7][8][9]
The museum's cultural resources and permanent exhibits focus on thepre-Columbian history of the westernAmericas, with materials drawn fromNative American cultures of theSouthern California region, andMesoamerican civilizations, such as theMaya. The museum also holds a collection ofAncient Egyptian antiquities, including burial masks, figurines, and seven painted wooden coffins; one piece is a Ptolemaic child's coffin—only six others are known to exist worldwide. The total holdings include more than 100,000 documented ethnographic items, 300,000 archaeological items, and 25,000 photographic images.
The California Building and its tower were used byOrson Welles as the principal features of the fictitious Xanadu estate in the classic filmCitizen Kane.[10]
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