Maritime Museum

The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers


A monumental hint to sailors in need of a scrub, this restored, ship-shaped 1939 Streamline Moderne landmark is decked out with Works Progress Administration (WPA) art treasures: playful seal and toad sculptures by Beniamino Bufano, Hilaire Hiler's surreal underwater dreamscape murals, and recently uncovered wood reliefs by Richard Ayer. Acclaimed African American artist Sargent Johnson created the stunning carved green slate marquee doorway and the veranda's mesmerizing aquatic mosaics.

Johnson deliberately left unfinished the mosaics on the eastern side to protest plans to include a private casino in this public facility. Johnson won: the east wing is a senior center.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers attractions

1. Ghirardelli Square

0.1 MILES

Willy Wonka would tip his hat to Domingo Ghirardelli (gear-ar-deli), whose business became the West’s largest chocolate factory in 1893. After the company…

2. Cartoon Art Museum

0.14 MILES

Founded on a grant from Bay Area cartoon legend Charles M Schultz of Peanuts fame, this bold museum isn't afraid of the dark, political or racy – cases in…

3. Aquatic Park

0.16 MILES

Everyone loves this easy-access cove at Van Ness Ave's northern end, flanked by the massive comma-shaped Municipal Pier, where fishermen cast their lines…

4. National Park Visitors Center

0.21 MILES

San Francisco grew from its docks, and this 10,000-sq-ft visitors center for the nearby maritime national historical park details how, with a permanent…

5. Maritime National Historical Park

0.23 MILES

Five historic ships are floating museums at this maritime national park, Fisherman's Wharf’s most authentic attraction. Moored along Hyde St Pier, the…

6. Lombard Financial Center Mosaics

0.36 MILES

A couple years ago, blighted trees in front of this bank were cut down and a treasure hidden for almost half a century was revealed: mosaics by California…

7. Fort Mason Center

0.39 MILES

San Francisco takes subversive glee in turning military installations into venues for nature, fine dining and out-there experimental art. Evidence: Fort…

8. George Sterling Park

0.4 MILES

'Homeward into the sunset/Still unwearied we go/Till the northern hills are misty/With the amber of afterglow.' Poet George Sterling's poem 'City by the…