Yerba Buena Center for the Arts San Francisco
The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts has been compared to New York's Lincoln Center and been called "the most concentrated arts district west of the Hudson River" by Newsweek Magazine. Obviously, it is a place that deserves your attention on your next visit to San Francisco.

The Center is the focal point of the Yerba Buena Gardens, a 22-acre "mixed-use" development with a strong emphasis on arts in the community. The entire complex is devoted to showcasing art and artists from the multi-cultural community and features diverse programming in dance, theater, music, visual arts, films, installations and festivals.

The Center for the Arts itself is comprised of two buildings. One is a 755-seat theater designed as a venue for music, theater and dance. The other, the Galleries and Arts Forum, features three galleries for traditional exhibitions and high-tech shows, and a space designed especially for dance.

Yerba Buena Gardens also features a Children's Center, an entire city block dedicated to children and youth. Here children (and adults) can enjoy a carousel, ice skating rink and bowling center, and child care center. Right next door is Zeum, an art and technology museum designed to foster creativity in young people. The Sony Metreon Entertainment Complex houses 15 traditional cinemas, an Omnimax theater, a children's world, restaurants and retail stores.

Yerba Buena is also the home of the Museum of Modern Art and Moscone Center, the city's premier exhibition and convention center.

In the middle of all of this activity is the Esplanade, a five-acre downtown park which includes terrace cafes, an outdoor performance area with lawn seating for 5,000 and a walk-through waterfall memorial dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King. Festivals and concerts are held throughout the year in the Esplanade.

Click here for the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts San Francisco website