Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

The de Young Museum began its life as a temporary structure for the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894. At that time, it was designed in an ornate Egyptian Revival style, complete with decorative depictions of the goddess Hathor on its facade. The salty Pacific air eventually caused these elaborate decorations to rust and deteriorate, leading to their removal by the late 1940s and leaving the building with a plain exterior for decades. Today, while the museum has been completely rebuilt, you can still find the original stone sphinxes from that first fair near the Pool of Enchantment on the grounds.