In 1980 the San Francisco Airport Commission entered into a collaboration
with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
to create a museum program at the San Francisco International Airport.
After a successful first year, a department (now San Francisco Airport Museums)
was established to create exhibitions that would humanize the Airport
environment and create an ambience in the Airport that reflects the sophistication and
cultural diversity of the City and County of San Francisco and the entire Bay Area.
During the past twenty-four years, this program has grown from modest beginnings in North Terminal
(now Terminal 3) to an extensive museum within the Airport. Today, the San Francisco Airport Museums
features approximately twenty galleries throughout the
Airport terminals displaying a rotating schedule of art, history,
science, and cultural exhibitions, as well as the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library
and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, a permanent collection dedicated to the history of commercial
aviation.
San Francisco Airport Museums is the first of its kind in the United States of America and is now a
widely imitated model for museums operating in public arenas. In 1999, San Francisco Airport Museums
became the first museum in an airport to receive accreditation from the American Association of
Museums.
Unlike most public arts programs, this program is never static. Exhibitions change throughout the
year in an effort to provide an educational and cultural experience for the nearly 30 million
passengers who use the Airport annually. Over the years, the Airport's audience surveys reveal that
the exhibitions program ranks high in the top five services that the Airport offers to passengers.
The San Francisco Airport Museums has become an integral part of the San Francisco International
Airport. Each exhibition is curated specifically for the Airport by a staff of museum professionals
who are Airport employees. The exhibitions are an established Airport tradition that attracts
visitors from throughout the world.
© 2006 San Francisco Airport Commission