San Francisco International Airport

SFO Museum celebrates San Francisco

Museums, ,

 

Here’s a great reason to plan or be thankful for a long layover at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

The SFO Museum‘s newest exhibition, San Francisco: City of the World, offers travelers a thoughtful, fun and educational look at the iconic city’s colorful history.

Find it post-security in Terminal 2 through July 6, 2025.

A preview of images and information from the exhibit is below.

Content and images courtesy of SFO Museum.

In 1848, gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The following year, more than seven hundred ships arrived in San Francisco.

The Gold Rush transformed the region into a bustling city of approximately twenty-five thousand inhabitants, including thousands of Chinese immigrants who established California’s oldest and largest Chinatown.

Andrew Smith Hallidie (1836–1900) tested the first cable car in 1873 on Clay Street and public service began in September that same year.

By the turn of the twentieth century, San Francisco was known as the “Paris of the West,” until the 1906 earthquake and resulting fires leveled the city.

The resilient metropolis was quickly rebuilt, and during the early 1900s numerous San Francisco landmarks, such as Coit Tower (1933) and the Golden Gate Bridge (1937)—the most photographed bridge in the world—were built. In addition to its natural beauty and historical sites, San Francisco has long served as a meeting ground for diverse groups of people and countercultures, which are also explored throughout the exhibition.

Fresh art at SFO Airport: Rosie the Riveter

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One of the newest SFO Museum exhibitions at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) tells the story of Rosie the Riveter and the accomplishments of more than 16 million women who joined the workforce during the Second World War.

More than sixteen million women were employed at the peak of wartime production in 1944—with over three million in skilled factory positions to support the massive increase in war-related industries. Many of those jobs were in aviation.

Here’s the story of “Rosie the Riveter” from the exhition notes:

The Second World War had a profound impact on working women in American society. After the United States entered the war on December 7, 1941, millions of men left manufacturing jobs for military service and recruiters scoured the country in search of replacements. Women joined the workforce in record numbers and filled industrial positions previously denied to them. Migrating from diverse regions and cultures, women converged on the nation’s industrial centers and quickly learned skills that traditionally took years to master. Popular culture and propaganda launched the legend of “Rosie the Riveter,” the anonymous, bandanna-clad woman in coveralls who produced all manner of wartime equipment on the home front.

Look for Rosie the Riveter: Womanpower in Wartime post-security in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport through May 11, 2025.

(Images courtesy of SFO Museum)

SFO opens the final section of Harvey Milk T1

Airport Terminals, ,

The final section of Harvey Milk Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is now open.

This phase of the Terminal 1 re-do offers travelers a new north check-in lobby for Alaska Airlines and Delta Airlines and a new mezzanine-level security checkpoint.

Travelers will find new museum galleries, additional aircraft gates, a third airport yoga room, new concessions, and the final piece of the connecting walkway that now links all SFO terminals post-security.

What to look for in the new Harvey Milk T1 section

This week Alaska Airlines moves its check-in area, flights and baggage services from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 and begins using a new automated bag drog technology in the Terminal 1 lobby.

Passengers may now use the new security checkpoint on the T1 mezzanine level. This new checkpoint is accessible from the Terminal 1 Air Train station and will surely become the ‘secret’ way into the airport, now that all terminals are linked post-security.

A common-use lounge, the Club at SFO, opens on June 25. Alaska Airlines will open a new flagship lounge in Terminal 1 in late July. Till then, Alaska Airlines is keeping its T2 lounge open.

The SFO Museum has opened a lovely “Photo Alley” gallery and there are several new concessions, including Green Apple Books.

Travel tidbits from an airport near you

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Airport bookstores making a comeback

Yesterday we celebrated the news that Powell’s Books is returning to Portland International Airport (PDX).

Today we celebrate the opening of another real bookstore at an airport. Green Apple Books is now open at Harvey Milk Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

How dirty is your luggage?

When was the last time you sanitized your luggage?

If the answer is ‘never,’ then you might be a candidate for the Clean luggage sanitation machine, which will debut this week at JFK Terminal 7 as part of a pilot project.

The promise: the machine uses UV-C light to eliminate 99.9% of viruses, bacteria and other harmful pathogens from your luggage in seconds.

The cost: $10 for two pieces of luggage.

Would you use this??

Tour the ‘secret’ SFO Museum facility

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Flying boat airliner model aircraft. Courtesy SFO Museum

Yesterday we shared a video from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SFO) featuring the real-life magician pictured in the 180-foot-long “High Wire” mural from the airport’s art collection.

In that video, we get the answer to the riddle: How is a magic trick like an airport?

Today we’re sharing a charming video from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) offering a never-before look into the ‘secret’ storage facility of the SFO Museum.

Tag along and then be sure to take in a few of the great exhibits at SFO Airport next time you’re there. We’ve arranged a long layover at SFO this week just so we can see the Airplane Model exhibit in the International Terminal.