04.06.10 • The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society has embarked on a bold plan to transform its vacant Old Mint building into the greenest National Historic Landmark in the United States.

The Old Mint is being established as the “gateway to the city” by providing an orientation to the Bay Area's rich cultural heritage, and connecting visitors to over 100 historical and cultural sites within the region. The Mint Project will create a new kind of cultural attraction that integrates a dynamic museum experience and an interpretive visitor center in one place.

Christopher Chadbourne & Associates (CCA) has designed exhibits that will bring San Francisco's rich cultural history to life. The galleries will integrate artifacts and cutting-edge media to trace the history of San Francisco as a "city on the edge" through titles such as Instant City, QUAKE!, Capital of the Counter Culture, Politics of (In)Tolerance and Innovation & Invention. In addition, there is also a StoryLab, where visitors can create, curate and collaborate on interactive multimedia stories about their own connections to Bay Area history.

"At last, the city will have a world-class museum dedicated to the rich history that has made San Francisco one of the most celebrated cities anywhere," said Ira Michael Heyman, Chairman of the Museum of San Francisco Storyline Committee and former Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.