The Music Concourse is the formal sunken plaza at the cultural center of the park, lined with pollarded trees and built for the 1894 Midwinter Fair. Two major museums face each other across it. The de Young Museum, rebuilt in 2005 in perforated copper that has weathered to match the trees, holds American art and a free observation tower with a view over the park and the city.
Across the concourse is the California Academy of Sciences, a natural history museum, aquarium, planetarium, and indoor rainforest under one living roof planted with native wildflowers, designed by Renzo Piano and opened in 2008. The bandshell at the west end hosts free concerts. The concourse itself is free to walk.
Part of a self-guided walking tour
