Santa Cruz County - 2008 Official Traveler's Guide - (Page 38) galleries and Museums Art and history combined From bright airy galleries brimming with From potatoes and wheat to lettuce and ture garden is an exhibition space designed to highlight pieces from the museum’s permanent collection in granite, clay, bronze and other mediums. This rooftop gallery is also an inviting space in which to view Santa Cruz and the surrounding mountains. The museum also manages historic Evergreen Cemetery and the historic Davenport Jail Museum. For more art, the Pajaro Valley Arts Council and Gallery in south county offers themed exhibits on a year-round basis in the gallery and at various satellite locations throughout the community. The first weekend of every month, Santa Cruz galleries and artist’s studios open their doors to share their craft on Friday, Saturday contemporary displays, to an adobe mission housing artifacts from nearly two centuries ago, the galleries and museums of Santa Cruz County offer an array of historically and culturally-significant items. From modern art to vintage surfboards, you’ll find a museum or gallery in Santa Cruz County that will arouse your interest and curiosity. Dedicated to “all youth whose ideals are beacons to the future,” the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, housed in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse overlooks the internationally renowned surfing spot Steamer Lane. The museum is located on scenic West Cliff Drive, and includes historic photographs, early wetsuits designed by local Jack O’Neill, unsinkable vintage redwood surfboards, and other items trace over 100 years of surfing history in Santa Cruz. Many of the museum’s volunteer docents are Santa Cruz’s first wave of contemporary longboard surfers. strawberries, local agriculture is celebrated at the Agricultural History Museum in Watsonville. The museum offers the opportunity to experience life on the farm through educational exhibits and a timeline chronicling the over 80 crops supported by the valley’s unique combination of soils and climates throughout the past 150 years. The historic Rodgers House, the home of John Steinbeck’s sister, sits adjacent to the museum site. The Museum of Art and History at the McPherson Center, the largest cultural facility in the area, displays an eclectic mix of historical collections alongside visiting art exhibits. The MAH offers permanent displays and docent-led understanding contemporary tours, of art. creating a greater 38 The outdoor sculp- “ The surfing pioneers of the Santa cruz Surfing club meet weekly at the Surfing Museum where they have also served as docents to well over one million visitors since the facility opened on Memorial day Weekend in 1986.” gLoBaL SurF neWS, SePteMBer 2007 Photo: Mark Barnes 2 0 0 8 O f f i c i a l S a n ta c r u z c O u n t y t r av e l e r ’ S G u i d e
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