At Last...The Museum
- Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- 3 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Okay, last time, I had just gotten us to the Turquoise Museum. We had parked -- it had been surprisingly easy to find a space -- and had walked toward the Museum itself.
As we did, it struck me that--in spite of negative comments from the New York Times--the neighborhood wasn’t that bad. This was not “Skid Row” by any stretch of the imagination. Yes, it was urban, and a little run down here and there, but signs of renewal were everywhere. There was a trendy coffee shop directly across the street, and a brew pub next to it, and a chic little gift shop up the way. If this wasn’t yet a stylish urban oasis in downtown San Francisco, it had potential.
We walked along. The entrance to the museum...or, more precisely, “The Turquoise Castle,” is actually through another, smaller building next door. We found our way there and stood for a moment, rather amazed. On the wall outside was an enormous mural showing a Native American craftsman working with turquoise.
I later learned that the individual depicted was Augustine Lovato, an artist from Santo Domingo Pueblo. Do a search for “Augustine Lovato Jewelry,” and you’ll come up with tons of posts about his work. His jewelry seems to be on sale all over.
About the photos: First, an exterior shot of the Museum. This is the enormous mural I mentioned. I later learned that the individual in the picture is Augustine Lovato, a noted jewelry craftsman. Second, a photo of a placard in the Museum of Mr. Lovato, a.k.a. Papa. Finally, Martha in the Museum posing with a display of concho belts.
Anyway, we moved to the door of the Museum. We had to wait a bit. Our tickets weren’t until two o’clock, but it was only a short delay and we had a nice chat with another couple who were also there for the two o’clock tour. Finally, the door opened and a woman that I later discovered was “Mrs. Joe Dan,” Davonna Lowry, let us in.
We found ourselves in the Museum’s gift shop. There was quite a bit of stuff on display and for sale--ranging from jewelry to sweatshirts. Afterwards, we came back and bought a book there, a guide to turquoise, and we would give it to our son for his birthday.
Following a short wait, a young gentleman appeared and identified himself as our guide. He took us and the rest of the visitors who also had 2pm tickets out another door, around a corner, and into what proved to be the main entrance of the Castle. Here we were led into a sort of glass enclosure and asked to sit in rows of chairs in front of a large TV monitor.
When we were settled, the guide gave us an introduction to the Museum, and then said we could now watch a brief presentation about what we’d see here inside. He flipped on the TV and we found ourselves viewing an informational video, hosted and narrated by Jacob Lowry, the museum’s director.
He’s a young man...well, young from my perspective anyway...and while I only know him from the video, he seems thoughtful and well-spoken. He is certainly well-informed. What he doesn’t know about Turquoise is, I suspect, damn little.
In the video, he wears a dramatic dress suit. It’s hard to describe. Suffice to say that it starts somewhere in 1890 ballroom elegance and ends in the general vicinity of 1920, with just a hint of Steampunk. I’m guessing it is a deliberate bit of marketing, like the late author Tom Wolfe’s trademark white suit.* If so, then the young gentleman is being rather clever, I think.
Anyway, we finished the video and we began our tour.
Now, I’m going to finish here because I’m sort of running out of room. Next time, though, I’m going to do my best to describe what we saw at the Museum...but, frankly, my best may not be terrific. There was just an awful lot to see, and, honestly, I was a little overwhelmed. Plus, maybe my memory isn’t all it once was. Ah, the joys of aging.
So, what I’m going to suggest is that you treat what I say as just a teaser. I’m going to say that here are a *few* of the things that are in the Museum, and that in the near future, if you get a chance, visit the place yourself, and see what’s there on your own.
Believe me, it will be worth it.
More to come.
Footnote:
*Tom Wolfe adopted the White Suit in 1962. I gather he originally got it as a lark, but found it so useful as a trademark that he ended up wearing it all the time. He sometimes paired it with a homburg hat. See the “White Suit” section on his wikipedia page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolfe
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