Mission Statement
The Magnes is a museum of art and history focused on the Jewish experience. The Museum demonstrates a commitment to both tradition and experimentation through a wide-ranging collection, original exhibitions, provocative programs, and research facilities, including the largest history center relating to the Jews in the American West. The Magnes is a place of discovery for Jews and the community at large, and contributes to international scholarship and culture.
Museum Hours
The Magnes and Memory Lab are open by appointment only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 2:00–4:00pm. Please call 510.549.6950 ext. 0 or email info@magnes.org to make an appointment.
Researchers: The collections of the Magnes, including the archives of the Western Jewish History Center, are now closed to researchers due to the imminent move of the Magnes collections to the University of California at Berkeley. Reference and other collection services will resume in 2011, once the Magnes relocates to its new facility near UC Berkeley Campus. Please consult the Magnes website for periodic updates.
To conduct online research about the collections of the Magnes, visit http://www.magnes.org/mco.htm
For urgent matters regarding the Magnes collections, please write to research@magnes.org
To read more about the Magnes move to the University of California, click here
The museum and its offices are closed Jewish and most Federal holidays. For a complete list of upcoming closures, please see our Calendar.
Location
2911 Russell Street
Berkeley, CA 94705
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Tel: 510.549.6950
Fax: 510.849.3673
Parking
Free 2 hour street parking is available on Russell Street.
Directions
From the Claremont Hotel, drive west on Ashby Avenue, take a right on Pine Avenue, and a right on Russell Street.
From College Avenue, drive east on Ashby Avenue, take a left on Piedmont Avenue and then take a right on Russell Street. Alternatively, drive east on Ashby Avenue, take a left on Pine Avenue and then a right on Russell Street.
From Interstate 80, take the Ashby Avenue exit east, take a left on Piedmont Avenue and then take a right on Russell Street.
From Highway 24 east, take the Claremont Avenue exit, take a left at the bottom of the exit ramp. Go up Claremont Avenue, take a left at Ashby Avenue, a right on Pine Avenue, and a right on Russell Street.
From the Caldecott Tunnel, take the Berkeley exit. Head west on Tunnel Road. It turns into Ashby Avenue. Take a right on Pine Avenue and a right on Russell Street.
From the Rockridge BART Station, take College Ave. towards Berkeley (0.8 mi). Turn Right onto Ashby Ave (0.3 mi). Turn left onto Pine Ave (0.1 mi). Turn Right onto Russell St.
The Judah L. Magnes Museum is served by AC Transit bus line 7, which runs on Claremont Avenue; line 51, which runs on College Avenue; and line 9, which runs on Ashby Avenue.
The Magnes is a beneficiary of the Jacques and Esther Reutlinger Foundation, the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay, and the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, along with generous support from donors around the greater Bay Area who are dedicated to sustaining the operations of the museum.
ESIGN BY DERIC CARNER