Walt Disney Family Museum

There are six of these stately buildings along the north side of the Main Post at the Presidio in San Francisco. Though they look grand they were built as enlisted men's barracks in the 1880s when the U. S. Army decided to put down roots on this land by the Golden Gate.

Today they house museums, offices, a restaurant, and a hotel. One of them is home to the Walt Disney Family Museum. 

We paid no attention when it opened several years ago because we thought "family museum" meant it was a place to entertain children. But instead the name means it was created by the Disney Family, as opposed to the Disney Corporation. 

The permanent exhibit shows how Walt and his brother Roy progressed from doing illustrations for ads in newspapers, to creating short animated cartoons, to something unheard of at that time: a feature-length film entirely animated, Snow White.  

All along the brothers pushed creative boundaries, forced technical innovations, and found ways to get paid. Creative types in all fields today might learn a lot from their model. 

They also have excellent changing exhibitions. A recent one paralleled the careers of Walt and Salvador Dali. They admired one another's work, became friends, and collaborated. Who knew?