The California Gold Rush, Jewish Immigration, and the Birth of San Francisco

Resources at The Contemporary Jewish Museum incorporate Jewish author biographies, community immigration stories, and Jewish culture and celebrations, while including space for conversation and centering intercultural connection. This approach helps dispel assumptions of otherness that can lead to biases and harmful stereotypes. Our programs for teachers and students grades 6–12 include a focus on contemporary Jewish culture in addition to discussions on antisemitism, including but not limited to Holocaust education and programming.

Explore all of our teacher and school offerings including free, downloadable teacher resources and curricula; live virtual tours for K–12 students; short videos related to our exhibitions; a San Francisco city-wide bookmaking competition; educator professional learning opportunities; teen internships; and more.

Since its founding in 1984, The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM), located in downtown San Francisco, has distinguished itself as a welcoming place where visitors can connect with one another through shared experiences with the arts. 

In 2008, The Museum opened a new building designed by internationally-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. Inspired by the Hebrew phrase l’chaim (“to life”), the building is a physical embodiment of The CJM’s dedication to exploring dynamic, contemporary Jewish life.

The CJM is a non-collecting institution that partners with national and international cultural institutions to present ever-changing exhibitions that are both timely and relevant and represent the highest level of artistic achievement and scholarship.

About the exhibition: 

In 1873, at the end of the California Gold Rush, Levi Strauss & Co., named for a Bavarian Jewish dry goods merchant in San Francisco, obtained a U.S. patent with tailor Jacob Davis on the process of putting metal rivets in men’s denim work pants to increase their durability. It was the birth of the blue jean. The Contemporary Jewish Museum is pleased to present Levi Strauss: A History of American Style, an original exhibition showcasing the life of Levi Strauss, the invention of the blue jean, and their iconic place in the history of American style.

This exhibition tells the distinctly American story of Levi Strauss—a Jewish immigrant, businessman, and philanthropist whose lifelong commitment to family and civic life were fundamental to the history of San Francisco. Starting with the company’s foundation and early local renown as purveyors of “waist overalls” for gold miners and famously indestructible garments for farmers and tradespeople, the exhibition follows the evolution of Levis Strauss & Co. Continuing into the early twentieth century, the exhibition illuminates the pivotal role Levi Strauss & Co. played—through finely crafted clothing and advertising—in capturing the expanding mythology of the American West. The exhibition culminates in the second half of the twentieth century, when the democratic blue jean became a cultural staple and a blank canvas for the rising international youth culture—a symbol of effortless cool for youth, rockers, and revolutionaries alike.