A teenage Steven Spielberg used this Bolex H16 Reflect 16mm camera to shoot some of his earliest motion pictures. The camera, along with dog tags worn by Tom Hanks in the director's movie "Saving Private Ryan," are among the artifacts featured at the California Museum's newest California Hall of Fame exhibit.
Conductor, pianist and composer Michael Tilson Thomas—the longtime music director of the San Francisco Symphony—has won 11 Grammy Awards, including this one from 2002 for Best Orchestral Performance of Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 6.”
This 1975 letter was sent to local poet Gary Snyder confirming his Pulitzer Prize for “Turtle Island,” his 1974 book of poems and essays.
In 1976, winemaker and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars founder Warren Winiarksi put California vineyards on the global wine map when his 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon won first place at the legendary Judgment of Paris blind tasting event.
Hollywood legend Lucille Ball wore this wool suit on the set of her television series “The Lucy Show,” which aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968.
The 2007 Biotech Hall of Fame award was presented to bioscientist Susan Desmond-Hellmann for her development of two of the first gene-targeted therapies for cancer.
In 1970, former Oakland Raiders quarterback and two-time Super Bowl winner Jim Plunkett became the first Latino to win the Heisman Memorial Trophy, which is displayed along with his 1981 Super Bowl MVP Award.
A basket adorned with feathers and intricate beading by renowned Pomo basket weaver Mabel McKay, who was appointed to California’s first Native American Heritage Commission by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 1976
This diploma, accompanied by a watercolor by artist Bengt Landin, was given to environmental scientist Mario J. Molina, who was awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his groundbreaking research on the ozone layer.
The California Museum’s 11th California Hall of Fame exhibit opens Dec. 6, featuring personal artifacts from the newest group of inductees, which includes filmmaker Steven Spielberg, two-time Super Bowl winner Jim Plunkett and the late Lucille Ball. The honorees (or, in the case of posthumous honorees, their families) will be awarded the Spirit of California medal by Gov. Jerry Brown and first lady Anne Gust Brown during a private ceremony at the California Museum on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m., preceded by a red carpet entrance at 6 p.m., which the public is welcome to attend or watch live on the museum's Facebook page. (The ceremony can be viewed live via webcast on the museum's website.)
Here is a sneak peek at the items on display, from Plunkett’s Heisman trophy to San Francisco Symphony music director Michael Tilson Thomas’ Grammy Award. For more information, read Sactown's recent story on the inductees and visit californiamuseum.org.
The photo gallery is below. Click on the images to enlarge them and read the captions.
On Sale Now!
Stay in the know!
Get Sactown's top stories in your inbox by signing up for our weekly newsletter.