The Mexican Museum is the realization of Peter Rodríguez's vision to form an organization that would “promote the rich culture of Mexico and the Mexican-Americans”. Over the years, the museum’s vision expanded to reflect the evolving scope of the Mexican, Chicano, Hispanic, Mexican-American, and Latino experience. Mr. Rodriguez’s goals were: “To obtain a permanent center to display and preserve this culture and continue to enlarge the collection. To serve as an educational center by reaching out to the community and disseminating this knowledge”. (Quotes from a flyer or press release by The Mexican Museum, then located at 940 Bay Street - #2 in San Francisco, describing its background, purpose, and goals ca. 1975).

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Today, The Mexican Museum is undergoing a process of reconfiguration that will not only result in an expansion of its galleries but also in a transformation of its museological concept. The museum is preparing for a move to its permanent home in Yerba Buena Gardens. This thriving downtown neighborhood is the region’s most exciting arts and cultural district, and The Mexican Museum will be proudly located at the corner of Mission and 3rd Streets (706 Mission Street) with frontage onto Jesse Square, a premiere public space that flows directly into the museum.

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Through a public/ private partnership between The Mexican Museum, the City and County of San Francisco, and the developer, Millennium Partners, the museum is at the threshold of achieving a bold and profound vision that was initiated by its founders in the 1970s. The new museum will be a space that is accessible, transparent, and focused on providing diverse communities with educational events and enjoyable experiences through art and culture of Mexican and Latin American origin, understood in all of its dynamics and permanence, and transcending the notion of borders.