In this photo taken Wednesday, July 13, 2016, a woman walks past a mural outside the future home of the Mexican Museum under construction in San Francisco. Construction of a four-story, state-of-the-art Mexican Museum is underway, realizing the dream of a late Mexican-American artist who four decades ago opened the city's first museum for Latino art in a Mission District storefront. The 60-000 square feet building in downtown San Francisco will be home to 16,000 pre-Columbian, colonial, modern and contemporary works of Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino art, the largest such collection in the country. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San Francisco is getting another cultural treasure - a world-class museum to showcase the largest collection of Mexican and Latino art in the nation.
Groundbreaking is set for Tuesday for the new Mexican Museum - the realization of a dream by Mexican-American artist Peter Rodriguez, who opened the city's first museum for Latino art in a Mission District storefront in 1975.
Rodriguez started a collection that now has more than 16,000 pre-Columbian, colonial and contemporary works of Mexican and Latino art.
Rodriguez, who died July 1 at 90, never lost hope the unique museum would be built, his family said.
"My uncle worked tirelessly, and with passion and drive, to personally demonstrate that, as a Mexican-American, we can achieve any dream by ourselves." said Irene Christopher, his niece.
The 60,000-square-foot Mexican Museum will be the downtown home of the collection that includes 800 works of Mexican folk art donated by the family of Nelson Rockefeller and pieces by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and painter Miguel Covarrubias.
The new museum is set to open in the spring of 2019. Most of the art is now in storage, though some pieces are exhibited at the tiny current site in the Fort Mason area of San Francisco.
The museum moved there after the Mission District storefront closed.
With 39 percent of California's population identifying as Latino, the museum will be a place where they can learn about their culture, said Andrew Kluger, who became chairman of the museum board five years ago and helped raise $30 million needed for the building.
"The new museum will allow us to educate second- and third-generation Chicano, Latino children about their heritage, which is quite important because many of them don't know about it," Kluger said.
The four-story Mexican Museum will be housed at the bottom of a luxury condo tower in Yerba Buena Gardens, nestled between historic St. Patrick's Church and the Contemporary Jewish Museum.
One of 11 children, Rodriguez was born in Stockton in 1926 and later moved to San Francisco, where he worked in the advertising and fashion industries.
He was a self-taught artist who found his calling in abstract art and traveled to Mexico for the first time after he was invited to show his work there in the 1960s.
Kluger said Rodriguez's vision will be reflected in the new museum.
"We want to honor him always for his inspiration to start this museum 40 years ago," Kluger said.
The Mexican Museum will be an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. One of its first exhibits will be "Frida and I," a children's exhibition about the life of Frida Kahlo.
In this photo taken Monday, June 27, 2016, registrar Wendy Niles holds a Day of the Dead sculpture "La Soldadera" by Alvaro de la Cruz being stored in a vault at the Mexican Museum currently located at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Construction of a four-story, state-of-the-art Mexican Museum is underway, realizing the dream of a late Mexican-American artist who four decades ago opened the city's first museum for Latino art in a Mission District storefront. The 60-000 square feet building in downtown San Francisco will be home to 16,000 pre-Columbian, colonial, modern and contemporary works of Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino art, the largest such collection in the country. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken Monday, June 27, 2016, artwork by Geri Montano is seen in background with wares for sale in the La Tienda of the Mexican Museum currently located at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Construction of a four-story, state-of-the-art Mexican Museum is underway, realizing the dream of a late Mexican-American artist who four decades ago opened the city's first museum for Latino art in a Mission District storefront. The 60-000 square feet building in downtown San Francisco will be home to 16,000 pre-Columbian, colonial, modern and contemporary works of Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino art, the largest such collection in the country. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken Monday, June 27, 2016, Chair Andrew Kluger looks over a painting of founder Peter Rodriguez by Alfredo Arreguin at the Mexican Museum currently located at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Construction of a four-story, state-of-the-art Mexican Museum is underway, realizing the dream of a late Mexican-American artist who four decades ago opened the city's first museum for Latino art in a Mission District storefront. The 60-000 square feet building in downtown San Francisco will be home to 16,000 pre-Columbian, colonial, modern and contemporary works of Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino art, the largest such collection in the country. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken Monday, June 27, 2016, Chair Andrew Kluger looks over "The Bridgeworkers" by Diego Rivera, from 1930, at the Mexican Museum currently located at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Construction of a four-story, state of the art Mexican Museum is underway, realizing the dream of a late San Francisco artist who four decades ago opened the city's first museum for Latino art in a Mission District storefront. The 60-000 square feet building across from Yerba Buena Gardens will be home to 16,000 pre-Columbian, colonial, modern and contemporary works of Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino art, the largest such collection in the country. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken Monday, June 27, 2016, an ink drawing of Jose Limon by Miguel Covarrubias is seen at the Mexican Museum currently located at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Construction of a four-story, state-of-the-art Mexican Museum is underway, realizing the dream of a late Mexican-American artist who four decades ago opened the city's first museum for Latino art in a Mission District storefront. The 60-000 square feet building in downtown San Francisco will be home to 16,000 pre-Columbian, colonial, modern and contemporary works of Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino art, the largest such collection in the country. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken Monday, June 27, 2016, Chair Andrew Kluger holds brushes used by Diego Rivera at the Mexican Museum currently located at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Construction of a four-story, state-of-the-art Mexican Museum is underway, realizing the dream of a late Mexican-American artist who four decades ago opened the city's first museum for Latino art in a Mission District storefront. The 60-000 square feet building in downtown San Francisco will be home to 16,000 pre-Columbian, colonial, modern and contemporary works of Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino art, the largest such collection in the country. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken Monday, June 27, 2016, is an exterior view of the Mexican Museum presently located at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Construction of a four-story, state-of-the-art Mexican Museum is underway, realizing the dream of a late Mexican-American artist who four decades ago opened the city's first museum for Latino art in a Mission District storefront. The 60-000 square feet building in downtown San Francisco will be home to 16,000 pre-Columbian, colonial, modern and contemporary works of Mexican, Mexican-American and Latino art, the largest such collection in the country. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
The Associated Press