Did he go to San Francisco as a kid? I don't remember it mentioned in his letters. Later he came there, when visiting Sterling. I am sure this gave important impressions, and that he carefully noted the sea and shoreline.
Maybe he visited museums like [
www.famsf.org] (the primitive art possibly also being inspiration for his sculptures!), and [
www.asianart.org] (did not exist back then, but perhaps there were similar institutions).
Neither the San Fransisco Botanical Garden, nor the Zoo, had opened at the time.
There was the California Academy of Natural Sciences natural history museum.
Between 1873-1890 there was an Aquarium, and another didn't open until 1923. Incidentally I don't remember underwater scenery in Smith's fiction! Except for vague descriptions in a few poems.
I don't think there was a planetarium or public observatory back then.