The Beat Museum

Had some fun at this small museum in North Beach. It certainly has tons of stuff to check out if wanting to learn about the Beat culture and others. The Beat Museum has artifacts from the era, including books, photographs, and a whole fucking car, yes. Good place for those not wanting to spend too much time in here. You can see everything in about an hour or so, it seems. Basically it got its start in 2003 in Monterey, as part of a collection by Jerry and Estelle Cimino. It's grown a lot since. They made a touring museum that visited college campuses, before the current location was opened in 2006. It's located across from the site of the City Lights Bookstore. The artists came here to make it a popular Beat hangout spot. Many of the artifacts were donated by families and friends. These include Neal Cassady's referee shirt from the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Allen Ginsberg's typewriter, and Jack Kerouac's tweed jacket. Also the director of the 2012 film On The Road, Walter Salles, donated the 1949 Hudson car. There's original art by Gregory Corso, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Harold Norse. Check out memorabilia from Ginsberg's 1957 obscenity trial for Howl. There's also a first edition copy of Kerouac's first novel, The Town And The City, cool stuff. Of course there's tons more to look at. There's also the area with the books you can purchase as well as other gifts. Cool stuff in this popular collection. It's certainly worth a visit for fans of On The Road or other Beat era books and music. This is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Revisited this building location after so many years..that's about 20 years..I hadn't seen the exhibit really...I paid $5 and also signed up for membership..the exhibit has Kerouac's flannel and also the exhibit has Ferlinghetti's navy uniform..football..beatnik car and Pollock all over..the exhibit was pretty good and I am glad I visited after the ending of the period..it's important to me..I guess you had to grow up in Washington DC..because my cousins don't even come here or call themselves beatniks..haha Diane Di Prima!!!

The best generation is well before my time, but as a history nerd I felt a compulsion to check the place out. There are a lot of photographs and primary source documents here, which build a connection even for someone like me who really couldn't have even told you what this era was even about. I suppose this is more reliant on someone having some context or curiosity, because it probably isn't a great stop for anyone without either. I especially liked the fact they have a Hudson sitting in the middle of the space, which was cool to see.

If you're into this group of writers like my girlfriend, then perhaps it would make for a more interesting visit. But I'd rather go to a beat museum that is about music. Or if it has to be about writers, maybe a beat museum about newspaper journalist beat writers.The displays and small space did not feel like a museum. Perhaps "collection" is a more apt word than museum since a venue dedicated to writers should use exceptionally well-chosen words.The collection took 10 minutes to see and a few more minutes for shopping in their bookstore. The bookstore is accessible without paying the $8 admission. Drop by Beat writer hang-out Vesuvio (see https://www.yelp.com/biz/vesuvio-cafe-san-francisco) around a block to help complete the experience.

A nice dedication to The Beat GenerationI saw David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch in 1991 and that was my introduction to the Beat Generation! I admit that was certainly a bizarre way to start, but it helped peak my interest and I did some reading in the years that followed and then to top it off I moved to San Francisco. I am no expert on the Beat Generation and what its place in American culture may be, but I can tell you that The Beat Museum does a good job of providing you with information that you will find interesting if you are curious about the movement that involved Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac.Stop by if you are in town. There is a lot going on in there.

As a hybrid rare book store and museum, it would be easy to dismiss this place as simple flypaper for literature nerds. It would also be a disservice to what it really is: perhaps the most authentic connection to California's counterculture heritage that's readily accessible to the public. Yes, many of the exhibits rely on photographs and speculation to provide the context necessary to understand their purpose, but there's a certain catharsis to be found in reading about the circumstances under which the beat scene coalesced. The tales of the movement's luminaries engaging in raucous poetry readings and enjoying chemically enhanced jazz concerts will make you wish your friends were as cool as the group whose influence defined that word for an entire generation.Which exhibits are most notable? As other reviewers have opined, the letter from Kerouac to Marlon Brando asking him to star in a movie adaptation of On The Road definitely leaves an impression; as does the front page of The Earth Rose 1 bearing signatures from Steve Richmond and Bukowski. That these and countless other exhibits are housed in a building that's a bit clammy and rough around the edges only serves to further immerse the viewer in the gritty nature of the era, completing the location's aura of authenticity.Put simply: if you come here with an open mind, you'll be moved, and perhaps even open to dropping five grand on one of the first editions for sale downstairs.

We enjoyed our visit to this museum whichis a homage to the ' Beat Generation'.Jack Kerouac, Gary Synder, LawrenceFerlinghetti,Allen Ginsberg . Photos, paintings,books even their clothes. Such a pleasant surprise.We were able to use the library's, ´DiscoverAnd Go' program which allows free entranceto museums . Check this museum out.

A fine little museum with super nice people working there. A must if you are into history and want a repetition on the Beat movement or simply want to learn more about it. Either how, this place does the job.I hope San Francisco city will support this place and make it an even bigger museum. It's after all such an essential part of the city. The museum has lots of photos and interesting stories to tell. Come on SF City, you need to take care of your history. Next time I come to visit, I hope the Beat Museum has gained lots of financial funds to make their museum even bigger, with a hippie section too :)

If you love discovering and supporting small emerging history museums then this is the place. Skip the commercial Ice Cream Museum (the Museum for the Self-Absorbed) and come here, learn about the history of the beat movement Whose impact as had rippling effects on movements and music since, including the hippies, the yippies, punks and many others. The nonprofit museum has a commercial gift store in the front which provides the Museum substantial part of itsfunding. I strongly encourage purchasing something from it.

Absolutely amazing collection of books. I didn't even explore the museum part and was wildly impressed. The worker spoke to every costumer in line with incredible literary connections. We all bought very different books but he/they brought all of us to life, individually, by speaking to the authors and philosophers and social change agents we specifically adored. Absolutely amazing.