The Beat Museum

I must admit that when I first spotted the Beat Museum on a visit to San Francisco a few years back I dismissed it as a tourist trap and didn't go in. I corrected that when last in the SF Bay Area in January. It is a trove of Beat Generation memorabilia and literature with very reasonable prices on their wide variety of books. I should add that it is across the street from City Lights Bookstore, founded in the early 50's by Beat poet and author, the late Lawrence Ferlinghetti. I had a wide ranging conversation with Brandon (the guy with the beard in one of my photos) about Jack Kerouac and the Beat Era. Brandon is extremely knowledgeable about Kerouac and one cool guy. If you find your self in North Beach, San Francisco's coolest hood, don't make my initial mistake, go on in and check out the Beat Museum...

This is a museum that's all about the vibes! This is not an interactive museum with the all the bells and whistles, it's opposite the City Lights bookstore and is a pretty immersive look into the history of the Beat movement with sections devoted to the main players. It's a blend of biography, books, and artefacts with a real feel of love and appreciation for the literature that emerged from it. It is quite a small museum with a cool gift shop and very friendly staff too! The owners are busy so do check the days it's closed. The website and Google says the opening time is 10am but I think it's a bit more flexible so head into City Lights or grab a coffee and come back closer to 11!

The Beat Museum is an absolute must visit. in San Francisco! Stepping inside feels like walking back into the vibrant world of the 1950s Beat Generation. Although it’s small it includes personal artifacts and cherished belongings of iconic Beat writers, giving an intimate look at their lives beyond their famous words. The museum is heavy on Jack Kerouac memorabilia, from rare books to personal items, which is a real treat for fans. The exhibits are thoughtfully curated, providing insight into Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Corso, Ferlinghetti , and more. Whether you’re a literature enthusiast or just curious, this place is well worth a visit!

Great place and must see in SF - highly recommended… the whole area is amazing- with a genius loci is indescribable. Museum itself have many original memorabilia- and indeed books. Chap inside is very knowledgeable and friendly and offered me some good guide and chat over the beat generation and local history. Worth stop, listen, see and enjoy the moment. Highly recommended.

I love this place. We will go back there again soon. This is a cool little museum with a lot of beat history. I am not a buff on it, and I enjoyed the exhibits. Also, it's in a book/record store which I thought was pretty cool. The guy behind the register that day was also really friendly and helpful, knowledgeable about the Bay Area, too.

Love the place - I come and support it whenever I’m in SF. The shop has a range of beat books, new and old ones, rare editions and a bunch of posters. The museum is great too - it’s not big though it’s impressive!

A small museum and a shop in one place. Lots of vintage stuff. Really like the vintage PlayBoy magazines, didn't expect to see those lol. Prices are affordable and you can negotiate. I think if you're an adult, it is worth a visit if you are near this place in San Francisco

I don't think it can be stated enough the influence of the Beat Generation on our current culture. It is easy to trace the actions and writings of these authors to cultural conflicts, and freedoms, that we experience today. The memories and legacy of the Beat authors is so well preserved at the Beat Museum that you can see and feel the passion. Jerry and Brandon are amazing, knowledgeable hosts that will talk and inspire anyone who is lucky enough to listen. Go to the Best Museum. Look at the exhibits. Hear the stories. Leave changed. Your life will be better for it

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.

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.

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 Generation I 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 which is a homage to the ' Beat Generation'. Jack Kerouac, Gary Synder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti,Allen Ginsberg . Photos, paintings, books even their clothes. Such a pleasant surprise. We were able to use the library's, ´Discover And Go' program which allows free entrance to 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.

This is a pretty small museum for $10 (but you can get discounts if you buy a Groupon, are in education, etc), and it doesn't take long to get through unless you're watching their informational film, but it's fun to see the Beats in SF and some of their memorabilia. Not everyone (at least in the younger generations) understands the impact that this group had on the course of history, and it's great to see them recognized, especially given their local connection. The store (which is on the first floor, the museum is on the second) is pretty incredible, and if you take a group of teenage boys, they'll adore the collection of retro-Playboy magazines!

I recently went to The Beat Museum & loved the couple hours spent here! I'm a graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, CO co-founded by Allen Ginsberg & Anne Waldman. I love the Beat Writers. "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac inspired Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, David Bowie, myself, & countless others. I did my BA thesis on William S. Burroughs approach to writing from cut up techniques, dream entries, & drug experimentation. If you love the work of Beat Writers or if you don't know much about them or are just getting into their work The Beat Museum is still a great place to start. There is lots of memorable, the museum does a great job explaining key events in the movement, there are heaps of books if you something sparked your curiosity you can purchase it after for the road, & there are theater seats showing film clips with honor payment system for snacks or drinks available on hand. There was so much that I loved yet I thought it was very cool that someone donated an original car used in "On the Road" from the same era of the classic novel. It is showcased in the museum. Seeing it in person will give you a sense of what Neal & Jack drove in that era which is pretty amazing. There is also the referee jersey that Neal Cassady drove when he was the head driver of Ken Kesey's hippy Further Bus. The jersey is on display & was on loan by Neal Cassady's son John Allen Cassady who is named after Jack Kerouac & Allen Ginsberg! The Beat generation's core group was connected to every alternative movement from the 1950s to the 1990s. From the Beat movement to Hippy Flower Power to the Punk Movement & Grunge. There is lots of history & legacy of the Beat Generation alive in North Beach so after checking out the Beat Museum be sure to head over to City Lights Bookstore!

I always wanted to know more about The Beats, and you will have a blast if you visit this fascinating place. There are films and knowledgeable staff who bring the era to life, with endless exhibits to ponder. Hit the road an make it, baby ...

I learned lots about the Beat movement at this museum, and left finally knowing where the "Baghdad by the Bay" name comes from! It's cool to learn about Kerouac, Ginsberg, and the like and be able to walk to their favorite neighborhood North Beach hangouts after visiting the museum. The museum itself is a store with the exhibits housed somewhat informally towards the back and upstairs of the museum. There are lots of writers featured and I enjoyed learning about women Beat writers, watching a short film with footage from the era, and reading some poetry. It is a small museum and won't take more than an hour to go through, but worth a visit if you want to immerse yourself in some hyper local history and culture.

I got to check out The Beat Museum 1/21/13. I don't really know much about The Beat writers, never read any of the stuff so it wasn't that interesting to me. Tickets are $8 now; students/seniors $5. Bathroom: in the back left, Blue Star Door. You can take pics in the museum. It's a small museum upstairs, takes less than 30 min to see everything. You can read about Neal Cassidy, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg. There's a small theater you can watch something - can't remember what I saw. Good place for a nap.

Dog friendly! We were wandering past on a Saturday morning and noticed the books outside for sale. Then we noticed there was an old bathtub inside filled with more books for sale. Not sure if they were dog friendly or not, I just kind of stared inside at the books like an idiot until the man said, "C'mon inside! Bring the dogs." Hell ya..who's passing that up? The man turned out to be Jerry Cimino, founder of the Beat Museum! He was such a delight regaling us with background stories about the filming of the upcoming On the Road movie (BTW - he said the movie was very accurate). He even showed me a photo on his iPhone of him and Kristen Stewart at the SkyWalker Ranch party. Afterward, he let me take my two little poodles into the museum. They liked sniffing the strange spots on the carpet. I enjoyed learning more about the beat writers.

Not everyplace where a tourist might go is a 'tourist trap'. Yes, there are many businesses in SF that would NOT be in SF if it weren't for the City's number one industry. I don't think this place falls into that category. It's here because this is what North Beach was back in the day. Embrace it. I do love my "I'm with Ginsberg" t-shirt and my Kerouac bobblehead doll though.

2 week late review. I loved this place. Best part is that they encourage visitors to take pictures. Other museums need to get off their high horses and let people take photographic memories damn. It's 2 floors of beat history and the best part is you can walk the same streets and see (almost all) the same things these literary pioneers saw when you walk out the door. This is the second museum I've visited that I've really gotten to enjoy. You can take as long as you want without someone breathing down your neck making sure you don't take a picture. My favorite floor was the upstairs one. Very cool to see Allen Ginsberg's organ and the annotated copy of "Howl". Definitely good place to check out about the history of this part of the city. TL; DR ? : It's very cool, check it out.

There are actually two sections to this museum, one of which is free and the other which requires a small fee. This review is particular to the free section, as due to certain beer related factors I didn't have enough cash for the paid museum section. There is not really any parking (other then the street) so you'll be coming here in some way does not involve a car. This is a must do for someone interested in the history/literary significance of the beat generation, and it'll take about 15-20 mins for a non specialist to run through the whole place. Double that for someone truly fascinated by the whole thing(unless you get the paid for part. Then the truly interested could be here and hour or so.). The exhibits are fairly straightforward and are very factual and informative. Dry, you might say. If you have no real interest in the literary/cultural aspects here, just skip this over. But if you are interested in those things this place is a must have. The gift store has an impressive selection of san francisco cultural/literary items for sale at various pricing. These items especially the books are not common anywhere and I'd say that is also a must do for people interested in the beat movement. Bring some cash along for that though, as there can be small discounts for the cash paying individual. They also have a good selection of local memoirs and rock and roll memorabilia. Also some items from san francisco's long counter cultural traditions (grateful dead, hippies etc.) Bonus points for being located a five minute or so walk from both the vesuvio cafe, a public access banksy, and city lights bookstore. All places you should visit if you like books, beer, or counter culture.

Great to see if you're in the area, are already a fan of the Beatniks, and just wanna see some of their old stuff: jackets, desks, photos, etc.. Half-touristy, half-bookstore (literally: you walk through the bookstore, then upstairs is the museum, which has some interesting artifacts but also a lot of posters/boring photos). Very friendly staff in the bookstore portion. The museum is entirely self-guided. Across the street from City Lights Bookstore (which published Allen Ginsberg's HOWL, among other radical books) and The Stinking Rose (which I believe has a photo of Ginsberg dining there??) Down the street are a ton of strip joints. NOTE: I was here 6/14/2011 but wanted to share my photo of the hilarious, Ginsberg-themed emergency exit sign on Yelp, so I thought I'd add a review!

Beat culture happens to be one of the loves of my life. I've written research papers on these people whenever possible and hoarded Beat poetry with gleeful greed. So, the Beat Museum was a must on my visit to San Francisco. It isn't large by any means, but the information is great. I especially loved reading about the Howl trial. The museum is mildly haphazard, with misspelled words on Time New Roman-printed information cards mounted next to displays. Perhaps this suits the Beats though. Minus a star, however, for the "Beat pad" set up just before the museum's finish. Cheesy. The dude working was super awkward and I would have spent more time (and probably money) if my friends were as obsessed as I am, but I found some great books nonetheless. And I will definitely go back any time I'm in the area again--the area prominently dotted with speakeasy establishments. How appropriate.

This was a great place to learn more about the Beat Generation, and see pieces from that era as well as videos etc. Great selection of books and posters and right around the corner from City Lights Bookstore.

I used to wonder, what the "hell does a bunch of dudes sitting around and drinking "tea" contemplating about morality for?" Until i found this store...LMAO. "The first sip [of tea] is joy, the second is gladness, the third is serenity, the fourth is madness, the fifth is ecstasy." The Dharma Bums I always struggle to park along the street; if you have a stick...forget about it. One of the two things i care about this noisome part of town is the Beat Museum and the other is the Lefties store. They have all sort of hipster stuffs: 1940s Playboys, YMCA junk, Old buttons, broken records...whatever whatever... Do what you do here, i dont judge. If you come to the museum and you haven't meet the Beatnik's King...then "You don't know JACK!" The things SF makes me fall in love with it obscenity again, every time, are the scenery and the people. After all, it is home.

Here is some Beatnik poetry if you like this kind of stuff. https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1NHXL_enUS861&ei=_DFLXYmUFvWV0PEPn4GKuAU&q=beatnik+poetry&oq=beatnik&gs_l=psy-ab.1.6.0i71l8.0.0..141303...0.0..0.0.0.......0......gws-wiz.WLiKWYuZSzc Above are link to Beatnik poetry. https://www.google.com/search?q=beatnik+poetry+history&rlz=1C1NHXL_enUS861&oq=beatnik+poetry+history&aqs=chrome..69i57.32311j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Above are links to Beatnik poetry history. If you have Pinterest.com you can view some different pictures about Beatnik poetry and Allen Ginsberg. Just type in "beatnik poetry alan ginsburg" and discover some of the past history. more about Alan Ginsburg below: https://www.google.com/search?q=alan+ginsberg&rlz=1C1NHXL_enUS861&oq=alan+ginsberg&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.10807j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I'm tempted to only give four stars, because there's nothing that amazing here, other than Neal Cassady's referee shirt from the Further drive and a '49 Plymouth like the guys drove in On the Road. Still, it's $8 well spent if you don't know that much about the Beats, or why City Lights across the street is so important to American Literature (and for that matter, to America, period). It's a good way to prep for City Lights, and the museum bookstore downstairs actually had a few Beat books that City Lights did not (better Bukowski and Di Prima selections), plus some records and other fun, funky stuff. It's also nice that they have a section on women Beats, who often get short shrift when the movement is discussed, which is unfortunate. And unfortunately, some bonehead in an office upstairs had CNN or some news channel blasting, which was frustratingly distracting. But maybe that was to simulate Neal Cassady yakking in your ear the whole time while you are driving across the country.

We saw the Beat Museum from across the street at City Lights, so we decided to stop in. Don't waste your time. It just made me sad. The museum's small collection of actual artifacts could fit into a one-room gallery exhibit. As a whole, the place is pretty shabby and smells a little like cat. About half of the materials are filled out with very basic signage and fluff like a period car and furniture with no actual association to the Beats. You can probably glean better insight from five dollars in library fines. I suggest you start with the fine pages on them in David Halberstam's The Fifties and PBS' terrific American Masters on Alan Ginsberg.

Really enjoyed the experience and was surprised how educated the movement's leaders were - and how some of them were uncomfortable with the label! This place is small and easy to get through. The guy who ran the place was awesome and had great anecdotal info too!

This isn't so much a museum as it is a shrine to Jack Kerouac and his fellow beat writers. Half of it is basically a bookstore specializing in Kerouac, Ginsberg, Cassidy, et al, and the other half is a collection of beat-related memorabilia and signage. Probably nothing interesting for those who don't care about these writers, and for experts, there's probably nothing new to be learned. For those of us who are fascinated by the beat writers, but aren't all too familiar with them, this was an interesting little place to visit, even if it's small. It's only $8, after all, and the guy who runs the place seems to be an avid Kerouac fan. At the very least, with its location across the street from City Lights Bookstore, it will help you appreciate the historical and social significance of that streetcorner, and why the alley between City Lights and Vesuvio was dubbed "Jack Kerouac Alley."

the beat museum is a combo museum remembering the beat generation of jack kerouac at al. and a bookstore featuring controversial books. . never noticed it before. was it here all this time that Carol Doda was doing her acrobatics literally next door? barely was touched by the beat generation. the Vietnam War was more pressing. since my draft number was 12. went to grad school studying polisci. stayed there till the war ended.....

OK, this place is a complete tourist trap selling summer-of-love memorabilia and photos of Jack Kerouac. However, the owners seem to have an actual love of books and it shows --there's even a bath tub of $2 book which I could not help but dig through. I chatted with the gentleman whom I assumed to be the owner and he took me into the back store room to show me this fabulous twisty slide, installed by the previous leaseholders. I couldn't believe that didn't play on the thing constantly! Anyway, for a tourist shop, this place is alright. It's well lit and completely free of stuffed Grateful Dead bears however, they do carry plenty of Jerry Garcia posters. But most of all, they have books. And if you are going to sell anything to tourists, I can't complain about books.

What museum? This is a small showcase within a store, not a museum. . . The store, however, was cool. Lots of different books and other items available that were related to the beat movement. It was cool but nothing to go out of your way for. If you're in the area, check it out. The owner was very pleasant.

If you've ever wanted to see Alan Ginsberg naked, this is the museum for you! You can get through and read everything pretty quickly, as the museum isn't very big. However, if you've stopped by City Lights Bookstore beforehand, the museum offers period-appropriate furniture to hang out on and read. Definitely worth your time if you're interested in Kerouac, Ginsberg, or the Beat movement in general. If you're not already interested though, I doubt this museum will do much to sway you.

OK. So I'm a huge fan of Beat Lit, but I am hesitant to call this place a 'museum'. It's located in the back of a bookstore. The two interesting parts of this museum were a video which focused on Jack Kerouac and a display of one of his jackets. But that was really it. The installations were constructed from poster board, reminding me of what a high school project would be. There were also some pieces of furniture from the time of the Beats, but nothing had belonged to any of the prominent figures; which is what you expect when entering a museum dedicated to a specific group. Also displayed were multiple early editions of their books which is cool but I didn't notice any first editions; and that being said, the same books were displayed across the street at City Lights. I hope that in the future this museum will be able to acquire actual historic pieces of clothing/furniture/documents to display because having a Beat Museum is a super cool concept, it just really needs to be worked on.

The Beat is on. For a kid from north of the border, this was a delightful little treasure trove of discovery. We haven't got this kind of influence back home. No siree. Like a culture vulture circling the remains of a phonetic funk, toying and playing with words, I soaked up the tidbits of what this "museum" was there to portray. The origins of the Beat. If you're not into discovery, nor have no interest in poetry and the power of words, I suggest you move on from The Beat Museum, for this place is not for you. But even if you take the slightest interest in learning about something you have not had any exposure to. Hop on down. It's only $5 admission and the owner behind the store is so obviously passionate about what he does, you can't help but take a little bit of that with you when you leave. I spent a good hour and a half perusing the tidbits and artifacts throughout, as well as taking in a portion of a documentary that was playing in the make-shift theatre in the back. I had no idea I'd find a story about the real-findings of Sputnik on the second story, I also didn't know the story behind Sputnik and Beatnik. If you don't know them either, I'll leave it to you to find out. I left with a desire to learn more and a book about the Beat in hand. Success on the behalf of the museum I'd say.

The Beat Museum in San Francisco (between Chinatown and Coit Tower) was a pretty cool little place for a decent price. The Beat Museum has a nice collection of artwork, books, and artifacts from the various beat writers and gives a comprehensive view of how they came to be, the movement in literature, the important players and books, etc. It was a good little history lesson, and if you like these authors, you will absolutely love the place. I'm not that familiar with them (just in passing really) and found it to be really interesting. The gift shop is also extensive and has some fun, quirky things. The guy working when we were there was very friendly and knew his beat history very well. My only real complaint would be that we were there at 10 when they are listed to open and found a sign that said they'd open at 10ish. It wound up being about 10:30. Just a little annoying, but if that happens, go kill time at City Lights bookstore a half block away. Definitely an off the beaten track (see what I did there?) stop in San Francisco.

This Museum surprised me a lot. Trying my best to be cool during university I read the required 'hipster' novels of Kerouac and Burroughs and yes I thoroughly enjoyed them. Obviously being a small museum most of the artefacts are copies or staged but being in San Francisco I couldn't help but read every poster and sit in the old chair upstairs and romanticize about another time. The guy who was working there was well informed and passionate (if a little arrogant) but he was full of advice about visiting historical places and also recommended the amazing bar Vesuvio. I bought lots of poetry books in the gift shop downstairs and some posters about oppression and the next day I dressed in black and told myself I would have been one of the beatniks too.

I love this place and I love Jerry the owner/founder. I always bring people from out of town here - especially if they are Republicans . . .walk in a Republican, walk out a Beat? Well maybe, we can try. The first time I came here was in their early days and it was a bit heavy on tshirts. That's changed and now its a lot of books and relevant gift items. But the best is the museum itself upstairs. It's worth the 5 bucks to enter. Jerry also has a very cool foundation called Foundation for Creative Expression www.ffce.org They have a lot of speakers and events, get on their mailing list. And of course visit, even if you are by yourself, I find I'm inspired to inject my life with more creative endeavors.

The museum of the Beat Generation comes to San Fran. I'm subscribed to FunCheapSF group on Yahoo and recently got an email about this place "The Beat Museum" where they had a 1 hour appearance of the author and filmmaker of "Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" and I was amazed I didn't know about it earlier --- I lost a lot. Such a great place with an extensive calendar of events...there is something very special about it, it's not big, but it includes a collection of books, photographs. Exhibits are happening from time to time...I really recommend visiting that place and check their calendar regularly. I'm on their email list and can't wait to be a part of another event.

This is a place Kerouac would write about visiting. Okay, maybe not. But the poetic energy is definitely passionate in the building and from the owner. Check out the gift shop and decide whether or not to pay the small entry fee to see the memorabilia... its worth it. I could have spent hours dreaming away, and losing myself in the words, but it was near closing time.. perfect timing for a drink at Vesuvio!

Where else but San Francisco would have an entire museum dedicated to the Beat movement? I admittedly knew very little about the Beat movement. The museum is at the back of their bookstore. It includes artwork and news articles about the key people in the beat movement downstairs. In the back there is a movie room if you prefer to learn about the movement that way. Upstairs there is period furniture, books, and movies. I especially appreciated the section about women within the Beat movement. The staff was extremely helpful and very welcoming. Expect the bookstore and museum to have that grungy beat feel to it. This is not your average museum. It really isn't a place for kids, but for adults it is informative. $8 was a little steep for a museum that consists of two rooms, but I was happy to support the uniqueness of this place.

Came here tagging along with someone who was really interested in the beat movement. Not really my thing but a stop for those into it. It's really run down and looks like time has stopped here. There's a rendering on the wall of a new building but I don't see it developing unless the city gets behind it because right now it just seems like its self sustaining through small donations + ticket sales. If you are in to the Beat movement, then its a stop for you and if not, well just pass.

I didn't even know there was such a thing as the Beat Museum until coming across its name on the local library's Discover & Go program. There's quite a bit of history packed into this smaller museum along with important political movements. Basically, this is a museum and small bookstore and music/record shop all in one!

The Beat Museum was pretty interesting. The guys who work there were really friendly and knowledgeable. They also have a pretty decent collection of books for sale.

I can't believe I, a local, waited 16 years to finally visit the Beat Museum being such a secret Kerouac appreciator. Till this day his timeless, enduring writing has left me with a sense of the beauty of the present moment in a way that nobody else has been able to beat. Or maybe its just him, how he talks to my "type", the itinerant curious adventurers that, in their best moments, view the world in all its gushing abundance, all zillion details of it, all steeped nostalgia, Nirvana, sadness and the cornucopia of emotions encapsuled in the fleeting life-moment. I return to his same books every few years to remind myself that a person felt and had a perspective that understood everything there really is to know, writing in a way to shout across all space and time and into your ear that HE EXISTED. A man whose fate, strangely, resulted in drinking his way to death. This paradox life of Jedi Kerouac is something that every reader of his grapples with, especially those who can relate to almost everything about him (except perhaps his dominating alcoholism.) He, in conjunction with his beat friends and contemporaries, found a writing style that was so natural that it, with its intimacy toward human experience, was superior to everything that came before it, everything that sounded contrived - he felt so real. He sparked the whole counter-cultural movement by making the world follow his example and become a dharma bum. Our reality is the child of his influence. Which is why it so amazing that he only has such a humble museum to honor his influence. There were only maybe 2 other people in the museum the whole time. The museum had some memorable items: a genuine letter from Kerouac to Marlon Brando asking him to play him as the main character Sal Moriarty in his most famous book: On The Road. (Brando never responded but filed the letter and was recovered after his death and now this museum has it!) Another item of interest was the infamous Hudson car that he and Neal Cassidy drove them around in. What really sticks out to me is the exhibit of a beat shirt that Kerouac worn on a headless mannequin, glassed-in; it so defined who Kerouac was - a nondescript drifter wearing durable attire, doubling as camping clothes, all bought at secondhand stores. I really channeled his energy through the witnessing of that shirt. I know that the family of Stella Kerouac - Jack's last wife - hoarded all his things and own the rights to his works. I read that there was a massive feud over his estate continuing to this day. It's understandable that this museum couldn't get more of their tangible personal items and sometimes rely on pictures and description boards to fill in the context of the beat universe. What the owner cobbles together, with his commentary, is more than enough to "feel" beat energy. I love how they covered all the other beats - form Ginsberg to Cassidy to the little known ones (but just as enlightened) like Buddhist Monk Philip Whalen. The guy that owns/works there is very knowledgeable and very passionate about his job. I mean it's because of this open-minded chap that a museum even exists on this earth-shattering writing style that synthesized and altered the world, pregnant with the 60's revolutionary zeitgheist manifestation within it. What's interesting is that, as you walk-out, you realize you are leaving in a bookstore maze area that contains most of the beat literature that is still in print. He has helpful notes about how, if you liked some book (like On the Road or Howl), you would like some other book, sometimes by another beat author, because it is a similar read. I was excited by the prospect of a subterranian universe of hidden Kerouac literature, literature by others that write to the cadence of real, breathing life, a culture I had previously thought as dead but are very much alive. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

This place is lovely and not tourist trap or cheesy. There's a large shop front that is refreshingly free of any chain store look or vibe - no marketers in board meetings were involved. It's more like old businesses from decades past, like very d.i.y.; a place run by local people who have a dedicated interest in Beat culture, all mismatched bookshelves filled with rare videos, dvds, great books, photos, postcards and odd bits. There are some hippy culture items as well which makes sense since the one scene was influenced by the other and their both iconic for SF, but if you aren't into hippiness it doesn't interfere with the beat flavor. If you want to go to the museum you buy your ticket from the mellow, knowledgeable clerk, the ticket has nice graphics and makes a good souvenir, then you go to the back where there's a sweet little turnstile. I love the museum! It's special. It's just right. I'll leave out the details as that's for you to discover but I'll say, this place is like the Musee Mecanique in that it's another properly run San Francisco museum that has something ever more elusive in this day and age, soul.

This is a very cool place to bring friends from out of town. If you want to get off the beaten-tourist path and show your midwestern or east coast friends something that really reflects SF culture, go here and then city lights bookstore down the street. Very cool staff that is willing to answer your questions. A cool gift shop with some authentic beat-era things and some newer less expensive souvenirs too. Minus one star because it was "in transition" when we went, and there was a large empty area upstairs. A great little museum, you will leave feeling inspired to write a poem!

Went to the Beat Museum a few weeks ago, and was severely disappointed! Used to drive by here all the time and wondered what was inside. The museum is old, decrepit, and unmaintained.The selection was poor and the staff wasn't especially friendly. The guy at the counter seem like he mostly couldn't be bothered. City Lights is a better bet to get a feel for the Beatniks of the area. Will not be coming back!

I would have given the Beat Museum five stars because it was a fun, engaging little place constructed with what appears like a passionate adoration of all things Beatnik and alternative and profound and all of the above. I would have given it five stars because of all of the cool artwork and the artifacts and the furniture and the Bob Dylans songs that swept across the room like an ocean of poetic melody. I would've. Should've. However, it would be nice if some of the little placards were geared more towards the innocent little Americans and the foreigners who really don't understand the Beatniks as much as any other North Beach hipster. Because really, how could I read a whole placard about Gary Snyder if I don't really understand what his group did and does? Just printing out the Wikipedia article and posting it at the entrance to the museum would be nice. I mean, if it was legal and if you could snazz it up a bit.

We made a special trip to The Beat Museum, and it was worth the treck. We enjoyed it very much. I learned a few things I didn't know before, and found some interesting correlations between Beats, Hippies and Punk Rockers. Pretty cool to consider this arc in subculture. I found the artifacts interesting. There were several original manuscripts, as well as an annotated manuscript of Howl by Allan Ginsberg and Jack Karouak's jacket. There were several Ferlingetti paintings to look at. Some care could be made to make the presentation more professional in appearance and curatorial approach, both in exhibit/case design and overall layout. I thought that the Ferlingettin paintings in particular could use better curation and a more secure place to be hung. I really like how The Beat Museum fits into the scale, vibe and historical context of the North Beach neighborhood and think that this museum is perfectly situated to tell the Beat story. With City Lights and Vesuvio right across the street, you can't go wrong. We were very engaged in the story and ventured across the street to experience these places for ourselves after reading about their significance to the movement. It is worth the admission price to tour this little gem.