San Francisco is a undoubtedly a creative artistic hub replete with several interesting and thought-provoking museums. Aside from the illustrious SFMOMA, DeYoung, and Legion of Honor Museums, there are also plenty of smaller, more niche museums less frequented, but still just as awe-inspiring and truly capture the eccentricity of our dense seven-mile city.
From a vintage 1800s penny arcade, to a lesson on traditional bookbinding and a gallery of illegal images, here are a few of the most pleasantly intriguing and San Francisco-exclusive museums if you seek an enlightening experience apart from the typical art exhibits.
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Pier 45 / Website
We begin with a magical place that truly could have endless articles on just how fun and captivating it is with their antique interactive games. Located along Fisherman's Wharf, the Musée Mecanique is great for all ages for an immersive look into the 1800s and how they passed the time with their fun arcade games.
These coin-operated machines, such as their vintage fortune tellers, arm wrestling, and musical gizmos are all meticulously restored, allowing you to accurately see every detail of their figurines and effects. You could easily spend an entire day seeing their vast number of machines, as the venue is open every day and is free to enter, with coin machines to exchange your bills.
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540 Broadway / Website
Just as penny arcades are a glimpse into one era of San Francisco, North Beach's Beat Museum illuminates the city's 1950s and 60s beat movement. First opened in 2003, this packed museum sits across from City Lights Bookstore and Cafe Vesuvio, two signigicant locations known for facilitating this counterculture generation's luminaries Jack Kerouac and Allens Ginsberg.
From letters to manuscripts and other physical keepsakes, this is a fantastically thorough venue for a peek into a pivotal time in San Francisco's cultural influence.
See also: Visit This Historic Cafe Pivotal To San Francisco's Cultural Renaissance For National Poetry Month
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355 Clementina St / Website
This non-profit museum is a literal standout as the only one of its kind in North America that devotes itself to preserving and uplifting the art and history of classic bookbinding. Stepping in here is an immersive adventure into comprehending how books were initially hand-bound into the introduction of the first machines to automate the laborious process. This is a calm and genuine way to appreciate a lesser understood aspect of American culture, and as the museum boasts, "once you visit, you will never look at a book the same again."
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841 Columbus Ave / Website
You will genuinely never meet another person like the brilliantly knowledgeable and kind Lyle Tuttle, who you will only see by visiting his tattoo shop and museum. His stunning joint provides a rocking historical glimpse of his artistic background and lifelong passion for tattooing, which includes the great Janis Joplin and Joan Baez. Definitely ask him to share his deep stories on each of the vibrant memorabilia he has displayed.
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Address available upon request / Website
Perhaps the most exclusive and esoteric on this list is this Institute of Illegal Images, also known as the LSD Museum, run by the iconic Mark McCloud. His walls showcase thousands of blotter art, which are the beautifully intricate patterns found decorating LSD sheets during the 1960s.
While his 30,000+ framed pieces have been controversial to the DEA, he insists the art is drug-free, and only desires to preserve this corner of design in a particular time in American history. Appointments made with Mark are the only method to see this gallery, which we also recommend inquiring Mark to get all the rich details.
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1620 Polk St / Website
For a titillating view into feminist and human history, the museum behind Polk's Good Vibrations store has preserved all the most fascinating and creative collection of antique vibrators. This rousing exhibit is free and truly edifying, as in-house sexologist Dr. Carol Queen and her team of highly informative docents host in-depth tours that contextualize the surrounding gender culture, political climate, and technological age that the vintage pieces were utilized in.
This impressive gallery not only sheds light on the actual objects and the times they were in, but also excels in facilitating puissant commentary on the necessity for these inventions and their future trajectory in intersectional feminist and otherwise patriarchial contexts.
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398 Eddy Street / Website
Lastly, the Tenderloin neighborhood has long been considered a rather dodgy area, however the extraordinary Tenderloin Museum fights to reiterate the dynamic and thriving culture it historically has had. From thrilling jazz clubs to counterculture LGBT speakeasies and even the Wally Heider Studios where the Grateful Dead and more have recorded, this museum is devoted to commemorating this district's legendary contributions to the city's entertainment prestige, cultural identity, and civil rights activism.
Not only is the museum already an illuminating journey in itself, but Uptown Tenderloin Inc., the establishment's nonprofit, has also installed up to 100 plaques around the neighborhood for a fabulously detailed walking tour.
You are sure to learn something new and leave pleasantly surprised at any of these smaller, but still incredibly remarkable and informative museums that differ from the larger-known venues here!
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Photography by: Adrien Olichon/Pexels
