The Beat Museum

I happened upon The Beat Museum while visiting City Lights Booksellers (across the street). When I walked into the "museum" (which is a retail store, with the museum seeming to come second to the store) the guy who was working was friendly almost to the point of being aggressive. Reminded me of a used-car salesman...insincere, or...???? A suggestion: The place is too BRIGHT. Too clean. Tries too hard. A smoother, dimmer, mellower and much less blinding-white-light environment would do a lot for the ambiance of The Beat Museum. The place itself seems to reduce the Beats and the Beat movement to hype. Kinda sad, frankly. The Beats weren't simple to define, but this place seems to try hard to render them so. I noticed a display profiling a book that I have been looking to purchase - so I went across the street to City Lights and bought it. Rather give my money to the bookstore. Speaking of money, The Beat Museum is quite pricey - there's a strong tourist feel to the place; not the sort of place in which *real* people or locals would hang out. I didn't pay the $5 for the museum. I very much wanted to see what was inside the museum, but the environment just wasn't...museum-like and not at all Beat-cozy. I was happy to see a place that gives access to Beat memorabilia and info, and merchandise, but The Beat Museum just isn't "getting it." My hope is that someday, someone will open a REAL Beat museum. I hope the traveling Beat Museum is a better reality.