Step into the Counterculture Museum near the corner of Haight and Ashbury and it’s likely you’ll be greeted by Kira, a friendly Australian shepherd, along with a killer playlist. Tunes from the golden age of 1960s and ’70s rock spill through the speakers onto the bustling Haight Street sidewalk. Bystanders hear songs like “Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire, which was once banned by radio for its controversial lyrics. Co-founder Estelle Cimino says people often dance through the aisles of the museum, and regularly ask for her playlists.

The museum, which opened last May, just scored a major accolade by being listed in a Time Magazine feature of the 100 greatest places in the world, putting it alongside fantastic locales like the Mountain Lodges of Nepal Manang and the Grand Egyptian Museum. The only other California locations that made the cut were Hotel del Coronado in San Diego and Highway 1.

“At first I thought it was a scam, then it happened, and it was like oh my gosh this is amazing,” said Cimino.

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The founders, Estelle and her husband Jerry, have also run the Beat Museum in North Beach since 2003. They see this as the next chapter in a broader cultural story of San Francisco.

The entrance of the Counterculture Museum on Haight Street in San Francisco, on March 24, 2026.

A view of books available at the Counterculture Museum on Haight Street in San Francisco, on March 24, 2026.

“The issues are the same, it’s how people are treated, how the world is treated, the planet, the environment. We’re still dealing with the same issues. One day, maybe we’ll get it right,” said Estelle.

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Jerry and Estelle Cimino opened the Counterculture Museum on Haight Street in San Francisco, on March 24, 2026.

That sense of optimism carries through in one of the first prominent posters in the museum, which features Carolyn Garcia, aka Mountain Girl, who was married to the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia. It reads: “We really thought we could change the world. We still do.” 

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For Jerry, the quote sums up the empowerment associated with the hippie movement, which brought nearly 100,000 young people to San Francisco in search of alternate ways of living.

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“I can’t tell you........

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