Gregangelo Museum
The Gregangelo Museum is an ongoing compilation of installation art located in a Mediterranean-style house in the St. Francis Wood district of San Francisco. Originally built in the early 1920s, the house was converted into an art project during the 1980s by lifelong resident, Gregangelo Herrera.[1][2][3] Branded as an immersive, experiential art museum, the house boasts twenty-seven thematically different rooms, all of which have been significantly remodeled, though the original 1920s architecture was intentionally salvaged. The Museum doubles as headquarters for Velocity Circus/Arts and Entertainment, a circus troupe and arts and entertainment company which creates custom entertainment for public and private events. The Gregangelo Museum has been cited in interior design books, television networks, and editorial pages such as The Bold Italic[4] and the San Francisco Chronicle.[5] In 2012, The Gregangelo Museum was dubbed one of a few "Home Strange Homes" by HGTV[6] and has since been featured on Voltage TV's World's Weirdest Homes [7] and Netflix's Amazing Interiors.[8] The Gregangelo Museum was also featured in The Mercury News as one of the “12 coolest bay area things you didn’t know you could do” [9] as well as being included in Ruth Carlson’s book, Secret San Francisco: A Guide to the Weird, the Wonderful, and the Obscure.[10]
The Gregangelo Museum offers a series of guided tours, each structured around a particular theme. These tours are designed for small groups and vary in duration and focus. The current tours include:
The Riddle of the Sphinx: This outdoor tour involves guests navigating a series of symbolic spaces while solving riddles. The tour is designed for small private groups.
Into the Rabbit Hole: An indoor tour that explores themed environments, encouraging introspection and creative exploration. This tour is offered to both private groups and mixed groups of visitors.
Enchanted Fairy Garden: A tour aimed primarily at children, combining indoor and outdoor environments. It focuses on themes of nature and fantasy.
Behind-the-Scenes Visit: This tour includes a behind-the-scenes exploration of the museum's creative spaces and an opportunity to learn about the processes behind the installations.
Untold Secrets: A hybrid indoor and outdoor tour combining elements from other tours. It is led by Gregangelo Herrera and Marcelo, the museum’s creative directors.
Tea in Wonderland: This indoor tour incorporates elements of fantasy and art, paired with a tea service.
Each of these tours is led by a guide and emphasizes interaction with the museum’s immersive art installations. Seasonally there are immersive shows held in the museum that involve anything from magicians to tarot readers to haunted dolls.
The Gregangelo Museum is part of San Francisco’s eclectic art scene, known for its unconventional approach to combining visual art, storytelling, and performance. It serves as a platform for immersive art experiences and is frequently noted for its interdisciplinary approach. Artist Laurel True made most of the mosaics in the house which have been described by author JoAnn Locktov as "unprecedented and untraditional."[11] The house's decor mixes the humorous with the spiritual. Gregangelo uses the projects in and around the house to employ visual artists when they are not training for a show.[3]
Notable guests of the Museum include:
Podcast Co-Host/ Producer, Susan E. Brown
California Senator, Scott Wiener
American Travel Writer, BrokeAss Stuart
San Francisco Mayor, Daniel Lurie
San Francisco District 7 Supervisor District 7, Myrna Melgar, who spearheaded the legal proceedings to institute the Gregangelo Museum as San Francisco’s 318th cultural landmark in 2024.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President, Aaron Peskin
American Actor, David Talbot
American Voice Actor, Erika Ishii
American Musician, Jane Wiedlin
References
[edit]- ^ "Best In-House Museum". SF Weekly.
- ^ "The eccentric home of Gregangelo - This Forgotten Day in S.F." SFGate. January 12, 2016.
- ^ a b "His Velocity Circus is so named for good reason -- its founder is a whirling dervish on and offstage". 18 May 2005.
- ^ "The Crazy Circus House in San Francisco — The Bold Italic — San Francisco". 21 December 2010.
- ^ Spotswood, Beth (October 1, 2018). "Modest-looking city house opens door to magical world". SFChronicle.com.
- ^ HGTV: Home, Strange Home Series-Gregangelo Museum
- ^ "VoltageTV". www.voltage.tv.
- ^ "Amazing Interiors | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com.
- ^ name="https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/07/29/12-coolest-bay-area-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-do-2"
- ^ name="https://www.sftravel.com/article/how-i-see-san-francisco-ruth-carlson"
- ^ Locktov, JoAnn (2007). Mosaic Art and Style: Designs for Living Environments. Beverly: Quarry Books. p. 91. ISBN 978-1-61059-441-7.