Museum resurrects the spirit of the Insomniac
by Kevin Cody
Photos courtesy of Chris Miller, Hermosa Museum
The grandparent generation and the grandkid generation were well represented, though few of the inbetween generation attended open mic at the Hermosa Beach Museum on Thursday, February 27.
The evening was an homage to the Insomniac, a beatnik coffee house across from the Lighthouse jazz club in downtown Hermosa Beach from 1958 until 1965.
The older generation was at the museum to reminisce about seeing Allen Ginsburg read “Howl,” Lenny Bruce perform his scatological humor, and Linda Ronstadt sing in her pre Stone Pony days.
The younger generation attended the open mic night to perform contemporary expressions of Insomniac poems, humor, and songs. Which may explain why the inbetween generation wasn’t in attendance. City fathers forced the Insomniac to close.
Chris Miller began the evening with a brief history of the Insomniac. Singer/songwriter Mackenzie Day emceed the evening, which was organized by Ryan Basford, the museum’s new events and program manager.
For more about the museum, visit HermosaBeachHistoricalSociety.org.
