Museum of Modern Mythology

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The Museum of Modern Mythology (MoMM) was a San Francisco museum about pop-culture brands. It opened in 1982 and closed in 1989 after the Loma Prieta earthquake damaged its building beyond repair. MoMM was started by Ellen Havre Weis, Jeffrey Errick and Matthew Cohen. The collection began with advertising character artifacts collected by Errick. It was first housed at Fisherman’s Wharf, drawing tourists, and grew to about 3,000 objects from advertising history. Characters in the collection included the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Frito Bandito, Colonel Sanders, Cap’n Crunch, Mr. Clean, Mr. Peanut, Mr. Bubble, Charlie the Tuna, and the Jolly Green Giant.

In 1988, Weis told the New York Times that these characters enter our subconscious and should be studied for their mythological value, as archetypes we all recognize. In 1986 MoMM created a Hall of Fame for living advertising characters. The first inductees were Clara Peller, known for “Where’s the Beef?” in Wendy’s ads, and the real-life Mrs. Olson, Virginia Christine, from Folgers commercials.

After the 1989 earthquake, the building was condemned and the museum was given two hours to clear its contents. In the 1990s the museum tried without success to find a new location. In 2021, an agreement was reached to move much of the collection to the Valley Relics Museum in Van Nuys, California.