Owner moves Beatles museum to Virginia Beach

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McKee’s Beatles Museum in Virginia Beach, Va., which opened in July, is filled with fascinating memorabilia of the famous rock stars who changed the face of music in the turbulent 1960s.

As the 1967 Time magazine cover story on the Beatles said, “They are leading an evolution in which the best of current pop-rock sounds are becoming something that pop music has never been before: an art form.”

Two years ago, Michael McKee and his wife, Lynn, established the only officially registered Beatles museum in the United States, in Stanardville, a small town in rural Virginia, 350 miles north of Charlottesville.

McKee, 44, operated a small print shop and wanted to cover up defects in a wall in the building. A one-time musician with a music degree from UCLA and longtime Beatles fan, he decided to decorate several walls with Beatles posters, photographs and album covers.

Before long, McKee’s shop became frequented more for its Beatles collection than for its printing services. A friend came by and remarked, “This place seems more like a Beatles museum than a print shop.”

McKee remembers the remark to this day, saying, “That hit me like a light bulb going off in my head.”

Soon, visitors not only from this country but around the world were visiting the free attraction. “One couple from England spent their 37th anniversary watching old Beatles concert footage here,” McKee said. “And waitresses from New York came in and told me they had waited on John Lennon, who complimented their service.”

Foreign reporters occasionally called for “exclusive” interviews.

Though only 500 feet square, the quirky museum was attracting international attention as the only registered shrine to the Beatles in the United States and one of four worldwide (the others are in England, France, and Germany).

“When we decided to expand the space to what had become a small museum,” said McKee, a tall, articulate man, “the residents objected. So we looked for a new home. During our search, developers across the country contacted us, including those in Chicago and Ocean City, Maryland.”

McKee, a California native, had visited a friend in Virginia in 1981. By that time, he had given away his original collection of Beatles memorabilia, “never dreaming one day I would really treasure all those things,” he recalled. He decided to stay on the East Coast, found a new job, and began again to collect Beatles items.

A prominent developer in Virginia Beach, Bruce Thompson, became intrigued with McKee’s idea for a relocated Beatles museum. Thompson, who co-owns a number of properties, sponsored the museum’s relocation.

Investing about $350,000 in the project, Thompson and his colleagues put a native Englishman in charge of the effort. David Adkins, a dedicated Beatles fan, said, “Where I come from, people worship the Beatles the same way churchgoers pray.”

On July 3, a grand opening was held at the new building at 205 25th St. in the oceanfront resort city of Virginia Beach.

George Harrison’s sister, Louise, attended the ribbon cutting. Since then, she has contributed several important mementos to McKee including the letter from the Beatles’ original manager, Brian Epstein, inviting the group to the United States for their first visit.

Epstein is credited as “the man who made the Beatles.” While the Beatles had been rocking the British with hit after hit record, they did not have an audience in the United States.

Epstein worked every angle he could think of, finally booking the foursome on Ed Sullivan’s TV show for three performances starting on Feb. 9, 1964. The Beatles’ contract was for $2,400 per show, less than half of Sullivan’s going rate — but they were assured they would receive top billing.

Newspaper reporters and disc jockeys tracked the foursome’s flight from England to their arrival in New York. More than 4,000 screaming teen-agers greeted the group as they left their plane. After the Sullivan appearance, the overwhelming reception of the Beatles’ innovative sound and mystical compositions installed them as the trailblazers of pop music culture. America was charmed and Beatlemania was born.

The entrance of McKee’s museum houses a gift shop filled with hundreds of Beatles items — T-shirts, postcards, tapes, albums, posters, towels, plates, shopping bags, ties, jackets, CDs. McKee will not sell any unlicensed merchandise.

One enters a series of rooms which contain glass display cases with such items as John Lennon’s will, Beatles stamps, George Harrison’s autographed Fender guitar, a wax exhibit of the Fab Four, gold and platinum records, a 1965 Beatles tour jacket, Billboard charts, the last printed interview with Lennon in Playboy 1981, the master acetate of “Day After Day,” countless photos, Ringo’s actual drumsticks, and their first hit record, “My Bonnie.”

Yoko Ono, Lennon’s sife, has autographed significant pieces which she has donated to the museum. A poignant note is the letter from Paul McCartney thanking McKee for his tribute to his late wife, Linda.

In celebration of John Lennon’s birthday this year (he would have been 58 in October), McKee acquired a 1964 VW camper which was used by John and Yoko “while visiting their dairy farm” in Virginia. Guests could have their picture taken in the “Beatles Beetle.” A huge party was held on Oct. 10 and 11 at the rear of the museum.

Virginia Beach, the largest city in Virginia (population: 440,000), is also one of the most popular seashore vacation destinations in the country.

On a crisp, sunny day in fall, Mike and Shirley Filion from East Haven, Conn., were visiting the resort community. “We happened to see the neon lights last night in the front of the museum,” the thirtysomething couple explained. “We’ve always loved the music of the Beatles so we had to come here today. It’s just a terrific collection about an era we missed but are so pleased to learn about.”

Michael McKee, a genial host, enjoys showing visitors some of the 15,000 items he has accumulated. “And you wouldn’t believe that every day in the mail I receive photos people have taken here — which they want me to have.” McKee also notes that at least once a week “I have to remove lipstick from the glass in front of the largest Beatles window.”

He takes the revered guitar of George Harrison out of the glass case and lets a visitor, upon request, pose for a picture with the instrument. “It seems whatever age the fan is, he or she loves to have a picture taken with this guitar,” he said. “And, of course, they all start to sing, “I love you, yeah! yeah! yeah!”

IF YOU GO: Admission to the museum is $7 for adults, children under 12 are free if accompanied by an adult. (Be sure to ask about the current 2-for-1 promotion.) Hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. The museum is located at 205 25th St., Virginia Beach, telephone 757-491-0491. The museum’s Web site is www.beatlesmuseum.com.

WHERE TO STAY: The Cavalier Hotel, Sheraton Oceanfront, The Hilton Oceanfront, Ramada, Best Western Beach Quarters Inn.

WHERE TO EAT: Tautogs, Steinhilber’s, Chix Cafe, Aldo’s, Alexander’s on the Bay, Beach Pub, Black Angus Restaurant.

WHAT TO SEE: Virginia Marine Science Museum, Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum, Old Coast Guard Station, First Landing/Seashore State Park, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Lynnhaven House.