DUNEDIN, Fla. — If you’re a fan of the Beatles, you have reason to celebrate. Soon, we’ll all have an even bigger place to commemorate the legacy of the band that’s considered the greatest of all time.
The Penny Lane Ultimate Beatles Museum in Dunedin is planning to expand to a much larger location just two miles away from their current spot.
The museum is currently located in the second floor of the Stirling Art Studio and Gallery at 730 Broadway in downtown Dunedin. The space is just 500-square feet. Come October-December 2022, the museum will be relocated to the former Citibank building at 2046 Bayshore Blvd in Dunedin. It will eventually have 6,500 square feet after renovations are complete.
The Penny Lane Beatles Museum is currently free and open from Thursday through Sunday. Once they relocate, the fee may go up but founder Dr. Robert Entel hopes to keep it as low as possible for families to visit.
The Penny Lane Beatles Museum showcases items of value like signed guitars and drumsticks, as well as odd items like Beatles mothballs and grow your own Beatles hair. They even have a pair of long johns worn by John Lennon. “The story is that Yoko Ono’s ex-husband Tony Cox acquired these while he was visiting John and Yoko at their farm. We don’t know how he came to obtain them,” Dr. Entel said with amusement.
Dr. Entel has just about every Beatles item you can imagine, and it all started in his sock drawer as a small collection in the ’80s.
“I was studying to be a doctor in England and doing a medical course. I bought a few items in London and put them in my sock drawer. From there, I went to flea markets, I went to antique stores and I began collecting more. Pretty soon half of my house was full of Beatles items,” Dr. Entel explained.
Four years ago, Dr. Entel followed his friend Colin Bissett’s advice and opened the Penny Lane Museum displaying just 20% of his collection.
“I love the Beatles' influence on culture. Music of course is number one but on culture, on social norms, on political norms. I mean they influenced hairstyles, clothing. They were ubiquitous,” Dr. Entel added.
Dr. Entel received offers from as far away as Washington DC to move his Fab Four collection, but the Dunedin native chose to stay and keep his collection in Dunedin, a community that has supported him along the way.
Entel also works full-time as a radiologist for Baycare.
The museum’s new location will eventually have 12 times the space allowing Dr. Entel to show off Ringo’s drum set, Beatles jukeboxes and other large items.
Dr. Entel hopes the extra space will give people more ability to come together and reminisce.
“I had a woman come in here who said ‘my sister and I went and saw the Beatles, my parents wouldn’t let us go so we bought tickets, snuck out our bedroom window and came in the same night. They never knew we saw the Beatles.’ So, we love hearing stories like that. There’s something in here for everyone,” Entel added.
For more information on the museum, you can check out this link: https://www.pennylanebeatlesmuseum.com/?fbclid=IwAR3urYeULlbdAn4SeY9sxQkCHRjrtxRbpbllHPOVWQCKSlymFnKzvJLJEdI.
