Professor Seagull’s Smartshop and Gallery

Address
1351 Grant Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133 United States Get Directions
Phone 415-275-1476
Website https://www.sfsmartshop.com

Vibe: Whimsical & Mind-Bending | Botanical & Witchy | Consciousness-Expanding

Professor Seagull’s Smartshop is a one‑of‑a‑kind North Beach destination that functions as a botanical herb shop, art gallery, and community space for the curious. Founded by Benjamin and Juliette Manton and inspired by eccentric writer Joe Gould (aka “Professor Seagull”), it specializes in legal ethnobotanical plants like blue lotus and kanna, presented alongside visionary and psychedelic artwork. The interior feels like a modern apothecary for the mind, with clean Scandinavian‑style shelving, glowing glass jars, and colorful murals that make the whole space feel gently otherworldly.
Art & atmosphere  
The main floor is lined with neatly labeled jars of obscure herbs and nootropics, while every wall doubles as a rotating gallery for artists working in mind‑bending, mystical, or surreal imagery. Browsing here means drifting between shelves, reading plant descriptions, and getting pulled into intricate drawings and paintings, often with the artists or owners on hand to talk about both the work and the botanicals. It has the welcoming feel of a neighborhood living room with a strong dose of the occult and the cosmic.
Community events & programming  
On First Fridays, the Smartshop is one of the liveliest stops on the North Beach art walk, hosting new exhibitions, experimental and psychedelic music, and dancers that turn the narrow space into a swirling little carnival. Monthly Full Moon Trip Temple gatherings, co‑hosted with Live Worms Gallery, blend ambient soundscapes, integration circles, and collaborative art‑making into a 21+ ritual‑style evening aimed at deep connection and open expression. Regular film nights and integration circles—often centered on figures like Ram Dass or Timothy Leary—invite people to reflect on plant‑medicine experiences and altered states in a grounded, non‑judgmental way.
Details that define the room
• Focus on legal ethnobotanical plants and nootropics, framed with clear education and respect.
• Rotating gallery of visionary, psychedelic, and spiritually themed art rather than static décor.
• First Friday hub with high‑energy openings, live music, and performance.
• Monthly Full Moon Trip Temple and regular cinema/integration events that treat consciousness exploration as a community practice.
• A modern gathering point for the same kind of intellectual outsiders and bohemians who once haunted North Beach’s classic bars and bookstores.
Categories: North Beach

Events at this venue

Today

  • Group Art Show

    Group Art Show
    Professor Seagull's Smartshop and Gallery 1351 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA, United States +1 more

    Pop by Live Worms and Professor Seagull’s Smartshop for the North Beach First Fridays Art walk featuring work by John Folan, Lasana Taylor, Job Smith, and Floyd Tangeman. Inside the Smartshop, the gallery walls are covered in psychedelic light green and yellow wallpaper — vibrant, but still perfectly balanced to receive and highlight artwork of...

    Free

  • Art by John Folan

    Group Art Show
    Professor Seagull's Smartshop and Gallery 1351 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA, United States +1 more

    Pop by Live Worms and Professor Seagull’s Smartshop for the North Beach First Fridays Art walk featuring work by various local artists and featuring works by John Folan. Inside the Smartshop, the gallery walls are covered in psychedelic light green and yellow wallpaper — vibrant, but still perfectly balanced to receive and highlight artwork of...

    Free

  • Group Art Show

    Group Art Show
    Professor Seagull's Smartshop and Gallery 1351 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA, United States +1 more

    Pop by Live Worms and Professor Seagull’s Smartshop for the North Beach First Fridays Art walk featuring work by various local artists. Inside the Smartshop, the gallery walls are covered in psychedelic light green and yellow wallpaper — vibrant, but still perfectly balanced to receive and highlight artwork of all kinds. Rotation is every 1–2...

    Free

  • Group Art Show

    Group Art Show
    Professor Seagull's Smartshop and Gallery 1351 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA, United States +1 more

    Pop by Live Worms and Professor Seagull’s Smartshop for the North Beach First Fridays Art walk featuring work by various local artists. Inside the Smartshop, the gallery walls are covered in psychedelic light green and yellow wallpaper — vibrant, but still perfectly balanced to receive and highlight artwork of all kinds. Rotation is every 1–2...

    Free
Event details are subject to change. Please confirm dates, times and cover charges directly with the venue before attending.