Every generation has its cultural icons and historical high and low points. Baby Boomers, coming along at a time when the world was shifting dramatically on every conceivable front, have proper claim to an inordinate number of defining moments: landing a man on the moon, the assassination of JFK, Woodstock, the British invasion (by way of the Beatles), and Martin Luther King’s dream to name a few. Since 1957, Britt Nelson has been busy acquiring a massive collection of headlines and magazine covers pinpointing those moments in time. This collection of a lifetime is now on permanent display at The Patio Bar and Restaurant in Jacó, Costa Rica.

Growing up in the DC area in the 50s, Nelson’s first job was as a newspaper boy for the Washington Post. It was at the age of 8 that he first began collecting headlines and magazine covers, his first purchase being a 3-inch stack of Punch magazines from London dated 1883.

Nelson’s passion for news continued into his adult life. After graduating with a degree in Mass Communications, he embarked on a long and storied award-winning career in journalism, writing for papers within the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group throughout the southeastern United States before finally retiring as news editor for the Palatka Daily News in 2002. In 2011, five years after the passing of his wife, Nelson moved to Costa Rica sight unseen. With him, came his historical archives: over 400 pieces of history and pop culture captured through newspaper headlines and magazine covers.

“It’s time to share it,” Britt tells me as we sit at this rock and roll bar. Behind us, Cassius Clay (popularly known as Muhammad Ali) stands triumphantly over Sonny Liston. A younger Johnny Carson smiles down, flanked by Kennedys, all memorialized in magazine print.

Lining the two bars that extend out to the street, classic covers from Rolling Stone, The Saturday Evening Post, Life Magazine, Time, and even TV Guide lay one beside another, preserved by Nelson and protected by glass.

And he didn’t stop (nor even start) with collecting the landmark images and snapshots of his generation. Perched next to Sammy Davis, Jr., Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier stands Anna Nicole Smith, smiling out from a sea of bright pink and purple on the cover of a 2001 Playboy magazine. And then there’s generational overlap: Johnny Depp as Hunter S. Thompson by way of Rolling Stone.

Through newsstands, flea markets, yard sales and collectibles shops, Nelson collected the pieces comprising his collection. Knowing his passion, friends would sometimes gift him with a coveted cover as well. One by one, the archive grew.

Jack Leuzon, owner of The Patio Bar/Restaurant commented that the response to the archive, particularly during the evening hours, has been great. It’s something that people really connect with. For the Baby Boomer generation especially, it is their life, their time, their history on display.

Already, this permanent exhibit is an impressive display of history and pop culture but it is far from complete; more slices of Americana portrayed through print are slated to cover the walls at The Patio as it undergoes renovation. If you want a glimpse into history, there is no better place in Jacó than through the collection at the Patio Bar which, incidentally, happens to be a perfect locale for the exhibit; John, Paul, George And Ringo stand life-size above the rock and roll bar, inviting all to come in for a beer and to step into their world. Now, through Britt’s archive, that world is brought even more back to life.

Located 50m north of the Johannes Dankers Park, The Patio Bar and Restaurant is open every day from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.