Overview
In 1953, Lawrence Ferlinghetti co-founded City Lights Pocket Books in the heart of San Francisco's North Beach community. The tiny, triangle-shaped bookstore quickly became a bat-signal for the literary counterculture of the Beat Generation: Jack Kerouac drifting in *On The Road*, Allen Ginsberg HOWL(ing), Neal Cassady and friends shamelessly carousing through the artsy cafes, funky bars, notorious strip clubs and adult establishments nearby.
About Your Guide
Hi, I'm Sherri-- GenX author and journalist, a West Coast Girl transplanted to Atlanta, GA to raise a family... where I started writing women's humor as The Rebel Housewife(tm). As an avid reader, author fangirl, teacher, and literature & history geek in general, I love to research, travel, and explore the world by the book, so to speak... Wherever you go, there are spellbinding true stories just below the surface of time and current scenery, beyond the pages of a travel guide-- the history, scandals, drama and gossip, tragedies, crimes and mysteries... spooky ghost stories, too! I specialize in Books & Travel - Literary Adventures - connecting readers to a destination through the great books, famous authors, and fascinating stories of a particular location, city, or country. Enjoy!
Go on this Sidewalk
Guide Points
Washington Square Park
*Today, Washington Square is the heart of North Beach, as it has been for many years. Italian and Chinese residents mix with tourists and t…
Columbus Avenue - North Beach
Columbus Avenue cuts an infamous path through Little Italy and Chinatown. From its start at the base of the Transamerica Pyramid to its ter…
Caffe Trieste
Whether it’s early morning or late night, you’ve got to stop by Caffe Trieste, at least once, for the ambiance, history, and incredible Ita…
Jazz Mural
This intersection is a touchstone and gateway to the very heart of the Beat Generation in San Francisco: This. Is. It!
The Beat Museum
Museum. Bookstore. Curiosity Shop.
Language of the Birds
What earlier might have looked like styrofoam take-out containers suspended on the wires above, after dark becomes an amazing light show— t…
City Lights Books
City Lights is a landmark independent bookstore and publisher that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics.
Jack Kerouac Alley
Normally, you might worry about stepping outside at midnight into an alley, thinking of the dark, dingy, possibly dangerous sidestreet alle…
Vesuvio Cafe
*Vesuvio has never been just a bar. It’s true that booze sales pay the bills, but the place is also an art gallery, a museum, a living room…
About Sidewalk
The app navigates people through a neighborhood walk using GPS turn-by-turn directions, rich imagery and storytelling.