Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
Lombard Street
Map
5 A2.
@
45.
Powell-Hyde.
Banked at a natural incline of
27°, this hill proved too steep for
vehicles to climb. In the 1920s
the section of Lombard Street
close to the summit of Russian
Hill was revamped, and the
severity of its gradient lessened
by the addition of eight curves.
Today it is known as “the
crookedest street in the world.”
Cars can travel downhill only,
while people take the steps or
use the cable car.
0
San Francisco
Art Institute
800 Chestnut St.
Map
4 F2.
Tel
771-
7020.
@
30, 45, 91.
Powell-Hyde,
Powell-Mason. Diego Rivera Gallery:
Open
9am-5pm Mon-Sat.
Closed
public hols. Walter and McBean
Galleries:
Open
11am-6pm Wed-Sat
(to 7pm Tue).
7
partial.
=
-
∑
sfai.edu
San Francisco's Art Institute dates
from 1871 and once occupied
the large wooden mansion built
Cars negotiating the steep and crooked section of Lombard Street
A 30-Minute Walk through North Beach
Settlers from Chile, and later those from Italy, created the
North Beach nightlife that earned this quarter its exuberant
reputation. Its café-oriented atmosphere has long appealed to
bohemians, particularly the 1950s Beat Generation
(see p34)
.
Neighborhood of the Beats
Start from the southwest corner
of Broadway and Columbus
Avenue at City Lights Bookstore
1
. Owned by Beat poet
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, City Lights
was the first book-shop in the US
to sell only paperbacks. It
was author Jack Kerouac,
a friend of Ferlinghetti,
who coined the word
“Beat,” later made
popular as “Beatnik.”
One of the most
popular Beat haunts
was Vesuvio
2
, south
of City Lights, across
Jack Kerouac Alley.
Welsh poet Dylan Thomas
was a patron of this watering
hole, which is still a favorite
of poets and artists.
From Vesuvio continue south to
Pacific Avenue and cross to the
opposite side of Columbus
Avenue. Walk back toward
Broadway, stopping first at
Tosca
3
. The walls of this old-
world bar and café display
evocative murals of rural
Tuscany, and a jukebox plays
selections from Italian opera.
A few steps north bring you
to Adler Alley. Specs
4
,
an exuberant, cozy
bar filled with
memorabilia of the
Beat era, is at No. 12.
Retrace the route to
Columbus Avenue,
then turn right into
Broadway and walk as far as
Kearny Street, taking in the
hustle and bustle of Broadway.
Columbus Café
0
The Strip
This stretch of Broadway is
known as The Strip
5
, and
is noted for its “adult
entertainment.” At the junction
of Broadway and Grant Avenue
is the former Condor Club
6
,
where the world's first topless
stage show was performed in
June 1964 by Carol Doda, a
waitress at the club.
Jack Kerouac
