North Beach
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North Beach is a San Francisco, California neighborhood bounded by the former Barbary Coast, now Jackson Square, and the Financial District south of Broadway (except North Beach institutions extend down Columbus to Washington and Montgomery where the Black Cat originally was), Chinatown to the southwest of Columbus below Green, and then Russian Hill to the west, Telegraph Hill to the east and Fisherman's Wharf at Bay Street to the north.
Typical intersections are Union and Columbus, the southwest corner of Washington Square, Grant Avenue and Vallejo, location of Caffe Trieste, Mason and Francisco, where there is some shopping and dining.
The neighborhood, particulary on Broadway west of Columbus, is home of the city's red-light district and a major night club and night life spot. The Condor club on the corner of Columbus and Broadway was also reputedly the world's first officially recognized strip club. It is now a night club and a municipal landmark.
There is a street fair on Grant Avenue on Father's Day and a parade along Columbus Avenue to Aquatic Park around Columbus Day. There is a National Shrine at Vallejo and Columbus and Saints Peter and Paul on Filbert north of Washington Square. The Powell Mason cable car line ends in the outer portion of North Beach where there is no beach.
The neighborhood attracted many Italians, Beats, Chinese and really all kinds of ordinary, artistic, friendly people, and has many sights and places to gather. An alleyway off of Columbus between Kearny and Broadway is named after Jack Kerouac who once lived here and frequented the renowned (as well as an municipal landmark) City Lights bookstore on the corner of Columbus and Broadway as well as the numerous coffee shops here. Baseball legend Joe Dimaggio grew up in the neighborhood and briefly returned to live here with his wife Marilyn Monroe.
It is a somewhat compact layout of three-story buildings painted in light colors dating from the 1920s when people rebuilt after the earthquake and fire of 1906. The weather is excellent with gentle, sunny hours between noon, after the morning fog burns off, and four, before the fog starts rolling back in from the Golden Gate.
External links
- Guided photo tour (http://www.dreamworld.org/sfguide/Neighborhoods/NorthBeach)
- The Chronicle's standing article about North Beach (http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/nb.shtml)