Neighborhood Cafe Schedule

Did You Know?

Prominent Italian Americans that came from the neighborhood include Baseball legend Joe Dimaggio who grew up in the neighborhood and briefly returned to live there with his wife Marilyn Monroe during the 1950s, as well as former San Francisco mayor and politician Joesph Alioto as well as others from the prominent Alioto family.Due to its past legacy as the Barbary Coast, Broadway east of Columbus, grew to be the home of the city's red light district and striptease clubs.

The area largely known today as North Beach was an actual beach, filled in with landfill around the late 19th century.

The term "beatnik" originated from the scene here and was coined in a derogatory fashion by local and famed San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen.

Peter and Paul Church in front of Washington Square where Joe DiMaggio married Marlyn Monroe, is also considered an landmark to the neighborhood's Italian American past.An alleyway off of Columbus between Kearny Street and Broadway is named for Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac, who once lived there and frequented the famous City Lights Bookstore on the corner of Columbus and Broadway as well as the numerous nearby bars and coffee shops.Broadway east of Columbus Avenue still serves as the city's main red-light and nightclub district as it has many strip clubs, as well as bars, nightclubs, jazz clubs, and the like.The North Beach street fair on Grant Avenue on Father's Day is one of the city's largest.

The city's as well as the national Shrine of Francis of Assisi, the city's namesake which also contains a small reproduction of the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, is located in a small chapel on Vallejo Street.

The neighborhood also hosts a large Columbus Day/Italian American heritage day parade along Columbus Avenue to Aquatic Park.The San Francisco Art Institute is located in the Northern end of North Beach, on Russian Hill, while the Academy of Art University has several buildings in the area, including one along Columbus Avenue and one across Pier 39.49-Mile Scenic Drive.