Attracted by low rent and a bohemian atmosphere, artists, writers, musicians and wanderlusts gathered in North Beach coffee houses and nightclubs, bringing with them abstract art, stream-of-consciousness verse, jazz music and jive talk.
Today, the North Beach public library on Columbus Avenue houses a collection of more than 250 famous Beat Generation works, a Beat Museum opened on Broadway in 2006 and on Columbus Avenue, and two of the most famous Beat Generation hangouts are still around today: Vesuvio Cafe and City Lights Bookstore.
Vesuvio Cafe
Vesuvio Cafe has long been known as the literary cafe. An arty atmosphere still permeates the cozy, two-level pub whose walls are covered with paintings, photos, and articles from the Beat era. The bar serves specialty drinks named for famous Beat Generation writers and hosts occasional special events.In 1958, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen merged the words "beat" (already used to described the new, disaffected generation) and Sputnik (the recently-launches satellite), coining the term "beatnik" to describe the Beat Generation non-conformists. Vesuvio owner Henri Lenoir created a "beatnik kit," promoted by a mannequin in his window wearing a beret, sunglasses, mustache, and sandals.
Engraved in the sidewalk outside Vesuvio's front door is a list of notable Beat generation writers who were booted out of the bar. Be sure to read the poem on the outside wall.
City Lights Bookstore
Just up the street from the Vesuvio is City Lights Booksellers and Publishers, the literary focal point of the Beat Generation in North Beach. Opened in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti to subsidize a literary magazine, City Lights was the first paperback-only bookstore. Also a publishing house, it produced poet Allen Ginsberg's famous "Howl" as well as works by other Beat Generation poets including Farlinghetti himself.Although the magazine was short-lived, the bookstore and publishing house continues to be successful today. In stock are many social, political, cultural, and artistic works not found anywhere else. The poetry room upstairs still includes poetry and literature from the Beat Generation.
Today the bookstore's wall in Jack Kerouac Alley sports a recently-painted mural depicting revolutionary heroes from Chiapas, Mexico.
More: Visiting North Beach | North Beach Walking Tour
This page written in association with Martha Bakerjian
