San Francisco’s North Beach, let’s get into it!

The North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco is between China Town and the Marina district. It hits the financial district and Russian Hill as well which is to say it’s really central to the heart of city. Historically, it’s been known as San Francisco’s Little Italy, and in this era the district is a big go to for experiencing San Francisco’s night life. 

Outside of the main strips of bars, theatre’s and restaurants, North Beach is also a residential neighborhood. These days it’s population is largely young urban professionals and Chinese immigrant families. This is such a fun, cool, unique neighborhood, where you gotta be down to walk up some serious inclines to get to your front door. The sights, the food, the tourists and people to see on the daily, what an exciting spot to call home! 

Let’s flash back a bit and talk about how this special place came to be. 

So first of all, it got the name north beach because the whole area did in fact use to be a beach. It was filled in with landfills around the 19th century. They built warehouses, fishing wharves and docks on the new shoreline. 

In 1910, the first space created for kids and families came to fruition with the construction of the North Beach Park. It had a playground and a pool. In the 20’s , the late, great, joe DiMaggio played there as a child before becoming a Major League Baseball star. 

DiMaggio continued to live in this area, and in the 50’s, resided in North beach with his beautiful wife Marilyn Monroe. The park has since been renamed DiMaggio Park. 

 Between 1910 and 1950 the area had really built up its Italian flavor and identity which still exists today. 

 After the 1906 earthquake, many Italians moved to the area and gave it its character and specific flare. 

North Beach was home to San Francisco’s first lesbian bar. In 1936 Mona’s bar was built in a small north beach basement to celebrate the end of prohibition. As the gay community made it a very popular place, it moved to a larger location on Broadway and remained Mona’s until the early 50s. 

In the 1950s Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg spearheaded the epicenter of the famous San Francisco Beat Generation. The term beatnik originated here in North beach as a slur for the unconventional writers and artists. 

The City Lights bookstore opened for business during this time, and can still be visited today. It shares an alley with Vesuvio which is a very famous beat neck café still in operation today. The alley between the 2 was renamed Jack Kerouac alley in 1988. 

During the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s the cabaret, and topless bar scene flourished. It drew service members and tourists and brought a lot of lively energy and cash infused to Broadway Street. 

The Italian population had plummeted in the neighborhood since 2000. It’s become much more Chinese as china town has blossomed into a wider area. The restaurants are still a mainstay, there is wonderful gelato and sensational pasta and pizza, and Italian wine and espresso. 

The neighborhood parts of North beach are comprised of Modern, mid century apartments, duplex’s and Victorian homes and multiplexes. 

There are lots of fun annual celebrations in North beach such as the North Beach festival street fair on Grant and Columbus Avenue. It’s the longest running, oldest street fair in the city and it usually falls on Father’s Day weekend. 

The Italian Heritage festival is a parade that goes from Fisherman’s wharf to St Paul and Peters Catholic Church. It celebrates the area’s Italian history with food and music…and also food and more food. 

Known as the Catholic Church of the West, St. Paul and Peter Catholic Church is located in Washington square and has been featured in many movies with stars like Clint Eastwood and Barbara Streisand. 

If you’re taking Bart to get there, you can get off at the financial district and walk pretty easily. If you’re not down to hoof it there are also several bus lines you can catch. 

Walking through North Beach early morning or evening is such a treat. The smells, the bustle, the history, the fun. It’s a part of San Francisco that’s truly stand out in the cities culture and what makes it stand apart from other places. 

Gosh, can you imagine living there and getting to be a wash in all of that wonder all of the time? It’s the kind of place to live that would really change your life.