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City Lights Bookstore

North Beach

City Lights Bookstore, the birthplace of the Beat generation, was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. It famously published Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, leading to a landmark obscenity trial, as well as works by William S. Burroughs, Diane di Prima, Gary Snyder, and many others. The store appears in Big Sur (2013) and The Source (1999). It was the first bookstore in USA to specialize in soft-covers.
Browse inside, choose a radical soft-cover book of poetry, and cross the road to the Beat museum.

Use the button below to get directions there, and then pick one of the nearby locations from the list at the bottom of the page. If none of them strike your fancy try changing the drop-down to "All Locations".

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Nearby Locations (Guide)

Corner with Italy

Chinatown

0.03 miles NW

Beat Museum

North Beach

0.04 miles NE

Lusty Lady

North Beach

0.05 miles E

Paul Kantner's apartment

North Beach

0.09 miles N

Nearby Places to Eat

Fortune Cookie Company

Chinatown

0.13 miles SW

Sotto Mare

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0.17 miles NW

Nearby POPOS

Eureka Lodgings, quarters of the Emperor

Financial District

0.28 miles SE

TransAmerica Sequoia Grove

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0.3 miles SE

Citigroup Plaza

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0.36 miles S

Banker's Heart

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0.4 miles SE