Areas in the City

North Beach
Also called 'little Italy', North Beach is centrally located between Chinatown, Telegraph Hill, Russian Hill and Fisherman's Wharf. It is home to some of the city's best restaurants and stays busy day and night with its numerous coffee shops and bars. Originally it was the Italian quarter with 60,000 Italians living here in the 1940's. In the 1950's many of the figures of the Beat movement gathered in the area in places such as Vesuvios and City Lights Bookstore owned by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Today it is a favored area for local young professionals. The Church of St Peter and Paul is located next to Washington Square - the location of Marilyn Munroe and Joe DiMaggio's wedding photographs. Two blocks away is St Francis of Assisi Church. Visit daily 11am - 5pm to view historic murals.

Marina District
One of the wealthiest districts in the city sits at the very northern tip of San Francisco with views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The commercial center runs along Chestnut and Union streets. Most of the Marina was built up to celebrate the rebuilding of San Francisco after the earthquake in 1906. Ironically, much of it was poorly built and was damaged in the earthquake in 1989. The Exploritorium is attached on the West side and has over 500 exhibits of light and color, sound and music, patterns of motion, language and other natural phenomena. Marina Green, a stretch of green grass running along the edge of the Bay, is a favorite place for jogging, strolling, picnicking and kite flying. Spanish soldiers established Adjacent Fort Mason Center, located at Marina Boulevard & Buchanan, in 1797. Former military warehouses and piers now house museumchedrt and cultural groups. Reach the 24-hour information line at 415-979-3010.

Mission District
Stroll along the Mission's wide avenues and you'll be struck by the profusion of taquerias, pupuserias, produce markets, Salvadoran bakeries, salon de bellezas (beauty salons), auto-repair shops and check-cashing centers that post rates for wiring money to Guatemala and Nicaragua -- all evidence of the Central American and Mexican families that have been settling the Mission en masse since the 1950s.

© Janet Aguila Krause