| City Lights Books tips, reviews and photos posted by real travelers and San Francisco locals.
261 Columbus Ave.
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SF is chock full of interesting Bookstores. Perhaps City Lights is the most famous (infamous). But if you're a lover of livres, this is the place for you!
Founded in 1953, this is one of the last remaining independent bookstores. For fans of the genre it's essential to keep an eye on the website to be familiar with the steady stream of interesting events that happen weekly. You'll also want to visit the website for the virtual tour of the City Lights bookstore and it's history.
Open daily 10 am til midnight. Leave a Comment Theme: BooksPhone: 415.362.8193Directions: North Beach - Stick around for some great Italian food and then espresso and fun at Cafe TriesteWebsite: http://www.citylights.com/
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Located near the corner of Columbus and Broadway in the North Beach District, City Lights Booksellers is a grand tradition of contemporary book selling that focuses upon the world of poetry, literature, arts, and progressive politics. Started in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, whose own poetry makes him easily the most famous San Franciscan poet during the Beat Generation, and Peter Martin. The store encourages everyone to come and browse for hours. This is also a publisher of books under the same name. The bookstore claims to have been the first all paperback bookstore, although now hardback books are also sold. Another claim to fame by the bookstore and publisher is production of banned books and an extensive stock of hard to find books from smaller publishers. The bookstore website also recounts that Ferlinghetti's publication of Allen Ginsberg’s "Howl & Other Poems" in 1956 led to his arrest on obscenity charges, and the trial that followed drew national attention to the San Francisco Renaissance and Beat movement writers. (He was overwhelmingly supported by prestigious literary and academic figures, and was acquitted.) This landmark First Amendment case established a legal precedent for the publication of controversial work with redeeming social importance. Ferlinghetti was also a writer of plays and other literature, and a painter. Leave a Comment
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City Lights has to be one of the city's gems of stores. It fits perfectly in with the non-conformist edge of the city with the books that it sells. Over time it has been a hotbed for controversy by selling banned and controversial books that you wouldn't exactly find in Borders or Barnes & Noble. Their selection is for people with brains. If you want romance novels or fluff fiction, seek it elsewhere. This is a place to stretch your mind. Leave a Comment
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Cool bookstore that's started with the Beat Generation.
I didn't have to look very hard for something ecclectic. I accidentally happened upon Charles Bukowski and decided that now was a good time to purchase some of his writing. He has many books, but I finally decided upon "Tales of Ordinary Madness" because it is a collection of short stories and I like stories and "The Captain" because it was illustrated by R. Crumb.
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 City Lights Window by sarahandgareth
It's one of the best places in the entire US to get books with a left-wing political slant. It also has exceptional sections with the works of authors from across the globe: if you want books by authors from Africa or Asia, this is the place to go. You could get lost for hours among books that you've never seen before - and now desperately want to buy! Leave a Comment
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 by acemj
Jack Kerouac books, of course. Leave a Comment
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First opened in 1953 by co-founders Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin, City Lights has been part of SF for half a century. It's not only a bookseller, but an independent publisher as well. Both the store and the publishers became known to masses because of the trial for publishing Allen Ginsberg's influential Howl and Other Poems in 1956 (it was a poem celebrating the Beat generation and attacking what he saw as the destructive forces of materialism and conformity in the United States at the time).
It was made an official historic landmark in 2001. The 1st time this had been granted to a business, rather than a building - for "playing a seminal role in the literary and cultural development of San Francisco and the nation."
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This place has such a great history. Look it up sometime. The great part is they are such a huge part of the community. There are signs encouraging you to sit down and grab a book. The people here truly know what they are talking about and are happy to help you find something.
Books.
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