North Beach

Savannah Armer

November 18, 2012

Signage of San Fran

Stacy Asher

North Beach

            Little Italy or North Beach formally known can be found between Chinatown and Russian Hill. The neighborhood is known for great food, nightlife, culture, and the beats.

North Beach was first in habited by Italians working the docks trying to catch the American dream. In the 50s, spaces in homes were limited and people craved community, the craved the same culture that they had received in their home countries.  A group of youngsters started hanging out in coffee shops and writing poetry to become what is now known as the beat generation.  For the older generation is was seen as a threat to everything they had known, to their tradition. The beats wanted to express themselves emotionally, fully uncover the heart to their mystery. Ofcourse as spiritually awaken they were, they still managed to get in to some trouble with many erotic dance clubs, and sketchy business. The beats left their food print on the streets of San Francisco, something you can even see today if you visit the area.

            North Beach’s signage conveys busy city life while still holding on to traditional Italian style.  City lights book store was simple enough, wood boarded, big windows and ofcourse a lot of books. But as I traveled down the street, it became more and more about the glitz. On each counter stood some kind of dance club, the garden of eden, was one to remember. The signage is of a woman’s body being wrapped with a snake suggestively. The signage was begging to take advantage of a male’s deep sexual desires and leave him with really no other choice but to walk in the club desperately. The area is inevitably seedy, the woman walking around in six inch glitter heels at 11 am definitely isn’t helping the reputation of the area. The signage was all so flashy and over the top because of the competition around every counter. From there I saw the Beat Museum, somewhere I had to go get the scoop on. The man on the inside told me story after story about how the beats came to be in San Francisco, the reference I used for the paragraph above. As I continued down it became very city like, nice restaurants but really small amounts of space. All the store signage was remarkably well done, artwork and Italian colors everywhere. Little Italy is a place of hustle and bustle while still keeping the italian community culture alive.