In a 1940 column, Herb Caen said North Beach had "1001 neon-splattered
joints alive with the Italian air of garlic and jukebox wail of
American folk songs." In the ?50s, Caen coined the term "beatnik" to
describe the counterculture writers and artists who hung out at North
Beach coffee houses and listened to Allen Ginsburg?s first reading of
"Howl" at the City Lights Bookstore. Today, the Italian restaurants and
the music and the bookstore remain, as well as lots of local color at
Washington Square Park. Quaint single family homes and apartments are
coveted here for their great views and proximity to jobs and nightlife.
