City Lights Bookstore
City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Referred to (in Kerouac’s ‘Big Sur’) simply as ‘the bookstore’. As you can probably imagine I spent quite a few hours in there and had a happy time.
Retracing Jack Kerouac on Facebook
Retracing Jack Kerouac 
I went to City Lights over a decade ago, and I remember all the graffittied names. It’s amazing to think of all the writers and readers and old souls who’ve wandered between those bookshelves.
Thanks for the comment, yes it is. It was just magical to sit in the upstairs poetry room and read books for ages. One of the best moments of my trip (and there have been many good ones)
City Lights Bookstore is really the best that American culture has to offer. Can it better than “the true epicenter” of the movement? I think not!
Truer word was never spoken … I can’t really describe in words how good it felt sitting upstairs in the ‘Poetry room’ reading.
You may enjoy the interview with Lawrence Ferlinghetti I heard on NPR this morning. (It inspired me to search for images of City Lights, which lead me here, to your photo…) http://www.wbur.org/npr/410487944/at-96-poet-and-beat-publisher-lawrence-ferlinghetti-isnt-done-yet
Thanks Margarita, that is indeed a nice article. Plus, I wasn’t aware that Pocket poets Anthology was reissued recently. Will have to get that soon. Jay