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Dedicated to Matsu, goddess of the Sea, but has only been around since 1986.
The Ma-Tsu Temple is a Taoist temple in San Francisco's Chinatown. Founded in 1986, it is dedicated to Matsu and has foundational ties to the Chaotian Temple in Beigang, Yunlin, Taiwan.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
時代畫廊
Enjoy authentic Chinese artwork at this gallery. It has the biggest showroom (at basement level) for Chinese painting and calligraphy in China Town. They also offer classes in calligraphy for those who want to take their appreciation a step further.
Co-founded by Beat poet Lawrence Ferlenghetti, City Lights was one of the centers of the Beat community in the 1950s. It's iconic and has become synonymous with the literati Beat movement. Oh, don't forget to check out the books: they have a huge collection of Beat prose and poetry. Why not buy a copy of On the Road while you're there — you won't find a better place to get it!
This tiny paved pedestrian alley was named after the famous Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac who used to hang out in the alley a lot. It was intended to form a literary (and actual) connection between the communities of Chinatown and North Beach. There are plaques embedded into the street which are engraved with Chinese and Western poems from Kerouac, Confucius and John Steinbeck among others. The alley continues across Columbus to become William Saroyan Alley, named after another famous writer who lived in the city, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award.
This flatiron (wedge shaped) copper-green building is an unmistakable San Francisco beauty. The "Grateful Dead" once recorded some of their songs there. Today it is owned by movie-director, Francis Ford Copolla. It now has a cafe on its ground floor, where you can grab a coffee whilst admiring its impressive setting, at the foot of North Beach.
Opened in 1962, this tiny factory produces more than 20,000 fortune cookies a day. The factory is in a small alley and it is tiny with only 3 people making fortune cookies. Tourists are welcome to walk in off the street — you get a flat (un-bended) fortune cookie sample but photos cost 50 cents and the moment you walk in they are asking you in their broken English what cookies you want to buy. It is a must see though!
Features quite an extensive collection of exhibits, books and manuscripts that focus on Jack Kerouac and the literary Beat Generation. Plenty of books and T-Shirts for sale here as well.