

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Recounts More Than Six Decades of Life in San Francisco - samclemens
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/03/03/at-95-ferlinghetti-recounts-more-than-six-decades-of-life-in-sf/

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ntefrau
This is pretty funny coming from Ferlinghetti. I wonder how many times he and
his friends were accused of lacking manners and having no respect for "high
culture." He spent decades building a bookstore, a publishing company, holding
art exhibits, and encouraging anyone who would listen to come to San
Francisco. Any list of the folks most responsible for its gentrification would
have to include his name.

He did what so many are doing now: come for the adventure, stay to run a
business.

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pekk
Ferlinghetti's $65/mo rent in North Beach, adjusted for inflation, would be
about $584/mo today. Unthinkably low in central parts of New York City, the
Bay Area, or other first-tier metropolitan areas. The workings of the market
have seen the attractions of these places, and reserved even the outlying and
interstitial areas for rich people. And that is a loss.

But Ferlinghetti's rent reflected that the area was not so built up then, not
considered so desirable as it is today. It was an underappreciated gem. In
other places, there are other underappreciated gems like North Beach in 1951
(edit: not exactly the same, for the same people, obviously). If you want
Ferlinghetti's deal, you'll have to look for one of those. Probably not within
commute distance of San Francisco, though.

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calcsam
The Detour app has a great tour of SF taking you in the footsteps of some of
the Beats and their contemporaries, including Ferlinghetti. Took it last week
when my sister came to town, highly recommended.

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ioddly
I wonder how much time he spends out of San Francisco, because as someone who
lives in Texas and has almost no grasp on how the internet and Silicon Valley
have influenced San Francisco over the years, it's still quite unique to me
and I consider every visit there to be a treat. It's all relative, I guess.

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mml
Sad to see a giant reduced to yelling at clouds. I say that as someone Who
enjoys a good cloud scolding.

