The California Historical Society is a non-profit gallery, bookstore, public research library and archive. Our mission is to inspire and empower people to make California’s richly diverse past a meaningful part of their contemporary lives.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is a Fortune 500 company, the nation’s largest retail bookseller, and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The Company operates 640 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s premier e-commerce sites.
The coolest bookstore in the East Bay.
City Lights Books is a landmark independent bookstore and publisher that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics.
For 50 years, Green Apple has served as a bookstore to get lost in. With two different locations, three buildings, and innumberable nooks and crannies to get lost in, Green Apple cultivates the feeling of getting lost in a good book.
The oldest independent black bookstore in the country. Books by and about black people everywhere.
We are an independently-owned bookstore based in the beautiful town of Orinda, just 30 minutes (give or take a rush hour or two) from San Francisco. Visiting is easy! We are open seven days a week and have ample free parking right outside our doors.
The JCCSF has been serving the Bay Area since 1877 with programs that help individuals and the community to flourish.
Our beautifully finished theater features natural bamboo walls, plush raised theatrical seating, and carpet made from 100% non-toxic, recycled post-consumer material. The Goldman Theater is ideal for screenings, lectures, author appearances, forums, and awards ceremonies. Key features include a motorized retractable screen, hi-definition digital video, custom designed sound reinforcement by Meyer Sound, and wall-mounted touch-screen audio/video and lighting controls.
Adobe Books opened the doors to their 16th Street Mission District shop in 1989. Almost immediately, it became a haven for artists, musicians, writers, readers, thinkers and locals alike. In 2001, they began the Adobe Books Backroom Gallery to support local artists and in 2012, they moved all of that and their books over to 24th Street. Today, they’re still operating the gallery and still selling books, and in 2018 they hosted 159 public events at no charge to the artists, musicians, poets, writers and thinkers.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is a Fortune 500 company, the nation’s largest retail bookseller, and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. The Company operates 640 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states, and one of the Web’s premier e-commerce sites.
The West’s Oldest Independent Bookseller, Since 1851
Imagine more than 10,000 square feet with titles in every category in a beautifully restored brick building in the heart of Petaluma’s westside. There’s a huge selection of fiction. One room is dedicated to magazines and another to children’s books. Cooks, travelers, writers, graphic novel readers, historians—in fact, nearly everyone—will find a section that appeals.
A branch of the legendary Green Apple Books (6th & Clement), situated just outside of Golden Gate Park.
Built in 1926, the historic Marines’ Memorial Theatre is an intimate 564-seat jewel box theatre located in the heart of San Francisco’s theatre district between Union Square and Nob Hill. Recently renovated to expand the lobby and upgrade the orchestra seating to be much more comfortable, our historic Union Square theatre is available as a setting for events in San Francisco, including keynotes, celebrations, educational presentations and more. We are also dedicated to bringing the best national, international and local Music, Dance, Author Talks & Lectures and theatrical or film presentations to Bay Area audiences.
The Barbara and M. Kenneth Oshman Lecture Hall & Presentation Space is managed by the Department of Art & Art History and the Office of the Registrar.
In addition to its function as a lecture-style classroom, Oshman Hall supports university arts programming, as the department schedule permits.
The San Francisco Public Library system is dedicated to free and equal access to information, knowledge, independent learning, and the joys of reading for our diverse community.
Located in the historic train depot in downtown Mill Valley, The Depot Bookstore and Cafe has been family owned and operated since 1987. A long-time favorite meeting place for Mill Valley locals and visitors, “The Depot” is where the pulse of Mill Valley beats.
Enjoy the warm hometown feeling and friendly atmosphere while shopping for the perfect book or perusing our wide assortment of fashion, news, home, and literary magazines.
Or join us for coffee, a glass of wine, or a meal while taking in Mill Valley’s best people-watching from our outdoor terrace.
Bird & Beckett Books and Records is a cozy shop in the Glen Park neighborhood where you can shop local authors and artists, participate in poetry open mics, hear live jazz every week, and learn more about The Bird & Beckett Cultural Legacy Project. This nonprofit organization presents, documents and archives the creative work of living writers and musicians in the Bay Area.
Veteran bookseller providing fiction & nonfiction, plus kids’ titles. Some locations host events.
The Bay Area is teeming with readers, writers, creators, and thinkers. We have harnessed the power of this community to create one of the premier literary festivals in the world. The Festival is a two-day event complete with literary sessions presenting top authors from this region, the nation, and the world, along with an outdoor fair with hundreds of literary exhibitors. We also offer events for kids and writing contests. We even have a mini film festival — a series of ten films on literature — with BAMPFA. We transform vibrant Downtown Berkeley into a literary utopia where readers of all ages and interests can find kindred spirits.
Alexander’s is centrally located in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Walking to our store is always a great option. We are a short walk from Union Square and the Moscone Convention Center (3 to 4 blocks) and just a half block off Market Street on Second Street. We are about a ten minute walk from the Embarcardaro waterfront, Chinatown, North Beach or AT&T ballpark, the home of the San Francisco Giants.
Third Plateau is an impact-oriented strategy firm that partners with the world’s most passionate and daring changemakers to reimagine, expand, and realize their social impact.
Built in 1926, the historic Marines’ Memorial Theatre is an intimate 564-seat jewel box theatre located in the heart of San Francisco’s theatre district between Union Square and Nob Hill. Recently renovated to expand the lobby and upgrade the orchestra seating to be much more comfortable, our historic Union Square theatre is available as a setting for events in San Francisco, including keynotes, celebrations, educational presentations and more. We are also dedicated to bringing the best national, international and local Music, Dance, Author Talks & Lectures and theatrical or film presentations to Bay Area audiences.
Chronicle Books is an independent publisher based in San Francisco and they’ve been making their mark on our local and global book community since the Summer of Love. Their headquarters in South Beach is located inside an old maritime machine shop and warehouse. There, they have four floors of publishing services and a storefront on the ground floor. You can also find their books and a wide selection from their publishing partners at a second location at the Metreon.
A charming general interest bookstore on the Bay side of the Ferry Building, Book Passage serves visitors and locals, offering regional maps, guidebooks, and Bay Area literature, postcards and gifts. An extensive children’s book selection in our “Kids’ Corner” features books for the youngest readers through teens, and an array of activity books and games. New releases and classic fiction, staff picks, cookbooks with an emphasis on local cuisine, and books on current events fill the store. Like the other two Book Passage locations in the Bay Area (in Corte Madera and Sausalito) the Ferry Building venue hosts author signings and literary events several evenings a week. Visitors have included Chelsea Clinton, George Saunders, Dave Eggers, and Nigella Lawson.
UNITE HERE! Local 2 is the union of 12,000 hospitality workers throughout San Francisco and San Mateo Counties. Our members work in hotels, restaurants, clubs, and other food service facilities, providing service to millions of guests every year. Together, we fight to ensure that service workers are treated decently and receive a fair share of the wealth our industry produces.
City Lights Books is a landmark independent bookstore and publisher that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics.
The San Francisco Public Library system is dedicated to free and equal access to information, knowledge, independent learning, and the joys of reading for our diverse community.
The City Hall you see today took two years to build. Steel, granite, and four floors of white marble interiors make up San Francisco’s symbol of resilience, built after the previous City Hall was destroyed in the Great Earthquake and Fire of April 18, 1906.
Books Inc. is the West’s oldest independent bookseller – we’ve been around since 1851 – and Opera Plaza is our largest location!
Built in 1927, the Nourse [275 Hayes Street] is a landmark venue located in the heart of San Francisco’s performing arts district (across the street from Davies Hall musicians’ entrance). City Arts & Lectures restored and reopen the stunning 1,687-seat hall in 2013 (it was closed to the public for over thirty years). The hall features original architectural details, excellent acoustics, and a well-designed layout with unobstructed views throughout the orchestra and balcony, as well as state of the art lighting, a Meyer Sound system, new curtains, plush upholstered seats, newly decorated green room, and a dressing room. The Nourse is an ideal venue for a wide range of performances and a uniquely beautiful setting.
Russian Hill Bookstore, established in 1974, is one of the last independently-owned used and new bookstores in San Francisco. We began as Sunset Bookstore in 1974, a small used bookshop servicing the Sunset District west of 19th Avenue, and have been in continual operation for the past 43 years. Over the years Sunset Bookstore has since closed and merged with Russian Hill Bookstore, which has grown to become also the best note card shop in the city, and a favorite place for toys and games for children of all ages.
San Francisco Zen Center is a Soto Zen community where the offerings of zazen, study and work practice are available to a diverse population of students, visitors, lay people, priests, and monks. All are welcome.
Potrero Hill’s neighborhood bookstore since 1991
Special orders welcome, by phone, email, or the old-fashioned way–just drop by!
Borderlands Books is a San Francisco independent bookstore specializing exclusively in science fiction, fantasy and horror.
If you’re looking for a pleasant place to peruse a lot of books, seek no further! Since 1992, Dog Eared Books has been supplying a book-hungry San Francisco with new, used, and remaindered books as well as magazines, calendars, and notebooks. We’re a general interest store, so we have a little of everything, but we do specialize in Beat, off-beat, small press, and local literature. Our staff of is happy to help you locate specific titles or you can roam around discovering wondrous obscurities you never knew you couldn’t live without.
Anton Roman began selling books in 1851, but his legendary bookstore didn’t become Books Inc. until 1946. From then on, their history has been defined by their indie character as they fought and survived the expansion of huge national book companies. Today, they operate 11 stores in San Francisco, East Bay and the Peninsula, and have become the West’s oldest independent bookseller.
PDA encouraged! Why get a room, when you can Make-Out in one of our cozy booths?
If you’re looking for a lot of books and a pleasant place to peruse them, seek no further. Alley Cat Books opened on 24th Street in the heart of the Mission in 2011, and has since supplied a book-hungry neighborhood with new, used, and remaindered books–in English and Spanish!
Adobe Books opened the doors to their 16th Street Mission District shop in 1989. Almost immediately, it became a haven for artists, musicians, writers, readers, thinkers and locals alike. In 2001, they began the Adobe Books Backroom Gallery to support local artists and in 2012, they moved all of that and their books over to 24th Street. Today, they’re still operating the gallery and still selling books, and in 2018 they hosted 159 public events at no charge to the artists, musicians, poets, writers and thinkers.