BookShop West Portal is a locally-owned, independent bookstore located in the heart of the West Portal neighborhood, just one block down from the West Portal MUNI Station and right across from the Empire Movie Theatre.
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.
Folio Books is an independent neighborhood bookstore in San Francisco that welcomes visitors from near and far.
Known for our fascinating selection of titles, stunning author events, enthusiastically diverse staff, and urban California aesthetic, DIESEL is the cutting-edge, high octane, community-radiating, independent neighborhood bookstore we all dream of hanging out in, getting imaginally turned on in, and literarily inspired by.
General purpose book store, great kids section, magazines, gifts and games!
Perhaps the most stylish bookstore in the city, Black Bird Bookstore is nestled in the Outer Sunset. The bright and modern shop features custom, built-in shelving displaying carefully curated titles covering several genres and topics, and their focus is on quality of books over sheer quantity. They also offer a charming play area for kids and an outdoor garden and shed.
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.
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.
Book Passage has served the Bay Area for more than 40 years, providing the community with an array of author events, writing and language classes, and highly-respected annual conferences.
A world renowned community bookstore, we offer a wide variety of books ranging from children’s literature to travel guides, from top-selling fiction to mystery novels, and we continue to work diligently with community and nonprofit organizations.
PDA encouraged! Why get a room, when you can Make-Out in one of our cozy booths?
The West’s Oldest Independent Bookseller, Since 1851
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.
Berkeley City College is part of the Peralta Community College District. We are located in downtown Berkeley, just two blocks west of UC Berkeley.
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!
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.
Aqus Cafe is the center of the Petaluma Downtown Warehouse District universe. The owner, John Crowley, is a true community builder and hosts weekly gatherings of all sorts at his comfortable but artsy and airy spot located at the edge of Foundry Wharf. The food is delicious and they know how to make an excellent cappuccino as well as properly poor a Guinness. Indoor and outdoor seating is available and the regular crowd is warm and welcoming.
The Gourmet Ghetto of North Berkeley is the birthplace of California cuisine with Chez Panisse, the original Peet’s Coffee, and the Cheeseboard, and much more!
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) promotes the interdisciplinary study of the Arab World, Turkey, Israel, and Iran at the University of California, Berkeley, privileging no single country, topic, or political position. A federally funded Title VI National Resource Center, the CMES organizes a rich interdisciplinary lecture and film series each semester, supports advanced research on the Middle East by faculty, students, and visiting scholars, and conducts Middle East-related outreach to K-14 institutions and community partners throughout the Bay Area. Explore our website, join our mailing list, check out answers to frequently asked questions, and plan your next visit to UC Berkeley.
City Lights Books is a landmark independent bookstore and publisher that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics.
You are invited to take an interesting and informative historical tour of Preston Castle. You will be guided by a trained docent, or take a self-guided tour on your own. You will have access to the first floor, second floor and basement and learn about the history of the Preston School of Industry. These tours involve stairs. Cameras are allowed but please, NO tripods.