#1 in the city for old book smell and creaky wooden floors. Too small to find anything specific you’re looking for, good enough that you’ll find something else instead.

Worker-owned, hole in the wall bakery worth waiting in line for.

Many galleries and events and a restaurant

Shopping area in Japantown connected by an outdoor plaza with a Japanese Pagoda. The malls feature some good food spots and as well as Kinokuniya Bookstore.

At the midpoint of the Filbert steps, near tourist favourite Coit Tower, The Malloch is a streamline Moderne gem built in 1937. I discovered it after watching Dark Passage, a 1947 Bogart and Bacall film noir. Lauren Bacall's character lives on the third floor and Bogey holes up there. A Deco beauty cruising towards the Bay. It has the coolest lift ever.