Kept by Mabuhay Gardens

The Neighborhood, As Festival

Every room a stage. Pick a night; the map lights up.
North Beach Neighborhood Digital Relay September 26 through October 2026 Broadway, Columbus to Grant to Powell

For one month, the neighborhood reads as a festival with twenty-four stages, past landmarks a century old and still standing. Choose a date and the map shows which rooms have something on that night, and what it is: the band, the comedian, the reading, the show. Or choose a combination and the map draws the sequenced route itself — first stop, second stop, third, each with its own clock. The Mab's own nights are marked in gold; every other room stands at parity. Hollow pins are rooms that run standing series but had not posted dated listings when this was compiled.

1 — Pick a night. The strip below holds the month. Tap a date.
2 — The map lights up. Every room with something on that night, and what it is: the band, the comedian, the reading.
3 — Or pick two rooms. The map draws the sequenced walk between them, first stop to last, minutes on foot.

A schematic map: pin positions are plotted from each room's street address, corridors drawn through them. Companion pages: enriched database · day-by-day calendar · front page. Verified from venue listings September 26, 2026.

Choose a night
Choose a combination — a sequenced route through the night, drawn on the map
this night as an expressionist canvas
Tap any two rooms and the map draws the walk between them, with the minutes on foot.
The districts:
THE FESTIVAL MAPNorth Beach · September 26 through October 2026KEPT BY THE NORTH BEACH NEIGHBORHOOD DIGITAL RELAYNTELEGRAPH HILLN✦✦✦✦NORTH BEACHone month · twenty-four stages · every room a walk away BROADWAYCOLUMBUS AVEGRANT AVEPOWELL STGREEN STMONTGOMERY STGOLD STJACKSON STBATTERY STPACIFIC AVE Sentinel Building · 1907Sentinel Building — 1907 — Columbus Tower, the copper flatiron; Zoetrope insideSaints Peter & Paul Church · 1924Saints Peter & Paul Church — 1924 — The Italian cathedral on Washington Square 🎤·Mabuhay Gardens📷🎷·Keys Jazz Bistro🎵·Monroe🌴·Bamboo Hut🍸·Paris 75🎩·Paname🐢·Green Tortoise Ballroom📖·City Lights🍷·Golden Sardines🥃·Comstock Saloon🃏·Devil's Acre🎸·Tupelo🌍·Pena Pachamama🤸·Club Fugazi🍷·Belle Cora🌸·Savoy Tivoli🎺·The Saloon☘·Maggie McGarry's💃·Cigar Bar & Grill🎹·Bix🎪·Great Star Theater🎭·Punch Line SF⚓·Old Ship Saloon☕·Vesuvio Cafe🎙·Bimbo's 365 Club🤡·Cobb's Comedy Club🦭·Pier 23 Cafe🏮·Li Po🍺·Red's Place🦁·Lion's Den Bar and Lounge🍹·Mr. Bing's
the landmarks, painted — six corners of the district's memory
Coit Tower, painted vignette
Coit Tower · 1933Telegraph Hill's lookout
Sentinel Building, painted vignette
Sentinel Building · 1907the copper flatiron
Saints Peter & Paul, painted vignette
Saints Peter & Paul · 1924the Italian cathedral
Dragon Gate, painted vignette
Dragon Gate · 1970the gate into Chinatown
City Lights, painted vignette
City Lights · 1953the paperback cathedral
Washington Square, painted vignette
Washington Square · 1847the neighborhood's front lawn
Reading the pins — Mabuhay Gardens, the relay's own room   the number is that night's events   hollow pins run standing series without posted dates   landmarks, one hundred years and standing. Beneath the map — the landmarks, painted: Coit Tower, the Sentinel Building, Saints Peter & Paul, the Dragon Gate, City Lights, Washington Square.

The Festival, Day by Day

The whole month as one scroll: every dated event in this compilation, grouped by its day, Mabuhay Gardens set in gold at the head of its nights, every other room at parity. The neighborhood's own photographs — from the 1850s shoreline to the Pyramid's first years — walk down the page alongside.

North Beach from Telegraph Hill, the 1850s — the shoreline settlement before the fill
North Beach from Telegraph Hill, the 1850s — the shoreline settlement before the fill. Photograph by G. R. Fardon. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Mona's 440 Club on Broadway, Gladys Bentley on the marquee — North Beach as a gay mecca decades before the Castro
Mona's 440 Club on Broadway, Gladys Bentley on the marquee — North Beach as a gay mecca decades before the Castro. Via FoundSF, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Monday, October 52 events · 2 rooms
Tuesday, October 64 events · 4 rooms
9:00 PM — DJ Purple Karaoke · Tupelo
Finocchio's at Broadway and Kearny, 1958, the block's nightclub years in one frame
Finocchio's at Broadway and Kearny, 1958, the block's nightclub years in one frame. Photo via Zagria, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Saturday, October 1012 events · 9 rooms
7:00 PM — Laid Off · Mabuhay Gardens
4:00 PM — Trio Cotier · Pier 23 Cafe
7:00 PM — Clairdee · Keys Jazz Bistro
7:00 PM — Ray Lau · Punch Line SF
9:15 PM — Ray Lau · Punch Line SF
9:30 PM — Marshall Law · Tupelo
Carol Doda and the Condor's neon, 1973, the new Transamerica Pyramid rising behind
Carol Doda and the Condor's neon, 1973, the new Transamerica Pyramid rising behind. Photo by Michael Holley, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Monday, October 124 events · 4 rooms
8:00 PM — MARO · Bimbo's 365 Club
435 Broadway, home of Mabuhay Gardens, in a later chapter of the building's life
435 Broadway, home of Mabuhay Gardens, in a later chapter of the building's life. Photo by Dreamyshade, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
City Lights and Vesuvio, Columbus Avenue at night — the corner the Beats made a landmark
City Lights and Vesuvio, Columbus Avenue at night — the corner the Beats made a landmark. Photo by Carwriter1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Monday, October 193 events · 3 rooms
Grant Avenue at twilight, the strip's tricolor poles lit against downtown
Grant Avenue at twilight, the strip's tricolor poles lit against downtown. Photo by Derek Petersen, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Columbus Avenue sidewalk life, the ordinary hour the festival is made of
Columbus Avenue sidewalk life, the ordinary hour the festival is made of. Photo by InSapphoWeTrust, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The board at Liguria Bakery, focaccia in the neighborhood since 1911
The board at Liguria Bakery, focaccia in the neighborhood since 1911. Photo by Karen Neoh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Monday, October 263 events · 3 rooms
7:00 PM — Ken Knabb · City Lights
Tuesday, October 273 events · 3 rooms
7:00 PM — Tom Frank · City Lights
9:00 PM — DJ Purple Karaoke · Tupelo
Kearny Street rising toward Coit Tower, the hill that frames every walk home
Kearny Street rising toward Coit Tower, the hill that frames every walk home. Photo by Joe Ross, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.