The story
Carol Doda descended on a white piano from the ceiling to become America's first topless entertainer, making her second only to the Golden Gate Bridge as a tourist attraction.
Everything that was here
- 1964–present · still open
Condor ClubNightclub
Carol Doda descended on a white piano from the ceiling to become America's first topless entertainer, making her second only to the Golden Gate Bridge as a tourist attraction.
See the map in 1965 → - 1953–present · still open
City Lights Booksellers & PublishersBookstore
The first all-paperback bookstore in America became ground zero for the Beat literary revolution.
See the map in 1954 → - 1953–present · still open
City Lights BookstoreBookstore
The first all-paperback bookstore in America became ground zero for the Beat Generation and won a landmark obscenity case that changed free speech.
See the map in 1954 → - 1948–present · still open
Vesuvio CafeBar
Henri Lenoir opened Vesuvio in 1948 across an alley from City Lights, and in 1988 the alley was renamed Jack Kerouac Alley.
See the map in 1949 → - 1931–present · still open
Bimbo's 365 ClubNightclub
A young Rita Hayworth danced in the chorus line and a tiny 'mermaid' still floats in a fishbowl at this Prohibition-era speakeasy.
See the map in 1932 → - 1919–present · still open
Tosca CafeBar
Tosca opened in November 1919, and Prohibition took effect less than two months later. Its answer was a brandy-spiked house cappuccino.
See the map in 1920 →
Nearby history
Pagoda Palace Theatre
Alioto's Restaurant
Neal and Carolyn Cassady House
Ghirardelli Square
Coit Tower
Caffe Trieste
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