The Top of Broadway Community Benefit District, one of North Beach's many community groups, is in the process of having historical markers made and installed to tell the tale of the area's vibrant and diverse past, from the Barbary Coast through the Beat era and beyond. They'll be placed at sites throughout the 400 and 500 blocks of Broadway along with spots on Kearny Street and Pacific Avenue. 

Benjamin Horne, executive director of the CBD, said, "We have everything listed here from the Barbary Coast days, including the first jail, which is where the Beat Museum is now, to the first LGBT clubs that were in the area." The markers also will touch on the history of jazz to the rise of the adult entertainment industry, including the former worker-owned Lusty Lady, with its union and benefits. "The wide range of things that have happened here throughout history is impressive," Horne said, adding that the marker program "creates a destination. It’s about bringing people together and having some pride in our community."

Photo: The Beat Museum/Facebook

In December of 2014, the CBD received a $30,000 Community Challenge Grant from the city, which was the maximum it could apply for given that the CBD is relatively new (it formed in 2013). The budget for the project, according to its grant proposal, will be about $47,000.

With that, it plans to install 10 markers that reflect the diversity of the area by including sites from the LGBT, Italian American and Asian American communities, as well as early San Francisco (Barbary Coast) history. Another aspect of the project will be the celebration and recognition of musicians and styles of music, American literary greats, and other entertainers. The sites were chosen based on research, local lore, brainstorming, and finally, a survey of CBD members and others. The group hopes to expand the number of markers with additional grants and/or donations and will seek more input on those.

The plaques will be modeled on those in the Tenderloin, with a small blurb of text explaining a site's significance. Horne said the CBD is in the process of choosing a vendor to make the metal (most likely bronze) markers, which the group hopes to place in the sidewalk rather than on the sides of buildings so they're as permanent as possible. Depending on permission from building owners and the city's permitting process, the CBD hopes the plaques will be installed by December.

Example of Tenderloin plaque. (Photo: Broadway CBD)

Here's the list of the 10 selected sites and possible alternates:

• Finnochio’s, 506 Broadway
• Old Broadway Jail (early City jail), 540 Broadway
• Lusty Lady, 1030 Kearny
  
• Peter Macchiarini Steps (Kearny Steps), Broadway and Kearny
• The Jazz Workshop, 473 Broadway
• Mabuhay Gardens, 435-443 Broadway
• Mona’s 440 Club, 440 Broadway
• Terrific Street and International Settlement, northeast corner of Pacific and Kearny
• Devil’s Acre and Battle Row, northeast corner of Kearny, Pacific and Columbus
• 12 Adler, 12 Saroyan Place

Alternates are El Matador (492 Broadway) and the Italian American Bank (Broadway and Columbus).