From Transamerica Pyramid we take Columbus Ave. and at a few blocks walking distance we are in North Beach. North Beach is a densely populated neighborhood stretching northwest along Columbus Avenue toward Fisherman's Wharf.
This historic Italian neighborhood known as Little Italy was by the turn of the XX c. a district of fishermen.
We start our stroll at the southern edge of North Beach, on Columbus Avenue and Kearny. Here we are facing a historic landmark - the Sentinel building.
At the time of the earthquake of 1906, the steel frame building was under construction and it survived the fire. From 1958 to 1972 it was called Columbus Tower. When film director Francis Ford Coppola bought and restored it in the early 70's it became the headquarters of American Zoetrope Studios. The ground floor houses Cafe Niebaum-Coppola, a restaurant branch of the Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery in the Napa Valley.