City Lights opened at 261 Columbus Avenue in 1953, founded by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin as the country’s first all-paperback bookstore. Its publishing arm released Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems in 1956.
In 1957 Ferlinghetti was arrested and tried for obscenity over Howl. The court ruled the poem was not obscene, a decision that became a landmark for free expression and put City Lights at the center of the Beat movement. The store is a designated San Francisco landmark and still operates as an independent bookstore and publisher.
Three floors are open to browse, including the upstairs poetry room. It is open daily.
