 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2022) |
| City Lights Bookstore | |
|---|---|
 City Lights Bookstore, 2023 | |
  Location within San Francisco County  City Lights Bookstore (California)  City Lights Bookstore (the United States) | |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial |
| Location | 261–271 Columbus Avenue San Francisco, California |
| Coordinates | 37°47′51″N 122°24′24″W / 37.797628°N 122.406575°W |
| Designated | 2001[1] |
| Reference no. | 228 |
City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected titles related to San Francisco culture. It was founded in 1953 by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D. Martin[2] (who left two years later). Both the store and the publishers became widely known following the obscenity trial of Ferlinghetti for publishing Allen Ginsberg's influential collection Howl and Other Poems (City Lights, 1956). Nancy Peters started working there in 1971 and retired as executive director in 2007. In 2001, City Lights was made an official historic landmark. City Lights is located at 261 Columbus Avenue. While formally located in Chinatown, it self-identifies as part of immediately adjacent North Beach.
- ^ "City of San Francisco Designated Landmarks". City of San Francisco. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
- ^ Veltman, Chloe (March 15, 2019). "Literary Icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti Marks His 100th Birthday With New Work". KQED. Retrieved March 17, 2019.