Cheap storefront coffeehouses anchored Beat community life

Evidence

Located on the district’s shabby main drag, upper Grant Avenue, the Coffee Gallery functioned as the community nerve center. The walls were covered with personal notices and posted announcements; the atmosphere as characterized by one San Francisco journalist was one of “more or less near-anarchy.” — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 150

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Concrete evidence for ‘Grafting & Growth’ style infrastructure argument — the coffeehouse as the physical node that made the scene cohere.