Stride StoriesRunning tour · San Francisco
Chinatown to North Beach
1.0 mi run
How it works. Press start and go. As you reach each place, a narrator tells its story, timed to your pace. Your music drops down while a story plays and comes back after. Tours download to your phone and play without a connection.
Don't have the app yet? It's in beta on iPhone and Android. Get it here, then come back and tap Open.
The stories on this route
Chinatown Dragon Gate
Look up at the gate: three openings, with a carved lion at each side. In 1953, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce ran an essay contest on how to improve Chinatown business. The winner of the English division, Charles L. Leong, suggested an authentic archway to Chinatown, right here at Bush and Grant.
Old St. Mary's Cathedral
Look up at the bell tower. A 1940 city guide found gold letters under the clock: "Son, observe the time and fly from evil." Archbishop Alemany began this church in 1853, and it was dedicated as the cathedral at midnight Mass on Christmas Day, 1854. The plan called for a spire two hundred feet high. It was never built.
Portsmouth Square
Look at this square. In July 1846, the town here was called Yerba Buena. Captain Montgomery of the US sloop-of-war Portsmouth hoisted the American flag on the plaza, with about seventy sailors and marines. The town was captured without firing a shot, and the plaza took the ship's name.
Transamerica Pyramid
Look up: 853 feet of pyramid. Architects William Pereira and Harry D. Som designed it. Transamerica's CEO, Jack Beckett, chose the unusual pyramid shape because he wished to let light into the street below. From 1972 until 2017, it was the tallest building in San Francisco.
City Lights Bookstore
Look at the building with the City Lights sign. In 1953, the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was passing the Artigues Building when he met Peter D. Martin out front, hanging up a sign for a "Pocket Book Shop". Martin had already used the name City Lights, in homage to the Chaplin film, for a magazine.
Washington Square and Saints Peter and Paul
Look across Filbert Street at the church. This is Saints Peter and Paul, known as the Italian Cathedral of the West, though "cathedral" is only a nickname. The first church, from 1884, was destroyed in 1906. This one was completed in 1924. While it was still under construction, Cecil B.
Stories researched October 2026 · every fact checked against a source
We couldn't find that tour. It may have been renamed, or it's a private tour. See what Stride Stories is.