N O R R E H N L O L D E I H S A D H E T T T E M M A H T O U R® T AHGNIURNITIDIVEEETBRHOS AORKY San Francisco Examiner: “Hammett shows San Fran- cisco at its most glamorous, dangerous, and intriguing. The City is full of Hammett landmarks, and if you want to see them all, take The Dashiell Hammett Tour.” The Mystery Fancier: “If you can’t go to San Francisco, you can still take the tour vicariously by purchasing The Dashiell Hammett Tour. It contains photos, maps, bibli- ography, and the best capsule biography of Hammett I have ever read.” San Francisco Chronicle: “It’s fun, fascinating, and fully illustrated with photos of appropriate sites. A gas.” New York Times: “A hard–boiled stroll through the world of the American private eye.” Los Angeles Times: “Friendly, witty, articulate, theatri- cal, and thoroughly immersed in Hammett arcana.” “Hammett was the ace performer. … He did over and over again what only the best writers ever do at all.” —Raymond Chandler The Ace Performer Collection is a series of books by and about Dashiell Hammett: volume 1: Lost Stories by Dashiell Hammett volume 2: Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade edited by Richard Layman volume 3: Hammett’s Moral Vision by George J. “Rhino” Thompson volume 4: The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook by Don Herron forthcoming: The Crime Wave: Collected Nonfiction by Dashiell Hammett additional volumes to be announced N O R R E H N L O L D E I H S A D H E T T T E M M A H T O U R® T AHGNIURNITIDIVEEETBRHOS AORKY P R O D U C T I O N S ® S A N F R A N C I S C O Preface by JO HAMMETT Introduction by CHARLES WILLEFORD Maps by Mike Humbert The Dashiell Hammett Tour: Thirtieth Anniversary Guidebook by Don Herron Preface by Jo Hammett Introduction by Charles Willeford Maps by Mike Humbert For current information about the Dashiell Hammett Tour: www.donherron.com “Dashiell Hammett Tour” is a registered trademark and service mark of Don Herron. Published by Vince Emery Productions P.O. Box 460279 San Francisco, California 94146 USA www.emerybooks.com Vince Emery Productions produces books and videos by and about established writers to give readers a deeper, closer connection with their favorite authors. Text © 1979, 1982, 1991, 2009 by Don Herron. Preface © 2009 by Josephine Hammett Marshall. Introduction “Hammett’s San Francisco: On the Trail of Sam Spade” originally appeared in the Miami Herald January 20, 1985, and appears here in a slightly different form © 2009 by Betsy Willeford. Maps © 2009 by Mike Humbert. Design, cover art, and indexes © 2009 Vince Emery Productions. Book design and composition by Desktop Miracles. Photo credits: California Historical Society, pp. 124-125. Vince Emery, pp. 39, 48, 51, 96, 107, 120, 123, 133, 144, 151, 157, 173. Don Herron archives, pp. 33, 46, 49, 60, 76. Mike Humbert, pp. 94, 98, 100, 122, 134, 152, 158, 160, 166, 176. Josephine Hammett Marshall, pp. iii, x, 12, 69, 81, 116. William Kostura, pp. 114, 135, 156. San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library, pp. 40, 63, 66-67, 140, 164, 172, 174. Mary Spoerer, pp. 8, 73, 80, 88, 106, 109, 127, 128, 132. Mark Sutcliffe, p. 99. Thirtieth anniversary edition, Kindle version: Created in USA. Publication date October 15, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0-9825650-0-1 For Christy and Bertie and the Next Thirty Years N O R R E H N L O L D E I H S A D H E T T T E M M A H T O U R® T AHGNIURNITIDIVEEETBRHOS AORKY San Francisco Examiner: “Hammett shows San Fran- cisco at its most glamorous, dangerous, and intriguing. The City is full of Hammett landmarks, and if you want to see them all, take The Dashiell Hammett Tour.” The Mystery Fancier: “If you can’t go to San Francisco, you can still take the tour vicariously by purchasing The Dashiell Hammett Tour. It contains photos, maps, bibli- ography, and the best capsule biography of Hammett I have ever read.” San Francisco Chronicle: “It’s fun, fascinating, and fully illustrated with photos of appropriate sites. A gas.” New York Times: “A hard–boiled stroll through the world of the American private eye.” Los Angeles Times: “Friendly, witty, articulate, theatri- cal, and thoroughly immersed in Hammett arcana.” C O N T E N T S P R E F A C E Back Where I Might Have Been by Jo Hammett . . . 1 I N T R O D U C T I O N Hammett’s San Francisco: On the Trail of Sam Spade by Charles Willeford . . . 7 P A R T O N E Dashiell Hammett: A Brief Biography . . . 13 Timeline of Hammett’s San Francisco Residences . . . 60 P A R T T W O The Dashiell Hammett Tour . . . 61 Overall Map . . . 62 Walking Map #1 . . . 64 Driving Map #1 . . . 65 1. 200 Larkin: Hammett’s Reading Room . . . 62 2. Civic Center Park: Kids’ Playground . . . 68 3. City Hall: Politics and Murder . . . 71 4. 580 McAllister: Whosis Kid Gundown . . . 72 5. Redwood Alley: Unexpected Palm Tree . . . 77 6. 408 Turk: TB Flare-Up . . . 78 7. 620 Eddy: Blackmasking . . . 79 The Puzzle of the City Streets . . . 85 C O N T E N T S 8. Blanco’s: Dain Curse Cuisine . . . 87 9. 811 Geary: Stalking Sam Spade . . . 91 10. 891 Post: Sam’s Place . . . 93 The Puzzle of Spade and the Falcon . . . 100 Walking Map #2 . . . 104 Driving Map #2 . . . 105 11. 1309 Hyde: Big Knockover . . . 103 12. 1155 Leavenworth: Writer at Last . . . 109 13. 1201 California: Brigid’s Place . . . 113 The Puzzle of the Blocked Writer . . . 117 14. Dashiell Hammett Street: Street Cred . . . 120 15. 20 Monroe: Ad Man . . . 121 16. Stockton Tunnel: Death by Night . . . 122 17. Burritt Street: Crime Scene . . . 126 The Puzzle of the Billboard and the Brick . . . 129 18. 111 Sutter: Spade & Archer . . . 131 Walking Map #3 . . . 136 Driving Map #3 . . . 137 19. Sir Francis Drake Hotel: Gunsel and Gutman . . . 138 20. St. Francis Hotel: Fatty Arbuckle . . . 139 21. Geary Theatre: Pound of Flesh . . . 144 C O N T E N T S 22. Clift Hotel: Sherlock Slept Here . . . 145 23. Bellevue Hotel: Cairo’s Place . . . 146 24. Floyd Thursby’s Apartment: Dead Gangster . . . 150 25. 120 Ellis: Tying the Knot . . . 151 26. 114 Powell: Wife to Be . . . 151 27. Samuels Street Clock: Diamond Days . . . 155 28. 870 Market: Pinkerton’s Man . . . 156 The Puzzle of the Jobs and the Years . . . 161 29. John’s Grill: Chop House . . . 165 30. Off-Tour Hammett Sites . . . 170 Other Hammett Sites Map . . . 171 A. Pickwick Hotel: Black Bird Hideaway . . . 170 B. Old Mint: Big Knockover Inspiration? . . . 172 C. Remedial Loan: Brigid Hocks Her Jewels . . . 172 D. Julius Castle: Spade’s Other Lunchspot . . . 173 E. Waverly Place and Spofford Alley: Chinatown Action . . . 173 F. Portsmouth Square: Stevenson Monument . . . 174 G & H. Ferry Building and Pier 35: On the Waterfront . . . 174 I. Holly Circle: Big Flora’s Hideout . . . 174