The Poets Plaza will be an oasis for San Franciscans and a national site for poets, a kind of national poetry forum, with a permanent poets’ podium built into one corner of the square. There will also be chess tables, stone benches, and olive trees.
And quotations from some 40 great poets from around the world will be incised in the paving of the Plaza. Inspired by the lovely piazzas of Italy, The Poets Plaza will be free of all traffic, an essential link between the neighborhood’s major thoroughfares, Grant and Columbus Avenues, in the 600 block of Vallejo Street, between the landmark National Shrine of Saint Francis and Caffe Trieste, historic bohemian gathering place.
The Poets Plaza is a civic project created by neighborhood volunteers, donations, and community grants. The Chinatown Community Development Center, North Beach Merchants Association, Telegraph Hill Dwellers, North Beach Citizens, and hundreds of local residents have already offered their qualified support of the project. The Mayor’s office and the City Planning Department are enthusiastic about the concept.
The total cost of installation will be close to three million. We are hoping that anyone interested in working with us, and especially potential donors, will now contact us through our website, a 501 (C)( 3) tax deductible, non-profit entity: poetsplaza.org.
