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About DonHerron.com
In 1977 Don Herron began leading The Dashiell Hammett Tour, now the longest-running literary tour in the nation. On this site you’ll find information on current walks — dates, where to meet, arranging tours by appointment — plus a hard-boiled blog with news, reviews of books and film, and a dash of noir.
The latest and greatest edition to self-guide you up and down the mean streets.
Willeford: The Book
Includes the first “Mr. Hunt” story, “Knives in the Dark.”
Tag Archives: Burritt alley
Hammett: Popping into Stookey’s
A Sunday or three back I was in Frisco, just hanging out, and stopped into Stookey’s for a pop. I needed a Corpse Reviver No. 2 to keep the old corpse going, and they’ll always shake one up for me, even … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, News, Tour
Tagged Burritt alley, Bush and Taylor Streets, Corpse Reviver, Faverman's drugstore, Stookey's Club Moderne
Tour: Sundays May 7 and 28
Keeping the roll going, anyone who wants to show up palming a $20 with four hours to kill can join in on Hammett Tours set for Sunday May 7 and Sunday May 28. No appointment needed, just show up by … Continue reading
Tour: Every Sunday in October
Partly because some people asked for some of the dates, partly to give the packed audience for the Hammett talk in the Mechanics’ Library a chance to slip on the old gumshoes and ease on down the mean streets, you’ll … Continue reading
Hammett: Out of the Past
Do you remember my description in the recent PulpFest report about how a dealer showed me a copy of my 1982 tour book in gray wraps which he had priced at $15? I was going to put it back for … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, Tour
Tagged Bill Arney, Burritt alley, Hammett Cult in San Francisco, John D. Haefele, Morgan Holmes, PulpFest, Red Harvest, Tom Krabacher
Frisco Beat: “Burrito” Alley
A couple of Wednesdays back I noticed that someone had changed the lettering on Burritt alley to make “Burritt” into “Burrito” — but last night saw that the name had been returned to Burritt and all is well with the … Continue reading
Hammett: KALW and the Mystery of the Black Bird
The Maltese Falcon presides over San Francisco — the novel, the film, a thousand and one statues made of plaster, the two or three (or more?) figurines wrought out of lead with a golden bronze patina — the lead ones from … Continue reading
Tour: Sunday February 22
We’ve got a Hammett tour coming up fast, where anyone can show up palming twenty bucks and walk the walk — this Sunday, January 18. Next one in line rolls up on Sunday February 22. Meets at noon, near the “L” … Continue reading
Tour: Sundays, August 10 and August 31
On Sunday August 10 and again on Sunday August 31, anyone who wants to show up with $20 and four hours to invest can hike the Hammett trails that thread through the jungle of mean streets that is San Francisco. … Continue reading
Sinister Cinema: In Hilly Alabam
When last seen here on Up and Down These Mean Streets, Hollywood tour guide Charlie Morfin supplied us with a shot of the Dashiell Hammett Street sign when they got the spelling wrong — white hot news back in 2011, kicked … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Frisco, News
Tagged Alabama Hills, Budd Boetticher, Burritt alley, Burritt alley plaque, Charlie Morfin, Elwood alley, Henry Silva, Randolph Scott, Richard Boone, The Tall T
Tour: Sunday July 20
I’m handling most of the demand for walks caused by the recent New York Times article by arranging groups by appointment during the week, but at least one out-of-towner asked for one on a Sunday — which I figure ought … Continue reading
