Click MAP to locate destinations preceded by yellow numbers.

The Fillmore, once the most vibrant African American neighbor-hood in San Francisco, is making a comeback three decades after it was targeted for urban renewal. Efforts also are under way to make this a Jazz Preservation District, restoring the area to its former 1940s glory when it was called the Harlem of the West and boasted two dozen jazz venues, including Jimbo’s Bop City.

Start your day at 15 Pittman’s Bar B Que Pitt (1840 Geary; 415-885-2357), which has an extensive menu from fish and grits to a variety of omelets plus the usual juicy barbecued meats.

Stop in at 16 Marcus Books (1712 Fillmore St.; 415-346-4222), located at the former home of Bop City. This literary feast of more than 14,000 books by and about African Americans also hosts events and readings throughout the week.

A few blocks up is 17 Dewson's Hats (2050 Fill-more; 415-346-1600). Miss Dewson's ads say her hats are for "church shoutin' or steppin' out." This is where former Mayor Willie Brown gets his signature Borsalinos.

For a hair emergency, duck into 18 Sidney: A Salon (2174 Sutter St.; 415-776-3073), or the 19 New Chicago Barbershop No. 3 (1551 Fill-more; 415-563-9793), whose walls are covered with images from Fillmore's history. Many of them came from Red Powell’s shine parlor, which used to be across the street. After Powell died, New Chicago’s owner rescued the images as they were about to be discarded.

20 African American Art and Culture Complex (762 Fulton; 415-922-2049) is home to six organizations that program dance, jazz, country music, theater and film performances, poetry readings, and drumming and dance workshops. In December, Wajumbe Cultural Institution hosts Kwaanza celebrations in the 210-seat Buriel Clay Memorial Theater. Also on site are the Sargent Johnson Gallery and the San Francisco African and African American Historical and Cultural Society Library Archives.

If it’s Sunday, stop by one of the more unusual churches in town: 21 Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church (930 Gough; 415-673-3572x6). Sunday devotion at this unique church dedicated to the miracle of creativity begins at noon.

Worth a side trip is a section of Divisadero St., just down from Haight, that is largely African American. Several shops carry African-made clothing and art objects. 22 Ujama African Arts and Fashion Center (411 Divisadero; 415-252-0119) has hats, dolls, dashikis and baskets from Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana. The Rastafarian-run 23 Reggae Runnins Village Store (505A Divisadero; 415-922-2442) imports shirts, skirts, beads, greeting cards and musical instruments from Africa and Jamaica. A specialty store featuring incense and oils, 24 Your Scents (645 Divisadero; 415-931-4227), also displays masks from Zaire and Africa’s West Coast.

If it’s time to eat, 25 Brother-in-Law’s Bar-B-Que (705 Divisadero; 415-931-7427), a longtime neighborhood fixture, serves up beef ribs along with the traditional brisket, links, chicken and pork ribs. Or have dinner at 26 Powell's Place (511 Hayes; 415-863-1404), serving soul food daily since 1972. Later, drop in at 27 the Boom Boom Room (1601 Fillmore; 415-673-8000) or 28 Rasselas Ethiopian Cuisine and Jazz Club (1534 Fillmore; 415-567-5010).

Jimbo's Bop City, circa 1950

John Lee Hooker's
Boom Boom Room

1984 Dewey Crumpler mural on the Center for African and African American Art and Culture