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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: 891 Post
Mort: Bill Arney
It’s a sad day in Sam Spade’s San Francisco. Got a note from Mike Humbert last night to inform me that Bill Arney died yesterday morning, September 28 2021. As of now, I don’t know what got him. I’m kicking … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, News, Tour
Tagged 891 Post, Bill Arney, Hammett Cult in San Francisco, Mike Humbert
Hammett: Pick-Up on Post Street
Sitting in his rooms in 891 Post Street in San Francisco one of the star writers for the wood-pulp Black Mask cooked up a yarn that would make him the name to conjure with for closing in on a century … Continue reading
891 Post: The Reign of Wild Bill Arney, Remembered
Just got a note from Bill Arney, who you’ll remember as the longtime Keeper of the Sacred Shrine, i.e. Hammett’s apartment in 891 Post Street — where a little classic titled The Maltese Falcon was written. Bill just got a … Continue reading
Hammett: Trouble in Paradise
Shot above from a few years ago, Mike Humbert, Don, Bill Arney standing in front of the folded-up Murphy bed in Sam Spade’s apartment, 891 Post Street. Mike maintains a Hammett website and Bill is famed as the one-time occupant … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, News
Tagged 891 Post, Bill Arney, Mike Humbert, Murphy bed, Paradise California fire
Tour: Two Sundays in November
One Sunday tour left in October, then two more in November to wrap up the year. . . . The pic above came from Mario Ruiz, and he dates it to 2014, when he rolled down from Portland to walk the … Continue reading
Tour: 3 Sundays in October
For anyone who wants to just show up by noon near the revolving “L” sculpture with 20 bucks and four hours to kill, take your pick from Sunday October 15 or Sunday October 22 or Sunday October 29 — the tourist … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: Corpse Reviver
Joe Hagen sent me the shot you see before your eyes — Joe’s part of the secret junto of thinkers and drinkers who meet in and around 891 Post Street. I’d just mentioned going to Stookey’s for a Corpse Reviver, … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: Naming The Names at Milkbean
Mark Murphy, one of my operatives always on the ground, constantly reporting on the Tenderloin Beat, tells me that Milkbean — a sandwich and coffee joint which opened recently in the space in the Sam Spade Building once occupied by … Continue reading
Hammett: And Chandler, and Nigel, Bill and Don
Slightly over twenty people did the “just show up and walk the walk” routine for the tour yesterday. I always think of twenty as being the average number of tourists gumshoeing the mean streets on the walk over the years, though … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Film, Lit, Tour
Tagged 891 Post, BBC, Bill Arney, Delicatessen, Dominque Pinon, Dwight Frye, Fatty Arbuckle, Jo Hammett, Mark Murphy, Murphy bed, Nigel Williams, Raymond Chandler
