"Since 1977, Don Herron has slipped on his trenchcoat and snap-brim hat to lead groups on a four-hour, three-mile investigation of Hammett sites..."

— NEW YORK TIMES—

"Theatrical and thoroughly immersed in Hammett arcana."

— LOS ANGELES TIMES—

"Hammett and the San Francisco of the 1920s come to life again."

— SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE—

"The group moved like a drunken cat through the streets and back alleys of the Tenderloin.  It passed Southeast Asian diners, tawdry hotels, bars without windows, and places where a twenty will buy you more than the weekend's groceries."

— THE WALL STREET JOURNAL—

The Dashiell Hammett Tour

Travel with Don Herron over the fog-shrouded hills stalked by Sam Spade, the Continental Op, and other hardboiled characters created by San Francisco's most renowned mystery and noir writer. During this walk you'll see the buildings where Hammett wrote his most famous stories and the majority of locales from his classic novel, The Maltese Falcon.

Shadow Sam Spade in his quest for the fabulous figurine of a mysterious black bird. Prowl the back alleys where the Continental Op, Hammett's longest-running detective, faced down the opposition over the barrel of his blazing .38. Follow Hammett himself as he works for the Pinkerton Detective Agency on the infamous Fatty Arbuckle case. See the spot where Spade's partner, Miles Archer, with a smile on his mug and his pistol buttoned away under his overcoat, met swift death in the night-fog.

TIME: Noon.

COST: $10.00 per person.

PLACE: Meet n.w. corner of the new main library at 100 Larkin in San Francisco's Civic Center (n.w. corner is closest to the intersection of Fulton & Larkin); if this corner is blocked off for some huge event (it happens, it happens), the n.w. corner of McAllister & Larkin a block north is the backup.

2008 SCHEDULE: SUNDAYS in the month of May and in the month of September—Extra Walks, Book Signings, Hammett-related activities may be found under Special Dates.

No reservations taken. Just show up. Use your detective skills to spot the guy in the snap-brim hat and trenchcoat. The New York Times found him. You can, too.

Hammett tours may be given by appointment as well, e-mail for arrangements.

For one of the last tours at the end of his 25th year on the mean streets, Don, hammered by time, did a tour by appointment for the Dive Bar Club.

(Dive Bar Club photos by Stacey Irvine)

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