North Beach is one of San Francisco's most beloved neighborhoods. It is the city's "Little Italy" and has historically been home to a large Italian-American population. The Italian influence on North Beach peaked between the two World Wars when over 60,000 of its residents claimed Italian ancestry and five Italian language newspapers circulated the neighborhood.

By the 1920's North Beach was predominately Italian with many locals working in the fishing industry. Famous baseballer Joe DiMaggio grew up in North Beach as the son of a local fisherman. Bank of America Founder Amadeo Giannini also started his business here providing low income loans.