Even the touristy areas like Fisherman's Wharf and Alcatraz (especially at night) are worth visiting repeatedly.

BBC: This is San Francisco week

That's how he brought money home -- and escaped having to help his dad unload and fold the nets on Fisherman's Wharf.

CNN: Excerpt: 'Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life'

But in the city where Fisherman's Wharf remains a magnet for tourists, residents still buy local and fresh: frozen seafood sales rate a shrimpy 58.

ECONOMIST: The healthiest city

But even so, he would have bet five to one his future lay somewhere between that wall on Powell Street and the foot of Columbus -- Fisherman's Wharf.

CNN: Excerpt: 'Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life'

Nothing was exactly square in North Beach -- a neighborhood of odd intersections and acute hillside corners -- because Columbus sliced through the street grid diagonally, from the office buildings downtown, north and west to Fisherman's Wharf.

CNN: Excerpt: 'Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life'

Joe missed most days at Fisherman's Wharf.

CNN: Excerpt: 'Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life'