DRUID HEIGHTS

DRUID HEIGHTS

Benny Pristine and his friends and associates live and work in the Druid Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. You won't find Druid Heights on the tourist maps. The Druid Heights District, as it was originally called, was created during the gold rush (late 1840s) and became an increasingly "interesting", exclusive and carefully guarded section of the city. (It should not be confused with the Druid Heights colony formed one hundred years later by Elsa Gidlow on Mt. Tamalpias in Marin County, which later became the location of Alan Watts' legendary circular house.)

The original Druid Heights District included (and still includes) streets, alleys and narrow walkways which are now in the Chinatown, North Beach, Nob Hill and Russian Hill neighborhoods of San Francisco. Additionally, Druids Heights is riddled with tunnels, still usable, which served a variety of purposes in gold rush days. The whereabouts of these tunnels is a closely guarded secret among those who still identify Druid Heights as their place of residence. This, of course, includes Benny, Moondog, Quantum Coyote, Crysta Bella and Zeno Murray.

Druid Heights also houses a number of subterranean bars, brothels and casinos which have been in operation since they opened in 1849. The urban legend about an underground Chinatown is actually referring largely to the Druid Heights "street" system, although it was enlarged by the Chinese of the day for their own purposes.

Druid Heights itself, as we shall see, is an important "character" in the Benny Pristine Mysteries as they unfold following the Satori Tango adventure.