Author: Christopher Keilman

Christopher Keilman is a copywriter and fiction writer based in San Francisco's Richmond District. He's been published in McSweeney's Internet Tendency and similar publications, and is currently writing a novel. Support him at Patreon.com/ChrisKeilman.
SF’s Abandoned Walgreens Are Still Haunting Sights to Behold
Essays, Hyperlocal News + Stories

SF’s Abandoned Walgreens Are Still Haunting Sights to Behold

Over 22 Walgreens stores have closed in San Francisco over the past seven years. And their unpopulated interiors remain eerie fixtures around SF. After the apocalypse, I always assumed there'd be cockroaches, Twinkies, and — inexplicably — a fully functioning Walgreens standing proudly amongst the scorched rubble, fluorescent lights glaring. Under harsh lights, a bleary-eyed clerk would scan my M&Ms and shaving cream, after which I would leave the store, doors swishing open with their signature ding! I would make my way back out into the barren landscape, stepping around rogue Twinkies scuttling by (which had since evolved to grow legs). I'd resume my quiet life of moisture farming and hoarding whatever books survived the nuclear blast. But alas. The year is 2023. I'm walking...
An Ode to Green Apple Books’ Lost Annex
Editors' Picks, Essays

An Ode to Green Apple Books’ Lost Annex

It's probably the closest thing to Hogwarts you’ll experience in SF Hidden away among San Francisco's Victorians of the foggy Inner Richmond district, the veteran bookstore seems delightfully bewitched. Staircases go every which way; rooms appear out of thin air; hidden depths and archives unfold before your very eyes.  Ever-expanding, it’s a place of endless wonder.  For many years, a bonus storefront — the Annex — was squeezed, almost invisibly, between two other shops along the sidewalk. Blink, and you could miss it: a treasure trove of magazines, graphic novels, and stacks and stacks of genre paperbacks.  While the main store always felt like the main event, the Annex held a special place: a tucked-away spot for the especially perceptive, a Room of Requirement for those seeki...