California became the state of migration for Italians during the Gold Rush. By the late 1890s, the number of Italians in California exceeded those in New England. By the time these Italian-Americans were able to save money from mining, they started to spread throughout California and establish homes for their families. 

One area of interest was North Beach which is located adjacent to Chinatown, the Financial District and the Russian Hill in San Francisco. Italian immigrants populated North Beach after the 1906 earthquake that destroyed much of the land.