Haight-Ashbury

The Haight-Ashbury is a district of San Francisco, California, named after the intersection of Haight Street and Ashbury Street, commonly known as The Haight or, in recent years, The Upper Haight. The district is famous for its role as an epicenter of the 1960s hippie movement, a post-runner and closely associated offshoot of the Beat generation who swarmed San Francisco's "in" North Beach neighborhood

Related Topics:
San Francisco - California - 1960s - Hippie - Beat generation - North Beach

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2-8 years before the "Summer of Love".

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The Haight-Ashbury district was one of the fortunate areas spared in the disastrous fires that followed the catastrophic San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Known for its tracts of elaborately detailed 19th-century multi-story wooden houses, it became a haven for hippies during the 1960s due to the high availability of cheap Victorian properties for rent in the district and the bohemian subculture that briefly flourished there.

Related Topics:
San Francisco Earthquake - Victorian - Rent - Bohemian

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It gained a reputation as a center of illegal drug culture, especially with the use of marijuana. The area was thus sometimes known as The Hashbury, but, ca. 1967, its fame chiefly rested on the fact that it became the neighborhood of choice for a number of important psychedelic rock performers and groups of the mid-1960s. Acts like the Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin, who all lived a short distance from the famous intersection, not only imortalized the scene in song, but knew many within the community as friends and family. Its mystique was further enhanced by the 1967 Scott MacKenzie hit San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair), written by The Mamas & the Papas member John Phillips. Some said the song was a blatantly commercial pop song that climbed the charts much to locals' chagrin.

Related Topics:
Drug culture - Marijuana - Psychedelic rock - Jefferson Airplane - The Grateful Dead - Janis Joplin - Scott MacKenzie - The Mamas & the Papas - John Phillips

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Today the district has lost little of its status as a center of such alternative lifestyles, though much has changed. The area still maintains a lot of its bohemian atmosphere, it has become a major tourist attraction and has suffered the effects of gentrification to some extent. Perhaps the best illustration of the district's unwanted slide into the mainstream is the presence of a Gap store, a major international retailer that (happily) started in San Fransisco in the late 60's, now fell to mixed reviews by the city's trendy inhabitants. Though the Gap and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream are now located at the famous Haight-Ashbury intersection, the neighborhood remains, however, a thriving center of independent local business (keep in mind that nothing that loved or "authentic" ever inhabited the commercial space at the four points of the intersection from the start)! It is home to a number of independent restaraunts and bars, as well as clothing, smoke, and record shops, including Amoeba Music: San Francisco's largest new and used record store.

Related Topics:
Bohemian - Tourist attraction - Gentrification - Gap - Amoeba Music

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Because of its past and present reputation and its location between Buena Vista Park and Golden Gate Park, the district draws the homeless and teen runaways. To some extent, the main commercial area's blend of diverse street life engulfs them in the carnavelesque and liberal surroundings. Recent police and community efforts help maintain park curfews and "no camping policies" as well.

Related Topics:
Buena Vista Park - Golden Gate Park - Homeless

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Both commercial and residential property in the district are in high demand today, a testament to the area's long history and many charms.

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