Haight-Ashbury

Overview

Haight-Ashbury is the legendary neighborhood where the counterculture movement of the 1960s was born. The intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets remains a pilgrimage site for those drawn to the history of the Summer of Love, psychedelic music, and the hippie movement.

Highlights

• Vintage Shopping: Dozens of vintage clothing stores, including Wasteland and Held Over, make this one of the best secondhand shopping districts in America.
• Grateful Dead House: The Victorian at 710 Ashbury Street was home to the Grateful Dead from 1966–1968, during the height of the psychedelic era.
• Janis Joplin's House: The flat at 112 Lyon Street where Janis Joplin lived during her time with Big Brother and the Holding Company.

History

In the summer of 1967, an estimated 100,000 young people converged on the neighborhood for the Summer of Love, drawn by free concerts, communal living, and the emerging psychedelic drug culture. The neighborhood declined in the 1970s but has since revived with a mix of counterculture heritage and bourgeois bohemianism.

Visitor Tips

• Amoeba Music: The massive independent record store on Haight Street is essential for vinyl lovers.
• Walk to Golden Gate Park: The eastern entrance to Golden Gate Park is at the western end of Haight Street.
• Duration: 1–1.5 hours.