DISCOVER HAIGHT - ASHBURY: SAN FRANCISCO'S HIPPIE NEIGHBORHOOD

San Francisco made it into my TOP 10 places I would like to return to one day. And that’s also thanks to the HAIGHT – ASHBURY neighborhood. Although I have to admit, I didn’t feel very safe here. 🙂 This neighborhood is full of homeless people who sleep or camp on the sidewalk. I would also say people who take drugs and look quite out of place. When I first visited the city, I said to myself: “Wow, this city is such a split personality!” So you understand what I mean. It seems to me that this city has many faces and as if each neighborhood has its own personality. And this part of San Francisco is a nice getaway! 🙂 And I don’t mean that in a bad way, I just find it very interesting. And in terms of history, culture and architecture. Haight-Ashbury is the birthplace of hippie culture. And that’s why I was really looking forward to coming here. I love the music of the 60s. I have to admit that I was completely taken by it here.

While writing the article, I listened to songs related to the hippie movement. And let me tell you, it was a blast. And so that you can really enjoy this article like I did, I recommend that you play one of the following tunes while reading this article, which created the cool atmosphere of this city and that era:

Grateful Dead – Friend of the Devil

Jimi Hendrix – Hey Joe

Graham Nash – Hey You

Janis Jophin – Mercedes Benz

ČTVRŤ HIPPIE

The art scene in this neighborhood predates the hippie movement. In the early 1960s, many Beats moved from North Beach to Haight-Ashbury due to rising rents. It was not until later that the hippie movement took hold.

Many musicians settled in the neighborhood, including the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and Jefferson Airplane. The movement became popular in 1967, when Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and The Mamas & the Papas performed at the Monterey Pop Festival. You are probably all familiar with Scott McKenzie’s song San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair), which perfectly captures the essence of this period.

SUMMER OF LOVE

In 1967, thanks to the media publicity of hippies, thousands of young people flocked to San Francisco. That summer, 75,000 of them even came. And so the phenomenon of the Summer of Love broke out here in the 1960s. It attracted crowds of young people who believed in peace, love and freedom. Girls wore beads and bracelets, men had long hair and beards like lumberjacks. Their faces were framed by hairstyles that were also worn by members of hippie bands. Unfortunately, some of them fell into drug use, especially LSD. Violence gripped the city.

What remains of Haight-Ashbury’s past today? What should you include in your itinerary to discover this amazing neighborhood, which is rich in interesting places? Let’s find out together!

HOW TO GET HERE?

Although the center of the neighborhood is located at the intersection of Haight Street and Ashbury Street, the easiest way to get here is by public transportation (lines 6, 7, 37, and 43). Get off at the intersection of Haight Street and Masonic Avenue (one block east). From there, you can start exploring the neighborhood’s main artery (Haight Street). Or, like me, you can come here by car. Unfortunately, there are very few free parking spaces.

INTERESTING PLACES ON HAIGHT STREET

Once you reach the intersection of Haight and Masonic Streets, first walk west along Haight Street. You will find many shops and cafes that try to recreate the atmosphere of the Summer of Love with brightly colored signs and furniture, displays of colorful vintage clothing, gaudy murals, smoke shops, Tibetan spiritual culture shops, and tattoo shops.

During your walk, take advantage of the opportunity to do more than just shop in San Francisco. Many very unusual shops sell products that are hard to find elsewhere. Immerse yourself in a unique neighborhood that seems to still preserve the idealistic dream of the hippie movement, which unfortunately fell apart in a short time.

If you look closely, you’ll see a few guys in jeans and braided headbands sitting around in a haze of questionable smoke. I’ve met quite a few of them here and I have to say, I didn’t find it very pleasant.

INTERESTING PLACES

SUMMER OF LOVE

You can’t miss this shop with its brightly colored Summer of Love-influenced clothing.

THE LOVE OF GANESHA

This is another one of those bargain shops you shouldn’t miss.

PEIDMONT BOUTIQUE (1495 HAIGHT ST)

Just above the boutique’s sign, a pair of women’s legs protrude from the second-floor window, making you stop and take a peek inside this store, which sells faux fur, disco dresses, feathered dresses, masks, wigs, and bracelets.

CLOCK AT THE CROSSING OF HAIGHT AND ASHBURY STREETS

At the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets, you’ll find a clock stuck at 4:20 PM, which is a slang term locals use to refer to marijuana.

RIBUTE TO JIMI HENDRIX (1524A HAIGHT STREET)

The man the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame calls “arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music” moved to the Haight neighborhood in the late 1960s, like many of his peers. His former apartment, just a few doors down from the Haight-Ashbury intersection, is now permanently painted red in homage to Hendrix and his song “Red House.”

By 1970, the drug problem that had gripped Haight-Ashbury had spread worldwide. Sixteen days before Janis Joplin died of a drug overdose in Los Angeles at the age of twenty-seven, Jimi Hendrix had suffered the exact same fate in London.

In the building next door to Jimi Hendrix Redhouse, you’ll find Haight Street Market, where you can stock up on local organic produce and buy ready-made meals (perfect for a quick snack).

ABU SALIM

This establishment is much more interesting for its Summer of Love look than its burgers… it deserves at least one photo!

AMOEBA MUSIC

A hippie record, CD, DVD, and T-shirt store. Part of an independent chain (Rasputin Records) that has been operating in the Bay Area since the 1970s.

THE RED VICTORIAN

A historic guesthouse that has witnessed all the historical stages of this neighborhood. It is impossible not to notice it when you pass it on the street.

COLE STREET

Take a small detour and turn left onto Cole Street, where you can admire the street art. You will find interesting murals there.

GOLDEN GATE PARK

If you continue down Haight Street, you will find yourself at the entrance to one of the largest parks in San Francisco. During the Summer of Love, it was not uncommon for artists like Janis Joplin to perform for free in this park. The park is so large that it extends all the way to Ocean Beach. Given its size, it is not the ideal place for a quick walk. If you decide to visit here, you can at least visit the beautiful Japanese Tea Garden. It is located about twenty minutes from the intersection of Stanyan Street and Haight Street.

DISCOVER CELEBRITY HOMES

I wouldn’t be the type to not follow in the footsteps of famous hippies. The neighborhood is also home to a number of historically and culturally significant homes that belonged to musicians, poets, writers, and illustrators who influenced the hippies. However, these homes are now occupied or for sale, so don’t expect a grand experience.

Here is a list of them with addresses:

710 Ashbury St: domov skupiny Grateful Dead;

635 Ashbury St: domov Janis Joplin

122 Lyon St: další dům Janis Joplin

612 Ashbury St: dům Country Joe McDonalda

1018 Page St: domov skupiny Big Brother and the Holding Company

1550 Page St: Dům “Hippie Temptation”, který se proslavil zejména po natočení dokumentu televize CBS

1828 Page St: dům Rona Donovana (ilustrátora plakátů pro psychedelické rockové koncerty)

1452 Haight St: dům Jimiho Hendrixe

879 Haight St: domov punkové skupiny Flipper

636 Cole St: domov Charlese Mansona

731 Buena Vista West: domov Grahama Nashe a Bobbyho McFerrina

264 Downey St: domov básníka a dramatika Michaela McClureho

32 Delmar St: domov Sida Viciouse

JANNIS JOPLIN APARTMENT

The woman with one of the best voices of all time hitchhiked from Texas to San Francisco in 1963, “just to get away.” In San Francisco, she lived with her boyfriend Country Joe McDonald of the psychedelic rock band Country Joe and the Fish in apartment number 3 at 122 Lyon Street. Yes, that’s none other than Janis Joplin.

Janis Joplin’s home. “I make love to twenty-five thousand people on stage and then I go home alone,” Janis declared. It was here that she became a legend before she tragically died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27.

CHARLES MANSON’S APARTMENT

One of the unassuming houses a block south of Haight Street is said to have a dark underbelly. 636 Cole is said to have been the home of Charles Manson in 1967, when he tried to recruit escaped hippies into his gang. There were too many cults in the city at the time for him to compete with, so Manson moved his members to Southern California, where they soon gained notoriety.

Charles Manson’s home. 636 Cole St. near Haight Street. This house in Haight Ashbury was home to California’s most famous hippie. In the book, Manson describes in his own words his days as a hippie in San Francisco: begging, selling weed and LSD to small-time dealers, snorting drugs at Grateful Dead concerts, picking up fifteen-year-old girls, playing guitar for pennies. It was here that the “Manson Family” cult was born. It was made up mainly of young girls. A few years later, Charlie’s young friends killed Sharon Tate and Rosemary La Bianca. Manson was sentenced to life in prison.

BUENA VISTA PARK

Haight-Ashbury is surrounded by 3 beautiful public parks: Golden Gate Park, The Panhandle (the least interesting), and Buena Vista Park, which surrounds the neighborhood on the opposite side of Golden Gate Park. Buena Vista Park is a nice place to eat, but also a great opportunity for a refreshing walk to the top of the hill, where there is a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline.

There are various paths leading through it. Although there are trees that sometimes obstruct the view, they are also one of the main features of this park and resemble a small hilly forest.

PAINTED LADIES

But exploring Haight Street doesn’t stop there! This neighborhood is one of the best areas to admire the Painted Ladies, colorful Victorian-style houses that have become true icons of San Francisco. The most interesting of them are located near the Haight Street area.

You might be asking yourself a lot of questions like me about where the overall atmosphere of this unique place came from. I have good news for you. In a hippie bookstore on Haight Street, I managed to unravel this mystery for you and find the answers to the questions I didn’t want to return home without solving.

Imagine that someone simply sets up a tent on the sidewalk in front of your house and decides to live there.

WHAT ARE ALL THESE SPECIAL PEOPLE?

Many homeless people come to Haight-Ashbury to find others in similar situations. Some young people come here for adventure. But you will also find many people who have health problems or need help.

WHERE DO ALL THE HIPPIES LIVE NOW?

You might be surprised, but many hippies still live on Hight Street. Their life is simple, they try to be creative, they visit each other in their gardens, they organize peace vigils every month and they write books.

You can find hippies of all ages here:

Older hippies (from the Summer of Love) – who come here to visit their grandchildren,
Middle-aged hippies – who follow the American singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia or the musical group The Grateful Dead, they are mostly descendants of older hippies
Young hippies – they value the principles of cooperation, creativity and generous living. They share apartments with other young people and live according to these principles in the Haight neighborhood.
And of course, many hippies from all over the world come here!

Visiting this neighborhood was a great experience for me, although I prayed the whole time that our parked car would still be in its place. 🙂