Haight-Ashbury

Haight-Ashbury is the San Francisco neighborhood in California best known as the center of the 1960s counterculture and the Summer of Love in 1967. The intersection of Haight Street and Ashbury Street gives the district its name, and the surrounding blocks lie just east of Golden Gate Park. Rock bands such as the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane lived in the area's Victorian houses, and the neighborhood remains a symbol of the era's music, politics and fashion.

Today the main commercial stretch runs along Haight Street from Stanyan Street to about Central Avenue. Visitors find vintage clothing shops, record stores, bookshops, head shops, murals and cafes. Amoeba Music, a large independent record store in a former bowling alley, is a well-known stop, and boutiques sell secondhand clothing, jewelry and posters. Side streets such as Masonic Avenue and Page Street hold some of the city's best-preserved Victorian houses, including the Grateful Dead's former home at 710 Ashbury Street, which can be seen from the sidewalk only. Buena Vista Park, a steep, wooded hill on the northeast edge of the district, offers views of the city and the bay.

A visit usually takes about an hour and a half to two hours, and walking along Haight Street is the main activity. Good photo angles include the street sign at Haight and Ashbury, the murals along the street and the rows of painted Victorian houses. Walking tours cover the history of the music and the social movements of the 1960s.

The neighborhood is busiest on weekends and in summer afternoons, while weekday afternoons are quieter. Visitors should stay on the main part of Haight Street after dark and be aware of panhandling and street sleeping on parts of the corridor. Several Muni bus lines serve the area, and the N-Judah light rail stops near Cole Valley.