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There are bars and record shops filled with Jersey Girls, Berkeley grads,
and environmentally correct slackers. Rehab centers and clothing boutiques
also color the main drag of Haight Street from Divisidaro to Stanyan.
The Intersection of Haight and Ashbury was the gathering place for many
of the idealistic people who made up the 1960’s famous ‘Summer
of Love’. Some of these gypsies still remain on this famous corner,
playing guitars and studying their faces in the windows of modern retail
giants such as The Gap, and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. Suburbanites
and city dwellers do shop here, but it’s also a prime tourist stop
for many out of town visitors both young and old. For another view of
the Haight, visit Golden Gate Parks eight-block panhandle, which slices
this neighborhood in half with a swath of majestic trees, an urban playground
for running dogs, basketball players, baby walkers, and early morning
Tai Chi practitioners. Gorgeous, century-old Victorian houses dominate
the area residential streets and walking around is well worth the time.
Red Vic Movie House: A cozy movie house for rep, cult and premiere independent
films at noninflated moviegoing prices. Sip some coffee or tea (drinks
come in real mugs and glasses!), munch popcorn (with or without yeast)
or other organic treats and sit snugly on one of the couches or theater
seats. Pick up a month-by-month calendar at the front window. 1727
Haight St., (415) 668-3994. (Web site)
Corner of Haight & Ashbury: Back in the mid-1960s, this was perhaps
the most famous intersection in the world, a place where young people
came to from all over the world in search of love and peace. Some found
it and some didn't, but that was only one chapter in this neighborhood's
long and colorful history. Today it's worth a visit just to see the beautiful
Victorians that surround the area. And maybe to get a Ben and Jerry's
ice-cream cone, if you like that sort of thing.
Buena Vista Park: Hike, jog, walk or just lean your back against a tree
in these 36 acres of forested parkland with great views of surrounding
Victorians and the city. Oak and pine trees stand next to eucalyptus
and Monterey cypress, with trails winding throughout. It's one of the
city's oldest parks, and you can still see some fragments of headstone
inscriptions in the retaining walls, which were built with granite and
marble partly salvaged from former San Francisco cemeteries.
The Grateful Dead house: In the mid-'60s, the Grateful Dead lived together
(with many other transients) in this 1890 Cranston-Keenan building
(that's Cranston, as in former US Sen. Alan Cranston's grandfather).
710 Ashbury
St.
Haight Street Fair: Every summer, locals and tourists pack the Upper
Haight for the Haight Street Fair, featuring local bands, food stalls
from neighborhood restaurants and, of course, plenty of shopping.
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