Haight-Ashbury

“I stumbled upon the philosopher’s stone, I had the veil of illusion pulled back, and was confronted by the levels of energy and many realms of consciousness which were available to man. I opened the Pandora’s box of multiple realities.”- Timothy Leary. Timothy Leary was a very important person in the psychedelic culture of San Francisco, California in the 1960’s. I would like to focus this essay on the music and culture, as I personally enjoy these things and the music to this very day. No…

A Look Back at Woodstock In evaluating the generations, the Baby Boomers are often looked upon as the “hippies”, love children, and peaceful protesters (not to mention avid drug users). While these statements are typically true of the Baby Boomers, another thing instantly comes to mind when they are brought up: Woodstock. Woodstock was a 3-day festival that occurred in Bethel, New York in August of 1969 with nearly half a million attendees. Famed for its stellar lineup and notorious amounts of…

1967 Thompson showed his experiences of what Height Ashbury was like, and told his predictions about what would happen when the 100,000 new hippies came into the city. Thompson’s purpose was to inform readers about what was happening in Height Ashbury, with specific details, imagery of the city, and information of the city. In doing so he informs that the hippie…

subcultures of the 1800's, but mostly owe their inspiration to the 1950's Beat Generation, otherwise known as Beatniks or Beats***(maybe cite?). In fact, it was from the Beats that the hippies attained the name "hippie." According to Charles Perry's The Haight-Ashbury: A History, "the Beats derisively called some of them hippies (junior grade hipsters), and by default that group had started using the name itself." Thus, it appears that hippies did not have a unified identity from the very…

The 1960s for the United States, a decade of controversy, drew this picture in the sense that the events that sequenced took place on the world stage of the political spectrum. Despite the validity to this, domesticity faced conflict as well, with the emergence of rebels known as the hippies. On the face of this movement were riots and protests to argue for the ideas that followed their mindset, but on the other hand, the scene of consuming drugs, and the facet of being relaxed and ignorant of…

symbols was carried from Buena Vista Hill down the length of Haight Street Mary Kasper, who helped organized the mock funeral, explained “We wanted to signal that this was the end of it, don't come out. Stay where you are! Bring the revolution to where you live. Don't come here because it's over and done with.” That message was taken and to heart and large crowds did not come back to Haight Ashbury. The Summer of Love contributed to Haight Ashbury’s demise. “A revolution where it was okay to…

Straying away from the mainstream can be difficult unless there is a group of people with a common interest that brings them together. The 1960s was a time of not only prominent mainstream culture but also counterculture. The mainstream culture was notably defined by four different concepts that connected white middle and upper class Americans: Patriotism, believing in the institution of marriage, the American dream, and the idea that conformity kept society ordered. In contrast, the…

1. Q: When was San Francisco founded and who founded it? A. San Francisco was founded on June 29, 1776. It was founded by a Spanish explorer named Juan Bautista de Anza and Paloú. Anza lead an expedition northwest to the Pacific Coast and established the first successful overland connection between Sonora and Northern California. The Mexican viceroy was so impressed, he commissioned Anza to return to the San Francisco Bay and set up a permanent settlement. (San Francisco History) 2. Q: What is…

In 1967, my great grandmother settled in San Francisco from Nicaragua, a small country in Central America. The atmosphere of San Francisco at this time was one of acceptance and peace, stemming from the Summer of Love and the Haight-Ashbury culture. Coming from a poverty-stricken country, and having visited before, the Bay Area was an opportunity for a new life, better conditions, and job possibilities not available at home. Unfortunately, lack of a basic education and understanding of American…

The counterculture movement of the 1960s reflected an American society that was self-serving and un-patriotic to some, but to others, it was a reflection of a liberating and pleasure-seeking America. There were clear distinctions at this time between the “old” and the “new”. Baby boomers rejected the cultural standards of their parents because they wanted to pursue their own versions of happiness, but their parents’ generation believed that they were destroying the democratic ideals that…