Grateful Dead House

During the 1960s, affordable housing and the bohemian lifestyle created the perfect storm in Haight-Asbury. The community was the epicenter of flower power, the hippie movement, the counterculture and the birthplace of various musical genres. One of the musical groups that lived in the community was a band formed in1965 by five musicians who originally called themselves the Warlocks. They were the remnants of a Palo Alto band called Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions. They later changed the name of their group to The Grateful Dead. The charter members were Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Ron McKernan and Bob Weir. The group lived at 710 Ashbury Street from 1965 until 1968. It was the scene of their famous 1967 Summer of Love drug bust. The Grateful Dead’s transcendent musical style was born in this row house.

Building contractors Cranston and Keenan built the approximately 2,600-square-foot, Victorian style home in 1890 that is now known as The Grateful Dead House. The men constructed numerous other homes in the Upper Haight around the turn of the 20th century as well. Mr. Cranston was the grandfather of California Senator Alan Cranston. The price of the house was $7,000, which was a considerable amount of money for a residence in the late 19th century. The home is a private residence and is not available for public tours.