In 1967, the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco became a mecca for young people who were disenchanted with the tired, conservative values of their elders. If the counterculture had a capital, the Haight would likely be it. Apartments in the neighborhood were cheap, residents had a live-and-let-live philosophy, and it's estimated that as many as 100,000 young people flooded into the area in 1967. For a time in the late 1960s and 1970s, the district was a who's-who of rock legends, home to Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix. For a few years in the 1960s, Hendrix lived in the home at 1524 Haight Street, which is only a few doors down from the famous intersection that gave the neighborhood its name. Though the details of Hendrix's time in the apartment are sparse, it is believed that he lived there for a time with his girlfriend. Nowadays, the apartment is still a private residence and is located above a tobacco shop. The building is painted red, in honor of Hendrix.&nbsp;

The apartment as it appears today, with a mural of Hendrix on the side

An article about the Summer of Love in San Francisco

More Info

A stone's throw from the former homes of 1960s rock luminaries such as the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and Jefferson Airplane is the former home of another rock legend, Jimi Hendrix. The apartment at 1524 Haight Street, still a private residence, was Hendrix's home for a few years in the 1960s.

The Jimi Hendrix House (Red House)

Admin

This tour includes landmarks of cultural history, including the homes of legendary musicians who lived in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood during the 1960s. 

In the late 1960s, Jefferson Airplane was one of the most famous rock bands in the United States, and was considered a pioneer of psychedelic rock. In 1968, the band--Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady-- and their manager, Bill Thompson, bought the mansion from its elderly owner for $70,000. The home was within walking distance of Haight-Ashbury and quickly became a focal point for local musicians, fans, hippies, and all manner of oddballs. The home was built in 1904 by lumber baron R.A. Vance, who wanted only the finest materials used in its construction. The three-story, 17-room mansion had mahogany wood paneling, crystal chandeliers, silk wallpaper, and eight fireplaces. The new owners promptly painted the grand old home Black.&nbsp; The band turned the mansion's large basement into a recording studio. The first floor, despite its elegant decor, was outfitted with a pool table, a ping pong table, and was the territory of the numerous cats who lived at 2400 Fulton. The second floor was a bit more subdued and housed the band's business offices. The mansion's third floor, which consisted of five bedrooms, served as living quarters for Kantner and Slick, and anyone else who happened to be around. Regarding the home's three floors, the band joked that "the higher you got, the higher you got." The band sold the home in the mid-1980s for $795,000. In 1987, the band, renamed Starship, released a compilation album called 2400 Fulton Street.

For a time in the late 1960s, the rock band Jefferson Airplane owned the mansion at 2400 Fulton Street, overlooking Golden Gate Park. The home was built in 1904 by a San Francisco lumber baron.

Jefferson Airplane Mansion

Before the crimes committed in his name shocked the world, Charles Manson was a drifter and small-time criminal living in Haight-Ashbury. Manson arrived in the district in early 1967 following a stint in jail, and quickly realized that the area would be fertile recruiting ground with so many young, naive flower children flocking to the Haight during the Summer of Love.&nbsp; Manson apparently lived at the residence from April to November of 1967, along with Mary Brunner, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, and other early Manson devotees. For most of that time, Manson circulated among the district's directionless youth, looking for young--and generally female--recruits to his growing "family." Manson and his growing number of followers supported themselves by panhandling, working as street performers, and theft. By the end of the year, Manson uprooted his family, bought a school bus that they painted Black, and relocated to Topanga Canyon. From there, the number of Manson's followers often fluctuated, but he maintained a core group of loyal members, and their crimes became more violent. In 1969, Manson's followers committed the seven Tate-LaBianca murders, which not only brought notoriety to the Manson family, but permanently tarnished the image of the Summer of Love and the counterculture.&nbsp;

Among the many people who flocked to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in the 1960s was the drifter and petty criminal Charles Manson. For a few months in 1967, the self-styled guru lived in the home on 636 Cole Street with some of the earliest members of his budding "family."

Former Residence of Charles Manson

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.

The Grateful Dead house was occupied by the legendary band Grateful Dead in the mid-sixties. Jerry Garcia and other band members lived at 710 Ashbury Street, at Waller near Haight Street, from 1965 to 1968, including the famed 'Summer of Love' in 1967. They were busted for drugs in 1967 and held a press conference at this house, arguing for decriminalization and claiming if everyone who smoked marijuana were arrested, San Francisco would be empty.

Grateful Dead House

A young and unconventional Janis Joplin arrived in San Francisco in 1963, hoping to make a name for herself through music. She settled into Haight Ashbury and met future Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, and the pair made a number of recordings of blues standards. Within a number of months, Joplin developed a reputation for heavy drug use. Her friends, alarmed at her physical decline, encouraged her to return to Port Arthur, Texas in May of 1965. In Texas, Joplin adopted a healthier and more straight-laced lifestyle and was briefly engaged. When the relationship ended, she returned to San Francisco in 1966 and joined the band Big Brother and the Holding Company. During this time, Joplin apparently moved often and had several apartments in the city. By 1967, however, Joplin was sharing an apartment with her friend Linda Gravenites at #3 122 Lyon Street. Of all of Joplin's rumored addresses in the city, the Lyon Street apartment is the only one that appears on official documentation. Her California driver's license, issued in August of 1967, lists her address as 122 Lyon Street, #3. Country Joe McDonald had a brief relationship with Joplin and lived with her in the Lyon Street apartment for a few months.&nbsp; The building was put up for sale in 2014 with a list price of $1.7 million.

Though rock legend Janis Joplin lived a rather nomadic existence and reportedly occupied several residences in San Francisco, there is only one that can be documented: 122 Lyon Street, #3. Joplin lived at this residence in 1967 and lived here with a roomate, and for a short time, musician Country Joe McDonald also stayed at this residence while he and Joplin dated. The home is privately owned and no tours are available.  

Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s

The Jimi Hendrix House (Red House)

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information