Ashbury Heights

 

 

Birthplace of the 1960s counterculture movement, Haight-Ashbury draws a lively, diverse crowd looking to soak up the historic hippie vibe. Upper Haight Street is a hodgepodge of vintage clothing boutiques, record shops, bookstores, dive bars and casual, eclectic restaurants. Bordering Golden Gate Park, the neighborhood features many colorful, well-preserved Victorian homes, including the storied Grateful Dead House.

 

Forty years later, the Summer of Love lives on throughout this charming Victorian sector, the location of one of the world’s top medical schools. The corner of Haight and Ashbury streets still has its tie-dyed roots; vintage clothing, books and records are abundant here and along lower Haight Street. Locals will point out Buena Vista Park, with its city views; and, for architectural highlights, Masonic, Piedmont and Delmar Streets.