Haight-Ashbury
About Haight-Ashbury
Haight-Ashbury grew as a streetcar suburb in the 1880s and 1890s, after Golden Gate Park was laid out and cable car lines reached the area. Haight Street is named after Henry Haight, a 19th-century San Francisco banker. The Victorian flats that fill the neighborhood date mostly to that period and largely survived the 1906 earthquake, since the fire stopped at Van Ness Avenue well to the east.
By the 1950s the neighborhood had declined and rents were cheap, which drew students and musicians. That set the stage for the 1960s counterculture. The Grateful Dead lived at 710 Ashbury Street from 1966 to 1968, and in 1967 the area was the center of the Summer of Love.
The neighborhood splits into Upper Haight, around the Haight and Ashbury intersection, and Lower Haight, east of Divisadero. Most visitor traffic is in Upper Haight, where Amoeba Music occupies a former bowling alley at Haight and Stanyan. Record stores, vintage shops, and cafes run along Haight Street for about eight blocks.
Where to Drink
All bars →
Things to Do
All activities →
Groove Merchant Records
Lower Haight vinyl shop opened in 1990 by Ubiquity Records' Michael McFadin, now owned by Chris Veltri. Name-checked by the Beastie Boys on Check Your Head. Bins lean jazz, soul, and rare grooves at 687 Haight Street.
Relic Vintage
Vintage shop at 1475 Haight, on the corner of Haight and Ashbury, carrying clothing from the 1920s through the 1980s with deeper inventory in the 40s and 50s. Open daily.
Indigo Vintage Cooperative
Multi-vendor vintage cooperative with two San Francisco locations: 1649 Haight on the Haight's vintage strip and 2266 Chestnut in the Marina. Vintage apparel is the core; accessories and home goods round out the booths, and the stock at the two stores reflects each neighborhood.
The Booksmith
Haight Street independent bookstore opened by Gary Frank in October 1976, now run by Christin Evans and Praveen Madan (who bought it in 2007). SF Legacy Business since October 2016. Regular author events, book clubs, and silent reading parties. 1727 Haight, daily 11am to 7pm.
Fuzz & Sway
Lower Haight vintage shop at 683 Haight leaning toward wearable pieces (70s leather jackets, print shirts, denim) over collector-only stock. Ships if you don't want to carry the haul around. Open Thursday through Sunday.
Decades of Fashion
Haight Street vintage shop carrying clothing and accessories from the 1900s through the 1980s, with a deep hat selection and a formal-wear section sorted by period (tuxedos, cocktail dresses, gowns). 1653 Haight, with pricing pegged to rarity and condition.
