© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94117
When the
1906 earthquake destroyed much of old San Francisco, the Haight and its quaint
buildings were spared. During the 1960s, the Haight became the home of the
flower children — hippies and would-be hippies who came to San Francisco
and the little neighborhood around the intersection of Haight and Ashbury
streets searching for excitement and freedom. www.mccormacks.com
Many
Victorians and lofts became communes for writers, musicians, dancers and other
artists.
Click for regional or detailed map
Today, the
flower children are gone and some of the Victorians and stores have been gentrified or downgraded into boutiques, tattoo parlors, novelty stores
and offices, or duplexes and triplexes. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream at the corner of Haight and Ashbury, proving possibly that you can be progressive and capitalistic.
Expensive. Many young people and
artists share the rent in the older homes.
The
Haight, because of fame, attracts tourists and wandering young who see it as a shrine to
yesteryear. Residents are trying to stop the opening of new saloons and lower
the crime and mischief and make the neighborhood more kid friendly.
When the Haight makes the news, the theme of hippies growing older and more conservative (grumpy) is often sounded but the image is not quite on. The Haight has its troubles but many of its streets are clean and its housing, especially the Victorians, is unusually pretty. This suggests a lot civic energy.
Moving east on Haight Street (toward the Bay), the stores disappear and the Victorians and well-maintained apartment houses keep on rolling. This section is called the Lower Haight.
Next to Golden Gate Park, a cornucopia
of museums, flora, activities. The park's panhandle defines the northern
border. On-street parking is in short supply.
Just to
the south of the Haight, the terrain rises into hills with some of the
loveliest views of the city and the Pacific. Winding streets. Wooded. Some
streets open to fog, some protected. These are upscale neighborhoods:
Parnassus, Ashbury Heights, Corona Heights, Clarendon Heights. www.mccormacks.com
Also in
the Haight, two other large parks, Buena Vista and Corona Heights. The Pacific
is within a half-hour walk.
Book, art,
music, clothing stores. Bike and in-line skate rentals. Groceries. Many San
Francisco neighborhoods have their restaurant rows; so does this neighborhood.
Buses and
streetcars. About five miles from the downtown, which is long in San Francisco,
but a hop-and-a-skip for the rest of the world. Visitor traffic often congests
the arterial streets.
The Haight
attracts a fair number of students. The giant UC Medical Center, a teaching
hospital, and the University of San Francisco are close by, and San Francisco
State University is within a 15-minute bus ride.
Major
renovations to be made to UC facilities, about $500 million worth. www.mccormacks.com
Check out
the street scene. What fascinates some, offends others.
• The Haight and many neighborhoods east of the Haight were built when people got to work by horse, bike and streetcar. The Sunset District, immediately west of the Haight, was built when the Model T was king. The horse was not allowed in the house. The Model T was and this radically changed the design of homes.
