Thought Paper 3: Haight and Ashbury

Kendall Steele

22 September 2012

Professor Asher

FYS: Visualizing San Francisco

Time travelling is Possible…In a Way

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to travel back in time? I know I have. I’ve always wondered what life was like before my time? What did people do for fun? How did they survive without iphones? These are some of the questions that race through my mind. I am aware that time travel is not possible at the moment, but I felt as if I traveled back in time when I found myself on the crossroads of Haight and Ashbury. The street that is Haight and Ashbury is colorful and vibrant, just like the 60s were. In my opinion, Haight and Ashbury transmits it residents and tourists back to the colorful 60s due to its décor and ambiance, the many counterculture shops the street has to offer, and the way the street bays homage to a difficult time.

            After reading the statement, “we should think of our entire world as something that can and should be read,” I understood that all the beauty and art displayed in Haight and Ashbury was placed there for me to appreciate and interpret (Silverman/Radar, 1). For example, after taking several pictures, I came across a post that read ‘Mystic Studios.’ The name itself is original and fun, but the colors used and the blood-shot eye that is displayed, made me ask why? At that moment, I felt like an anthropologist who longed to know more about that sign and the history behind it. Besides this sign, many murals and graffiti were featured in Haight and Ashbury. When you combine all of these different works of art, you really do feel as if you are in a different time period. As a columnist from the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, “If there's any area of San Francisco that evokes images of the long-gone '60s hippie culture, the Haight is it.” So this street is known for the mood it sets, but its not just the décor that makes this site such a tourist attraction. The counterculture that is found on Haight and Ashbury is something truly one of a kind.

            So what is counterculture? Well, the British Library website say that, “A counterculture rejects or challenges mainstream culture or particular elements of it.” I have to agree with this statement. I too believe that a counterculture is a way of rebelling, in a sense, against the current culture. Several shops on Haight and Ashbury exhibit this idea of counterculture. In my opinion, the Bound Together: An Anarchist Collective Bookstore is the perfect example of a counterculture store. This bookstore is great, because it is completely an all-volunteer work place. Furthermore, the book collection at this store does not consist of the typical books you would fine in your local Barnes and Nobles. Rather, these are books that push the ethical limit. They are outspoken and tell the past histories of Haight and Ashbury. This bookstore is a piece of history itself, and pays tribute to the 60s. This brings me to my next point, the way in which Haight and Ashbury pays homage to the decade of the summer of love.

            During the 1960s, a lot was going on. An entire hippie movement was in full swing. People, especially rockers were moving to the Haight Ashbury district to experience a post WWII lifestyle. During this time in the Haight, an entire culture exploded that included new art forms, music, and food. This live life to the fullest mentality spread throughout Haight and Ashbury. Today, people are still able to experience that old Haight and Ashbury…minus the extensive drug use. So when tourists are taking pictures of that infamous Haight Ashbury street sign, they are capturing not only a picture of the Haight and Ashbury in front of them, but they are capturing the essence of the Haight Ashbury that once was.

            In conclusion, the Haight Ashbury district is a great place to go, because you feel as if you have gone back in time due to the art that is found around the district, the counterculture that is so prevalent, and the overall design of the district that does a great job at paying tribute to the 1960s. So instead of picking up a text book and reading about the history of San Francisco in the 2960, why not experience the history by going to the amazing cultural-potluck that is Haight and Ashbury.

                                                                 Sign Paying Tribute

                                                                     Works Cited

"Bound Together: An Anarchist Collective Bookstore." - FoundSF. FoundSF, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://foundsf.org/index.php?title=Bound_Together:_An_Anarchist_Collective_Bookstore>.

"Counter Culture." Counter Culture. The British Library Board, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/21cc/counterculture/counterintro.html>.

SFGate. "San Francisco: The Haight." SFGate. The San Francisco Chronicle, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://www.sfgate.com/neighborhoods/sf/haight/>.

Silverman, Jonathan, and Dean Rader. The World Is a Text: Writing, Reading and Thinking about Visual and Popular Culture. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.