Intersection of Haight and Ashbury

Starting right in the heart of the district is the intersection of Haight and Ashbury. These four street corners that come together are filled with bright, colorful murals on the walls, as well as bright, colorful people with beaming personalities, musical talents, and a lot of love to share.

On one corner, there is a store called Haight and Ashbury T-Shirts, which is filled with various vintage band shirts, tye-dye shirts, tapestries, and sheets that color all spectrums of the rainbow, and patches and pins that indicate all of the mottos and quotes of the sixties. Also in this store are items of paraphernalia which share the idea of freedom, open love, and rebellion against the law during the Summer of Love.

Directly across the street to the west of Haight and Ashbury T-Shirts is a Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream shop. This ice cream shop is constantly filled with customers, and it is suited to their moods as it has a quote painted on the outside that reads as “peace, love, and ice cream.”

 

Across the street from Ben and Jerry’s, and kiddie cornered from Haight and Ashbury T-Shirts are traditional San Franciscan styled homes, stacked up multiple stories high, and embellished with vintage, victorian crown moldings and beams leading up to the doorways. These homes serve as a constant reminder of the olden days that still exist on the Haight in their architecture alone.

Finally, completing the intersection is a clothing store called Haight Ashbury Vintage, where mannequins are displayed in the windows wearing trends of years as far back as the twenties. This store helps to embody the past times by providing visual representation of the past times through fashion.

 

On all stretches of the street, it is obvious that this district is one quite different from the others. A great place to start to understand those differences, as well as experience just a taste of what the area has preserved from the past, is the intersection of Haight and Ashbury.