If you're going to San Francisco....

Yesterday, doing some location scouting for a client, I found myself the Haight-Ashbury (aka "the Haight"), one of San Francisco's many neighborhood districts and it took me back to when I grew up in the City.

I was a bit too young to fully participate in what is known as "the Summer of Love" (for better or worse). Between school and my Saturday job at Transvision, a local shop in Laurel Village that sold Magnavox TV's, transistor radios and vinyl albums, I explored the "scene" going down to the Haight and watching tourists sealed in Greyhound tour buses taking pictures of "hippies" while the "hippies" took pictures of busloads of tourists.

A few years later, in the early '70's when I first moved to London on a whim, I met many locals who were seemingly in awe of meeting someone who was actually from San Francisco - questions like "do people really wear flowers in their hair?" (in reference to this well-known song by Scott Mac Kenzie). Then, as now, San Francisco has some almost mythological quality.

Today "the Haight" which is now bisected into "the Upper Haight" (the original Haight) and the "lower Haight" still has vestiges of the '60's (for better or worse) and a good collection of restaurants, bars, cafes, boutiques, "head shops" and the great Haight-Ashbury Music Center in business since 1972.


Peace!

p.s. "formula retailers" beware the Haight!

p.p.s. this post is dedicated to my terrific son and daughter, who were raised in London - one of the world's great cities - and who I brought back - or dragged back as they might see it - to San Francisco several years ago hoping they would develop a great appreciation for this city. I believe they have.