San Francisco holds diverse cultures and widely different philosophies. Within the city are many neighborhoods, each unique in atmosphere and lifestyle. One of the most unusual enclaves exists in Haight-Ashbury. Catapulted into the headlines as the birthplace of the hippie movement, this formerly middle-class neighborhood became a fostering ground for idealists and iconoclasts. Although the halcyon days of "flower power" were short-lived, vestiges of the hippie presence can still be found amid the dirt and squalor of the World of Darkness.
History[]
After the United States acquired California in 1848, groups of squatters sought and won the right to settle an expanse of dunes along the western fringes of San Francisco. The area became one of the most poplar promenades during the 1880s because of its proximity to the newly opened Golden Gate Park. With the coming of the tramway connecting the park to the city, the Haight became prime territory for development. Elegant Victorian houses, as well as an assortment of hotels, restaurants, and saloons, soon made the Haight a desirable residential and commercial district.
Although barely damaged during the 1906 quake, the Haight suffered a decline in popularity as the gentry relocated to more fashionable neighborhoods. The stately homes in the area became apartment houses for the influx of immigrants who came west to seek their fortunes. In the years following World War II, a large number of lower-income families moved into the Haight. This incursion continued into the 1950s, when many artists and members of the Beat Generation settled in the area. These free-thinkers brought with them a bohemian lifestyle and became the foundation for the society that evolved during the next decade.
In the mid-1960s, the "hippie movement" found its spiritual and physical home in the blocks surrounding the corner of Haight and Ashbury Streets. Rejecting materialism and the politics of war, the hippies embraced a gospel of free love, free speech, and free living. Anarchist groups like the Diggers advocated a moneyless society, while the search for spiritual enlightenment sparked a new interest in Zen Buddhism and other non-Western philosophies. Experimentation with mind-altering drugs likewise became prevalent. The word "psychedelic" began making the rounds and was used to describe everything from the new music of the 1960s to the wildly apricots artistic styles inspired by the profusion of mind-altering experiences. The "Summer of Love" in 1967 marked the apex of the counterculture's dream. Nearly half a million people, most of them under the age of thirty, flocked to the Haight.
By the end of the decade, the fragile mood of universal peace and love had turned ugly. Commercialism took over the trappings of the hippie movement; being "hip" became big business. Free love gave way to casual rape, traffic in hard drugs increased, and violence ruled the streets. Many hippies left in disgust.
In recent years, though, the Haight has begun to enjoy a renaissance. The streets of Haight-Ashbury reflect a hybrid culture made up of New Agers, yuppies, old hippies, goths, punks, drifters, and modern entrepreneurs. This combination of bright-eyed idealists and hardcore cynics has resulted in a strange and sometimes sinister atmosphere.
Geography[]
Haight-Ashbury stretched eastward from Golden Gate Park as far west as Gough Street and the Central Freeway. California Street forms the northernmost boundary, while a line connecting Carmel Street, Roosevelt Way, Buena Vista Avenue East, and Duboce Avenue marks its southern edge. Within this territory, the heart of the Haight comprises a few blocks delineated by Stanyan (on the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park), Fulton, Fillmore, and Frederick Streets.
Supernatural Landmarks[]
Buena Vista Park: Located atop one of the dunes, this lovely park offers spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Tamalpais. A stream rises up from a spring in the park, supporting a variety of native flora. A dryad lives in this park in her guise as a coastal oak tree. From this place, she keeps watch on the surrounding area.
Spreckles Mansion: Built in the late 19th century for a nephew of sugar magnate Alfred Spreckles, this Baroque-style mansion near Buena Vista Park was once a bed-and-breakfast and the temporary residence of both Jack London and Ambrose Bierce. In the World of Darkness, this house functions as a gathering place for many of the city's supernatural residents.
Haight Street: This east-west thoroughfare runs the length of Haight-Ashbury. During the 1960s, it was home to The Drugstore Cafe, the Psychedelic Shop, The Print Mint, the I-Thou Coffeehouse, and a host of other stores owned by and catering to the hippie counterculture. Though these places are gone, other enterprises have taken their place. New Age shops, occult bookstores, secondhand clothing stores, and coffeehouses rub elbows with trendy shops and restaurants.
The Wasteland: Once a theatre, this shop now sells vintage clothing. Many changelings frequent the shop, drawn by the artistic displays of bygone fashions and the residual ambiance of the building itself.
Holos Gallery: This gallery specializes in holograms and holographic products and is a favorite "hangout" for Kithain who patronize high-tech art, including members of House Dougal and a few ambitious nockers.
Red Vic Movie House: A move house dedicated to art films. The Zoetrope Society uses this building as its unofficial headquarters.
Nightbreak: This contemporary rock and New Wave club hosts both local and out-of-town bands. Depending on the talent and creativity of the nightly bill, there is often a good chance for a music-oriented Kithain to absorb Glamour along with the vibes. Seelie and Unseelie rock bands find this place a handy venue for their performances.
Pipe Dreams: At the height of the hippie movement, this store was THE place for water pipes and other accoutrements related to smoking in all its forms. While it still offers an assortment of unusual pipes, in the current "smoke-free" culture it has broadened its merchandising base to include New Age paraphernalia, Egyptian jewelry, and T-shirts. Some grumps who remember "how it used to be" find the atmosphere suitably nostalgic.
Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic: Originally founded to minister to the needs of the hippie community, the clinic now counts AIDS victims among its clientele. Some boggans, following their innate compulsion to help the needy, work here on a volunteer basis, while a wilder noble of House Liam serves on the clinic's medical staff.
The District at Large (Supernatural)[]
Haight-Ashbury includes a plethora of unusual and interesting shops, which can be adapted by a Storyteller for inclusion in their chronicles. Stores specializing in body-piercing (frequented by redcaps and numerous Unseeliewilders), numerous goth clubs and bars, shops devoted to a variety of international cultures and fashions (gathering places for the city's eshu and other eclectic Kithain), specialty bookstores of every type, comics and games shops, art and "pseudo-art" galleries, stores offering recycled clothing, cookware, and records... all of these and more can be found in Haight-Ashbury.
