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Hippieland: Bohemian Space and Countercultural Place in San Francisco’S Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood

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Hippieland: Bohemian Space and Countercultural Place in San Francisco’S Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood HIPPIELAND: BOHEMIAN SPACE AND COUNTERCULTURAL PLACE IN SAN FRANCISCO’S HAIGHT-ASHBURY NEIGHBORHOOD by KEVIN MITCHELL MERCER B.A. University of Central Florida, 2012 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Summer Term 2017 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the birth of the late 1960s counterculture in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Surveying the area through a lens of geographic place and space, this research will look at the historical factors that led to the rise of a counterculture here. To contextualize this development, it is necessary to examine the development of a cosmopolitan neighborhood after World War II that was multicultural and bohemian into something culturally unique. It was within this space that a wellspring of drop-out culture evolved from a combination of psychedelic drugs, experimental lifestyles, and anarchistic thought. The contention of countercultural place was fully realized in the lead up to and during the “Summer of Love” in 1967. This pinnacle moment was also its demise as the massive influx of young people into the area stressed the area and the idea of a local hippie movement to a breaking point. The final part of this thesis looks at how this experience changed the area, and how the countercultural moved on to become a national movement, while its key practitioners moved their countercultural place making to smaller rural communes, where the lessons of the Haight-Ashbury could be applied. Collectively this work examines how a group of young people developed and changed the meaning of the Haight-Ashbury through the development of countercultural place thus inspiring a national movement that would adjust American society in innumerable ways. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people for their contribution to this thesis: To Dr. Robert Cassanello, this project would not have been possible without the guidance and advice you have provided as my thesis chair and advisor This research began with a list of suggested readings over the produce section of the natural foods store where I was employed before graduate school. Since those initial conversations you have challenged my thinking and expanded my theoretical knowledge every step of the way. I’m thankful for your advice and mentorship that has made this project what it is. To Dr. Daniel Murphree, whose guidance and counsel have extended far beyond these pages. My graduate experience has been enriched by the opportunities to work with you as your student, graduate teaching assistant, and in publishing research with you. To Dr. Amy Foster, you have challenged me to think and research beyond my perceived limits. Your advice and expertise have enriched my graduate experience and this research. Thank you to the UCF Department of History and the UCF College of Graduate Studies for their funding and support. Special thanks to the San Francisco Public Library, the Bancroft Library at University of California Berkeley, and UCF Library for help with documents, sources, and citations. To my partner Abigail Moreshead who has both edited this thesis and listened to my big ideas evolve into this finished effort. I could not have crossed this finish-line without you. To my mother whose stories have helped shape my understanding of this subject and whose advice and support have been there every step of the way. To my brother, Keith, for never doubting. To Ian Marsh, the first person I met on the elevator on the way to orientation, you have remained my best friend and faithful companion throughout the entire process. Your patient advice is reflected throughout this research. To my friends Kris Steele, Drew Fedorka, and Estaban Leonardo Santis your friendship, intellectual curiosity, support, and enthusiasm have meant the world to me. To Jeremy Strykul, Jennifer and Eben Denton-Walker, and Catherine and Taylor Ashe for your friendship and support from the beginning. To Andy Smith for knowing everything there is to know about Frank Zappa. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Research Considerations ................................................................................................. 4 Historiography ................................................................................................................. 5 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 13 Chapter Organization .................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER ONE: HAIGHT-ASHBURY AS BOHEMIAN SPACE .............................. 17 Haight-Ashbury: A Brief History .................................................................................. 19 The Freeway Revolt and the Defense of a Cosmopolitan Neighborhood ..................... 22 Beatnik Bohemia ........................................................................................................... 24 Why San Francisco? ...................................................................................................... 28 Anarcho-Utopians ......................................................................................................... 35 “The San Francisco Sound” .......................................................................................... 39 Hippie Spirituality and the Monday Night Class .......................................................... 43 Golden Gate Park and the Human Be-In ....................................................................... 45 CHAPTER TWO: HAIGHT-ASHBURY AS COUNTERCULTRAL PLACE ............. 50 The Commodified Hippie.............................................................................................. 55 The Diggers ................................................................................................................... 60 Media ............................................................................................................................. 67 Authority, Addiction, Exploitation, and Invasion ......................................................... 71 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 76 CHAPTER THREE: COUNTERCULTURAL RESIDUE, MEMORY, AND NOSTALGIA .................................................................................................................... 79 “There’s No More Love in the Haight” ........................................................................ 81 The Changing Nature of the 1960s and the Expanded Counterculture ......................... 90 Communalism ............................................................................................................... 97 Place and Mobility ...................................................................................................... 101 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 103 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 105 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 109 iv INTRODUCTION Between 1964 and 1968, San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury was the center for an exploration of youth cultural protest, the American counterculture movement, informally known as the hippies. This movement grew directly out of the 1950s Beat Movement, focused in nearby North Beach. The counterculture’s dissent differed from the general left-wing radicalism advocated by other student movements of the time. The counterculture was defined as a social protest eager to reject the “mainstream” establishment culture while also politically rejecting traditional notions of right versus left. This approach was unique to the hippies, as it sought to create a “dropout” culture. The Haight-Ashbury served as both the birthplace and eventually a national gathering point for the like-minded people of this burgeoning group of cultural radicals. Young seekers, disillusioned with modern life and searching for an authentic experience traveled to the coastal California city in substantial numbers. In relocating to the district, individuals attempted to build a societal model that expressed their values of the community. These values included aspects of spirituality, dignity for humanity, a search for authenticity, as well as social and personal experimentation, which would often manifest itself as wide-open free expression. Core principles to performing these values were psychedelic drug use, rock music, an open sexuality, personal performance, and demonstrations of free expression. The lexicon used to define these young people is historically wrought with challenge. Popularly they were known as the hippies. This term derived from the beatnik use of the word hip or hipster, and slowly made its way into the popular vernacular to 1 describe the youth movement attached to the Haight and other bohemian spaces in urban centers. During the 1960s and beyond, this term had pejorative connotations as mainstream politicians and media would use this term to describe any young person with a contrary point of view. Eventually,
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