Places We Go : Wandering San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury
On one of the hottest days of the year, Jayne and I explored Haight-Ashbury ("Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair") in San Francisco. It was 85 (hot for us in July) and we kept mostly to the shady side of the street. Our main mission was to see where Jayne lived in her late 20s. Let's take a look.
A half block off Haight, we saw a succulent pot garden on Masonic. We were on our way to Jayne's old apartment building just a block away.
You can see Jayne's building in the top right corner of this 1919 photo.
In the 1970's, Ray and Jerry restored the house. Here's Jayne with them at a party in the late 70's.
Jayne's door was on the right. When she lived there, it had a small basement apartment, the main floor occupied by Ray and Jerry and the second floor that Jayne, Ginger and Chris occupied. Later, a penthouse apartment was added.
As you can imagine, Jayne's building has an intriguing history. Originally, it was the family home of the creators of I. Magnin retail chain. I. Magnin eventually became THE luxury woman's clothing store along the West Coast. Isaac and Mary Ann Magnin came to San Francisco in 1878. Mary Ann established a dry goods store which prospered into the I. Magnin retail chain. Besides their home, this building was their temporary store after their store burned down in the 1906 earthquake. Isaac died soon after in 1907.
"Isaac and Mary Ann Magnin built their home (1482 Page) in 1899 in their 35th year of marriage. They lived here with four of their eight children, granddaughter Irma, step-son Stephen, nursemaid Maggy Kennedy and two Japanese man servants. At the same time that they built their own home, they also built the two adjoining houses (1478 and 1480 Page) for their two daughters and their families." - (FoundSF)
After our inspection of Jayne's former digs, we ate Green Goddess Chicken Salads at Magnolia Brewing on Haight. Perfect for a hot day.
We both got a kick out of the unisex restroom style.
Since 1968, Mendells has been a family owned business. Jayne often shopped there when she lived a few blocks away.
Inside, we admired the murals of Victorian houses.
Jayne and me.
No trip is complete without a photo on the corner of Haight and Ashbury, right outside Ben & Jerry's. Jayne and I had ice cream cones while sitting at the window counter watching the parade outside. Hard to imagine that before the completion of the Haight Street Cable Railroad in 1883, what is now the Haight-Ashbury was a collection of isolated farms and acres of sand dunes.
Ruthann and Bobby are staying with me next week, so I'll be back to you on September 29. Enjoy your day!
PS - "In the early 1870s, Dutch-born Mary Ann Magnin and her husband Isaac Magnin left England and settled in San Francisco. Mary Ann opened a shop in 1876 selling lotions and high-end clothing for infants. Later, she expanded into bridal wear. As her business grew, her exclusive clientele relied on her for the newest fashions from Paris. I. Magnin imported clothing by major designers including Jeanne Lanvin, Hattie Carnegie, and Christian Dior." - (Wikipedia) Macy's took over the white marble cube that was San Francisco's I. Magnin building, which faced Union Square, in 1994 and now the SF Macy's has announced it will close by 2026. Who knows if we'll ever be able to use the fabulous green marble ladies' restroom which Macy's didn't dare touch.
Jayne (left) and her friend, Ginger, rockin' the look in the late '60s/early '70s in San Francisco.
PPS - "During the 1967 Summer of Love, psychedelic rock music was entering the mainstream, receiving more and more commercial radio airplay. The Scott McKenzie song "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)," became a hit that year. The Monterey Pop Festival in June further cemented the status of psychedelic music as a part of mainstream culture and elevated local Haight bands such as the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Jefferson Airplane to national stardom. A July 7, 1967, Time magazine cover story on "The Hippies: Philosophy of a Subculture," an August CBS News television report on "The Hippie Temptation" and other major media interest in the hippie subculture exposed the Haight-Ashbury district to enormous international attention and popularized the counterculture movement across the country and around the world." - Wikipedia
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