Culture and Counterculture
San Francisco, Los Angeles and London during the 1967 youth summer.
Start here · Essential guide
An overview of the 1967 San Francisco season: the Human Be-In, the Council for the Summer of Love, the expected influx of youth, and the Death of Hippie funeral.
Chicago had only a modest hippie scene in 1967: Old Town, the Chicago Seed underground paper, folk clubs and a city government hostile to the counterculture.
The institutions of the 1967 Haight: the Psychedelic Shop, Print Mint, Switchboard, the Oracle, the Diggers' free store and the Grateful Dead house on Ashbury Street.
The phrase belongs to San Francisco, but Los Angeles had its own 1967 youth scene: the Sunset Strip, the 1966 curfew protests, the Byrds, Love, the Doors and love-ins.
The East Village in the summer of 1967: Tompkins Square Park, the Central Park Be-In, the Fugs, and the problems of runaway teenagers in a crowded neighbourhood.
The social strains of the 1967 Haight: overcrowding, runaways, hunger, hepatitis and bad drug episodes, and the response of Diggers, the free clinic and churches.
New York's underground arts in 1967: Off-Off-Broadway theatre, the Living Theatre in exile, the Warhol circle, and the Electric Circus on St. Marks Place.
Why the Haight became the centre: Victorian houses and low rents, the Beat and art crowd, the 1966 Trips Festival and the first Family Dog dances.
How Hollywood treated the hippie movement in 1967: Roger Corman's The Trip, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, studios chasing young viewers, and the gap with real life.
London's 1967 counterpart to San Francisco: the UFO Club, Pink Floyd, International Times, the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream and the Granny Takes a Trip shop.
What free love meant in 1967 San Francisco: ideas about sexuality and communal life, how far practice matched the slogans, and the health and gender problems.
The 1967 summer as a youth revolt: young people leaving suburban homes and careers, the reactions of parents, police, mayor and press, and the autumn collapse.
How the phrase Summer of Love was coined by organisers in spring 1967, spread through the press and television, and what the media created along the way.
How the Haight has been remembered since the 1970s: decline, tourism, anniversary revivals and today's neighbourhood, compared with what happened in 1967.
How the 1967 San Francisco summer was recorded in pictures: Gene Anthony, Bob Campbell, magazine photo essays, lasting images, and tips for writing honest captions.
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