Jimi Hendrix’ house
This point of interest is available as audio on the tour: Visit San Francisco, The Summer of Love
Here you are at the junction of the two legendary streets that gave their names to the district. Haight comes from Henry Huntly Haight, who was governor of California in 1870, and Ashbury from Munroe Ashbury, who was a city councilman in the late 19th century. Look at the clock on the corner. So, unless by pure chance it really is 4:20 p.m. when you walk by, know that this is the neighborhood’s stopped clock! Forever stuck on 4:20. The number 420 refers to cannabis consumption in North America. Apparently, it comes from the time when high school students in California were let out from school and would gather to share a joint. Anyway, keep going until you see the red house on your right.
This is Jimi Hendrix’s house! Well, he didn’t own the whole house, just an apartment, but it doesn’t matter, this is where a man who is still considered to be one of the world’s greatest guitarists lived in 1967! Less than 100 meters away, at 635 Ashbury Street, lived another music icon, the incredible Janis Joplin. You can go and see her house – it’s the beautiful pink Victorian home. As you know, both artists died two weeks apart, at the age of 27. If you want to continue your tour of rock star homes, go a little further down Ashbury Street and you’ll see the Grateful Dead house at 710.
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