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Crosscurrents

The real story behind the Summer of Love

Photo by CC Flickr user Jennifer Boyer, resized and recropped

 

Many of us assume the Summer of Love was the pinnacle of the hippie movement in the Bay Area and beyond. But the reality is a lot more complicated.

By the summer of 1967, the movement was actually in decline. Instead of just being about peace, love and happiness, that summer in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood was also plagued by overcrowding, violence, bad drugs and deprivation. In many ways, that summer was the end of the era.

 

But how did it begin? THE INTERSECTION’s David Boyer dug into the archives of the 1960s and the memories of folks who were there. The goal: To separate the history and myths around the Summer of Love and it’s supposed epicenter, the corner of Haight & Ashbury.

 

 

STANLEY MOUSE: It was great for all of 1966. And then the media picked up on it . . . and everything went to hell.

To find more episodes of THE INTERSECTION, click here

 

 

 

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