Yesterday, the august The New Yorker magazine reviewed two new books that have deep relevance for our understanding of what happened in the Bay Area (and California) during the 1960s and how what happened then is critical to understanding our … Read more
#Onthisday 49 years ago, the words “Summer of Love” first appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle carrying the term into the ‘mainstream media’ in San Francisco, California and the country. The article focused on a press conference held the … Read more
Looking for the latest or greatest scholarship and thinking on the 1960s? Here’s a sample of books, films, articles and exhibitions that CHS staff have been reading:
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On January 22, 2016 the California Historical Society celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Trips Festival with an event at Obscura Digital featuring Trips Festival organizer Stewart Brand. At the event, Trips Festival participants, scholars, historians, artists, musicians and technologists, … Read more
“If I were to tell you that an event of major significance in the history of religion is going to take place in this City of Saint Francis this weekend, you would say, ‘You stayed out of work too long.’ … Read more
Ken Kesey and others pulled up to Union Square to promote the Trips Festival – organized by Kesey, Stewart Brand, Roman Sender and Bill Graham at the Longshoreman’s Hall between January 21-23 1966. KRON-TV was on hand to document the … Read more
![[The Human Be-In, Golden Gate Park, 1967 January 14], photograph by Gene Anthony, courtesy, California Historical Society, CPA-SOL_005](https://experiments.californiahistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/CPA-SOL_005-300x208.jpg)
The “Summer of Love” in 1967 is generally thought to be when everything changed in San Francisco. As with most historic moments, there were many precipitating events which were bellwethers of things to come.… Read more
The Trips Festival was a transformative event that helped mark the beginning of the hippie counterculture movement in San Francisco. Organized by Stewart Brand, Ramon Sender, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, and Bill Graham at the Longshoremen’s Hall for … Read more
Since the mid-20th century, San Francisco has been a beacon supporting underground movements, a vibrant arts and culture scene, and being one of the top music destinations in the world. Its dedication to preserving a singular voice – often … Read more
The wild going-ons of San Francisco’s psych rock scene were recorded in the West Coast’s first rock & roll magazine Mojo Navigator R&R News. Its premier issue, published by teenagers David Harris and Greg Shaw on August 8, 1966, … Read more
