Now: Any day of the week, The Haight is filled with a potent mix of locals, tourists, and roaming young people. Many shops are geared toward luring visitors with some kind of reflection of the neighborhood's storied past. The counterculture energy and strong vintage atmosphere comes through everywhere, from the clothing shops to the ornate Victorian architecture.

Then: Once the connection between the dense downtown area and the new Golden Gate Park was bridged by a cable car line in 1883, homes began to be built around Haight Ashbury. Although most of the neighborhood survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, it was a somewhat forlorn area through the first half of the 20th century. The 1960s brought an influx of young people and appreciation for the Haight bloomed.