Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s--Concerts in the Panhandle?

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

With the recent death of photographer Jim Marshall, creator of many album covers, and other work covering the music scene for the past thirty-five years or so, there have been a few of these pictures turning up in the newspaper. A famous one, in particular, shows Carlos Santana playing a concert at the Panhandle. For those who don’t know SF, there’s Golden Gate park, which is huge and actually not that close at all to the Golden Gate itself. GGP extends from the west coast of the Peninsula nearly halfway to the Bay, and then the Panhandle is a narrower strip that extends about eight blocks further eastward. The area defined by the length of the Panhandle, extending about two blocks to the south, is more or less the epicenter of the Haight-Ashbury, and must have been even more so in the glory days of free Grateful Dead concerts.

But here’s my question. In the picture of Carlos Santana, and in similar ones of Dead performances, the camera is looking out up the Panhandle, which is completely filled with spectators. You can see what evidently must be the houses on the south side of Oak, and on the north side of Fell, and in between is nothing but the heads of the audience. In other words, it seems that in the 1960s, the Panhandle was nothing but grass and had few if any large trees that would obstruct the view. But today there are numerous large trees in the Panhandle. How did that come to be? Because there’s no way I could imagine a concert being given in the Panhandle today.

Or is there some other Panhandle where the concerts were held?

[Meurglys]

I don’t know the area at all, but the 3rd post here says the trees date from 1870

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

@Meurglys

I don’t know the area at all, but the 3rd post here says the trees date from 1870

That would make sense, being around the time that GGP was established. IIRC it was planned out by Olmsted, who had also done Central Park.

[WordMan]

@Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus

With the recent death of photographer Jim Marshall, creator of many album covers, and other work covering the music scene for the past thirty-five years or so, there have been a few of these pictures turning up in the newspaper. A famous one, in particular, shows Carlos Santana playing a concert at the Panhandle. For those who don’t know SF, there’s Golden Gate park, which is huge and actually not that close at all to the Golden Gate itself. GGP extends from the west coast of the Peninsula nearly halfway to the Bay, and then the Panhandle is a narrower strip that extends about eight blocks further eastward. The area defined by the length of the Panhandle, extending about two blocks to the south, is more or less the epicenter of the Haight-Ashbury, and must have been even more so in the glory days of free Grateful Dead concerts.

But here’s my question. In the picture of Carlos Santana, and in similar ones of Dead performances, the camera is looking out up the Panhandle, which is completely filled with spectators. You can see what evidently must be the houses on the south side of Oak, and on the north side of Fell, and in between is nothing but the heads of the audience. In other words, it seems that in the 1960s, the Panhandle was nothing but grass and had few if any large trees that would obstruct the view. But today there are numerous large trees in the Panhandle. How did that come to be? Because there’s no way I could imagine a concert being given in the Panhandle today.

Or is there some other Panhandle where the concerts were held?

No clue - I am a Bay Area native and lived in SF for ~10 years, but am not up on my Panhandle history. I would be curious about the answer, too…

[Troy_McClure_SF]

Can you find the picture online? I could probably take a stab at it if I saw it. I could see the east edge of the Panhandle being able to handle a concert, it’s a bit more open than the rest.

[obfusciatrist]

Can you link to the photo in question?

Here’s a photo from the San Francisco Public Library Historical Photograph Collection of the Panhandle taken in April 1970. Plenty of big trees.

Not sure what intersection it is but this photo from 1936 also suggests plenty of trees (though it is a much more limited view).

[Sandra_Battye]

Can you provide a link to the photo? It could just be careful framing of the photo, or a block without tall trees. See the differences between the time of Vertigo and now here (not the panhandle).

As I recall, the greenery is a mixture of fast and slow growing species now.

I remember driving by the panhandle as a kid about the right time, but I don’t specifically remember the trees, or lack of.

[Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus]

I’ll hunt around for a public domain pic