26.10.06

F I R S TP R E V416NEXTLAST

The Angels & The Dead, Ashbury Street
There is a lot of history on the 700 block of Ashbury Street. These two Queen Anne Victorians directly across the street from the other each have their own tale. The top house at 710 Ashbury was the home and headquarters of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead in the 1960s. The house was raid by the SFPD in October of 1967 and two band members were arrested, convicted, and fined $100 each for the marijuana and hashish found there. The house was featured in a number of posters for the Dead.

At the same time, across the street, 715 Ashbury (at bottom) was the headquarters of the San Francisco Hell's Angels chapter. A number of incidents took place here, the most notorious was in 1969 when Cassel Brenner, a young man living two doors down from the Angels had his car demolished by the motorcycle gang using chains and tire irons. Two responding policemen were also injured and had to call for two dozen reinforcements. Eventually 37 Hell's Angels and their girlfriends were hauled off to jail, along with four handguns, eight bullwhips, ten machetes, twelve daggers, and assorted drugs.
[ MAP J-10 ]


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