<P> The Haight was hit hard by the Depression, as was much of the city . Residents with enough money to spare left the declining and crowded neighborhood for greener pastures within the growing city limits, or newer, smaller suburban homes in the Bay Area . During the housing shortage of World War II, large single - family Victorians were divided into apartments to house workers . Others were converted into boarding homes for profit . By the 1950s, the Haight was a neighborhood in decline . Many buildings were left vacant after the war . Deferred maintenance also took its toll, and the exodus of middle class residents to newer suburbs continued to leave many units for rent . </P> <P> In the 1950s, a freeway was proposed that would have run through the Panhandle, but due to a citizen freeway revolt, it was cancelled in a series of battles that lasted until 1966 . The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) was formed at the time of the 1959 revolt . HANC is still active in the neighborhood as of 2008 . </P> <P> The Haight - Ashbury's elaborately detailed, 19th century, multi-story, wooden houses became a haven for hippies during the 1960s, due to the availability of cheap rooms and vacant properties for rent or sale in the district; property values had dropped in part because of the proposed freeway . The bohemian subculture that subsequently flourished there took root, and to a great extent, has remained to this day . </P> <P> The mainstream media's coverage of hippie life in the Haight - Ashbury drew the attention of youth from all over America . Hunter S. Thompson labeled the district "Hashbury" in The New York Times Magazine, and the activities in the area were reported almost daily . The Haight - Ashbury district was sought out by hippies to constitute a community based upon counterculture ideals, drugs, and music . This neighborhood offered a concentrated gathering spot for hippies to create a social experiment that would soon spread throughout the nation . </P>

Who lived in haight ashbury in the 60s