The Psychedelic Shop

1535 Haight Street

      egypteye.gifThis special shop opened on January 3,1966. and quickly became the streets main hang-out. The owner, Ron Thelan took the original seats from the old Straight Theatre and set them in the stores front window so you could sit there and watch the parade of hippies outside.

       One day in 0ctober 1967 the police entered the shop and confiscated
  The Love BookThe Love Book
"Lenore Kandel's little book of erotic poetry. and also arrested Allen Cohen, Oracle Editor who was working the cash register that day. The book was banned as obscene in 1967 by the California Supreme Court and has been out off print for 36 years although the ban was lifted in 1973. Wonderful newly printed edition. The funny thing is that before the the hoopla over her book, it had only sold about 50 copies but after the notieriety, the sales of the book went crazy and the writer Lenore Kandel ended up donating 1% of the royalties to the police retirement fund as a way of thanking them for making her book so popular.
Things became so nutsy out on Haight St. that Thelin set about half of the stores interior aside as a mediation room called the Calm Center.


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