More renowned than 710 Ashbury?? Check out the Airplane's party house in SF...

Never more renowned, but definitely a bigger, better and much more long-lived party house, along with more actual history (epic parties, celebrity visits and legendary basement jams and recordings).

But 710 was the classic Haight era's clubhouse and is far more iconic, because of the time it existed and because the Grateful Dead grew and became a legend while the Airplane quickly fizzled and faded away.

Still, an amazing place that I'd love to roam around in. I always drive by it any chance I get and think about the epic debauchery that went on in there. It's a pity that it's owned now by some foo foo business.

It's also too bad that the best we have to tell us the history is the hollow pretender Joel Selvin.

That wanna'be is about as authentic as George Santos.

I saw that Selvin was quoted at length in the article, and wondered what you'd have to say about that, Lance. At least he's somewhat balanced out with some quotes from Grace's book.

And speaking of debauchery, as I heard it years ago, at the Bless Its Pointed Little Head party, each place at the table was set with its own little bowl of coke and a silver spoon.

Yeah, I guess I'm not the most unbiased person about Selvin. He's really not as bad as I usually make him out to be (not QUITE as bad).

When I was younger I just never really cared for his tone in most of his reviews and articles in the Chronicle, as if the story was always more about him, and then in later years he and I actually crossed paths at various times and in general that often reinforced my opinions of him.

I once saw him at a Jane's Addiction show, where he walked into the hall after the band started and stood to the side talking to someone. When I walked by 20 minutes later he was gone. I saw him walking to his car a few minutes after that. The next day he had a scathing review of the show, saying they were flat and a caricature of their former selves.

Now, that may or not have been true (I thought it was a good, not great Jane's show) but IMO if you're reviewing a show you watch the ENTIRE show.

He's always represented himself as an INSIDER to the 60's and the Bay Area scene, when in fact he's always been a hanger-on, a guy that always skirted around the edges, and now holds himself up as an expert. And that's not just my opinion, I've spoken with a number people who really were "insiders" who also think Selvin is a bit of a bloated boob.

Anyway, after all this time it doesn't really matter. Ultimately he WAS there and can at least talk about (most of) it better than I can. I guess I'm ZUI a bit here and pontificating again; the guy just bugs me.

As for the OP, that beautiful building has fascinated me for decades, a place where I really wish those walls could talk.

THAT would be something to stay 'till the end for.

"Bloated Boob"

Is that a good or bad thing?

From Season of the Witch a great book by David Talbot about that time:

Wonder what happened to Herb Caen's record collection?  Had to have been wide-ranging.  
 

He was still writing his daily column when I moved to Humboldt County in 1993.   I enjoyed reading his take on San Francisco and the Bay Area with my morning wake and bake and coffee in those pre-internet times when I still read the daily paper.  Seems like a quaint pastime from a bygone era now.