Marking 'Summer of Love,' Upper Haight Kiosk To Become Giant Mushroom

Marking 'Summer of Love,' Upper Haight Kiosk To Become Giant MushroomPhoto: Camden Avery/Hoodline
Camden Avery
Published on May 17, 2017

The 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love has brought the Haight a museum exhibition, a new mural, and decorative lights—and it's still just warming up.

Now, it's about to inspire a monument to psychedelia, this time in the form of a giant mushroom.

The parking lot kiosk at Shrader and Haight, currently leased by San Francisco Bicycle Rentals (1816 Haight St.), is about to be reborn as a painted mushroom, said SF Bicycle Rentals owner Rob Schwartz, who's coordinating the project.

"We've sort of been leasing that kiosk for a while," Schwartz said. "We've been helping to activate it in some way or another. With the fiftieth anniversary of the Summer of Love, we thought it would be fun. We have plans to turn it into a giant mushroom."

Schwartz wasn't specific, but our money's on a rendition of Amanita muscaria. The so-called "Santa Claus mushroom," with candy-red caps and snowy white spots, is one of the most easily-recognized psychoactive mushrooms.

Amanita musciaria. | Photo: Wikimedia

As to what the kiosk's daily business will be, that's still in the works.

"We're just figuring out an appropriate use for the kiosk there," Schwartz said. "We just want to make that [corner] a little more active."

Schwartz said he'd likely use the kiosk to display a few rental bikes and sell t-shirts and other merchandise. He'd also love to sell food, but the city permitting and regulations to make that happen are prohibitive.

"I can't even sell a candy bar there," he said.

Schwartz said he's currently in the process of working with an artist to finalize designs for the project, with a scheduled completion date of mid-June.