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Driving across our beloved nation can be a grand trip. Some places feel like they’re living in the future, while others feel as though they’re stuck in the past. Speaking of bygone eras, the 60s may be one of the best of all the decades.
While it’s true that there were troubles, the people from this generation fought hard for peace and love. They were the ones who experienced Woodstock and realized that life is more than just work, work, work.
Today, we’re going to go over some destinations that are stuck in the era of love. If you visit these 1960s travel destinations, you might think you’ve returned to the “flower power” heydays of our time.
The original hippies have inspired a whole new generation to take up the causes of environmentalism, free love, and holistic spiritualism.
The peace, love, and happiness movement of this time may be gone, but these places haven’t been forgotten… and they’re still living it up like it’s 1969!
And hey, the world could use a little more weird, right? If you’re a fan of peace and love, here are the 11 1960s travel destinations you must add to your bucket list!
More than any other city, this 1960s travel destination has become synonymous with swinging 60s counterculture, and you can still see the lingering influences in the fashions, head shops, and faded “flower power” graffiti of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.
It’s by the sprawling Golden Gate Park, a noteworthy site for 1967’s “Summer of Love” and the communal sit-ins featuring Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg that preceded it.
While you’re here, another enduring focal point worth visiting for rock and psychedelic music in the ’60s was The Fillmore.
This 1,200-person standing auditorium hosted artists like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention.
They still book lots of acts, and history buffs can walk through the poster room to see original advertisements for a few of the venue’s most well-known performances.
Is there a single other event more tied to the idea of the ’60s than Woodstock, the 1969 music festival in New York that attracted over 400,000 attendees?
The area where the original event took place is still standing, marked by the Museum at Bethel Woods, which includes interactive exhibits, short films, and even intimate concerts designed to transmit the history and “key ideals” of the 60s.
There are many historical sites in the US that pay tribute to civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. But none are more comprehensive than a preserved district in Atlanta, the center of black life in early 20th-century in this city.
This district includes his birthplace, childhood church, and final resting place, as well as a bronze monument and rose garden built in his honor.
The 1963 “March on Washington” left an unforgettable mark on the cultural vision after it flooded the National Mall with over 200,000 supporters and generated MLK’s most famous moment of speech.
The words of his “I Have a Dream” speech are today inscribed in granite on the spot where he relayed that message in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
The Stonewall Inn in lower Manhattan was the location of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, considered a transformative occasion for the LGBT liberation movement when members of the community demonstrated against one of the police department’s regular raids.
Many other businesses have occupied the building throughout the years. Yet, the Stonewall Inn made a comeback in 2007 and has remained a favored nightlife spot for its live music, drag and cabaret shows, trivia nights, and historical significance.
And since you’re already in The Big Apple, stop by Café Wha? in Greenwich Village. It was one of Manhattan’s most crucial musical hotspots throughout the 1960s, hosting performers like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Lenny Bruce, The Velvet Underground, and Peter, Paul and Mary.
Even though it closed in 1968, Café Wha? has been restored as a laid-back venue for music where even informal house band performances attract lines around the block.
In 1961, former President John F. Kennedy declared our country’s commitment to landing an American on the moon before the decade concluded, and in 1969, the Apollo 11 craft saw that mission through.
The launch site, located in Cape Canaveral, is presently an Air Force outpost with no visitor facilities.
Still, the Kennedy Space Center near it tells the incredible story of the moon landing and the US’ other space exploration efforts with unique exhibits featuring the Atlantis space shuttle and moon rocks.
Whisky a Go Go is another surviving music platform that provided a launching pad for some of the ’60s most beloved acts, including The Doors, Janis Joplin, Buffalo Springfield, and the Byrds. It opened its doors in 1964 and helped popularize go-go dancing.
It also happens to be one of the main locations of the 1966 Sunset Strip curfew riots. Owing to its affluent rock history, nowadays, the Whisky hosts modern-day acts as well as tribute bands.
Another major social uproar of this period was second-wave feminism, driven by publications like Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique” and the invention of new contraception.
Very few museums recount this history, but the Women’s Museum has exhibits that place this period of feminist thought in the bigger context of women’s march to empowerment.
Besides the rock movement, the 60s were a prime time for soul music, as defined by Stax Records.
The studio itself went bankrupt in 1976 but is now revived as one of the world’s only soul music museums, with exhibits showcasing the genre’s history and vintage video footage, recording equipment.
It also has displays on noteworthy artists from Stax and other labels, including Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, and Sam Cooke. And since you’re already in the area, also worth visiting is the National Civil Rights Museum/Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
MLK was planning a national occupation of DC when he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel on April 4th, 1968, sparking racial riots in major cities across the US.
The motel is now a part of the National Civil Rights Museum, which was redone in 2014 to include more interactive, short film exhibits, multimedia, and preserved rooms and vehicles relating to the assassination and general civil rights struggle.
One of the biggest North American museums devoted to a single artist is this one for native pop artist Andy Warhol. Through artworks, films, and archival materials, the museum covers the range of his career.
Warhol’s most famous works, including Campbell’s soup cans and silkscreens of celebrities, call attention to the nature of art and fame in the 60s’ increasingly consumerist culture.
He also produced The Velvet Underground and used his New York studio, The Factory, as a countercultural place of gathering.
Dubbed “Hitsville USA,” the house where producer Berry Gordy lived, the Motown Museum immortalizes American soul music’s other major epicenter with private exhibits.
It’s bursting with suggestive photography of the period and storied relics, including the sofa Marvin Gaye would sleep in while working late nights at the studio.
Be sure to leave us a comment if you’ve been to any of these nostalgic places to share your experiences with our readers. And if you haven’t, don’t forget your camera to capture your adventures!
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