In the late 1960s, long-haired, beaded and tie-dyed flower children brought their drugs, incense, guitars and peace symbols to South Florida.
Hippies had finally reached Miami. Coconut Grove, known for its laid-back attitude, became the gathering place for the counterculture movement.
On any given day one could find hippies smoking pot in the park, exploring Indian religion at the Yoga Temple on Mary Street or listening to the Lovin’ Spoonful at the Gaslight on Grand Avenue.
Greynolds Park near North Miami Beach was the site for an Easter “love-in,” where 3,000 converged to protest the war in Vietnam and listen to the Grateful Dead.
The Miami Pop Festival in 1968 was touted as the first significant music festival on the East Coast. Organized by Michael Lang, of Woodstock fame, the festival drew thousands of fans from all over the country. Jimmy Hendrix was the headliner.
Police had their hands full during Miami’s hippie heyday, dealing with complaints about befogged young people camping out uninvited in vacant lots, stealing fruit from yards, littering parks, making love in public, urinating on trees.
As the Vietnam war wound down, so did the trappings of this brief cultural era.
Let’s take a look at what the time looked like through the photo archives of the Miami Herald:
Coconut Grove
Downtown Miami
Allapattah
North Miami-Dade
North Miami Beach
Hallandale Beach
Key West
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