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Tom Arnold's Old Places: The Black
Remember when weed was illegal?
Is it really better to burn out than to fade away?
The idea of writing about old places in San Diego County has been something I’ve been mulling around for years – but I kept putting it off because coming up with the parameters was a lot harder than I imagined. In the end, I decided to focus on businesses and restaurants that have been in the same place, with the same name and line of business, for at least 50 years.
The Black opened in 1968, at a time when Ocean Beach was a haven for hippies; it was San Diego’s answer to Haight-Ashbury and Venice Beach. The store was one of a number of “head shops” that catered to the young and the disenfranchised, people who frequently took Timothy Leary’s advice to turn on, tune in and drop out. Today, the Black continues to wear its counter-culture legacy as a badge of honor. The shop still sports a fine selection of pipes and bongs, along with incense, jewelry, fantasy collectibles, underground comics and books that range from the Anarchist’s Cookbook and The Whole Earth Catalog to the collected works of authors such as Ken Kesey, Kurt Vonnegut and Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. There’s also a quite compelling assortment of unusual gifts, including a dashboard Jesus. In 2019, High Times magazine named The Black one of its “10 Legendary Headshops You Need to Check Out.”
Editor's note: Tom Arnold first wrote about Ocean Beach (and The Black) back in 1981. More recently, SDQT's Walter Mencken stopped by the neighborhood for a chat.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Tom Arnold's Old Places: The Black
Remember when weed was illegal?
Tom Arnold's Old Places: The Black
Remember when weed was illegal?
Is it really better to burn out than to fade away?
The idea of writing about old places in San Diego County has been something I’ve been mulling around for years – but I kept putting it off because coming up with the parameters was a lot harder than I imagined. In the end, I decided to focus on businesses and restaurants that have been in the same place, with the same name and line of business, for at least 50 years.
The Black opened in 1968, at a time when Ocean Beach was a haven for hippies; it was San Diego’s answer to Haight-Ashbury and Venice Beach. The store was one of a number of “head shops” that catered to the young and the disenfranchised, people who frequently took Timothy Leary’s advice to turn on, tune in and drop out. Today, the Black continues to wear its counter-culture legacy as a badge of honor. The shop still sports a fine selection of pipes and bongs, along with incense, jewelry, fantasy collectibles, underground comics and books that range from the Anarchist’s Cookbook and The Whole Earth Catalog to the collected works of authors such as Ken Kesey, Kurt Vonnegut and Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. There’s also a quite compelling assortment of unusual gifts, including a dashboard Jesus. In 2019, High Times magazine named The Black one of its “10 Legendary Headshops You Need to Check Out.”
Editor's note: Tom Arnold first wrote about Ocean Beach (and The Black) back in 1981. More recently, SDQT's Walter Mencken stopped by the neighborhood for a chat.
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