Real Estate

The California home where the Grateful Dead got their name asks $2.69M

Where does the time go? A piece of jam-band history once rented by Grateful Dead bass player Phil Lesh is seeking a new owner. 

What’s more, it’s the California home where the band got its name, and it asks $2.69 million for sale, according to Mansion Global.

This unassuming residence hardly looks like the birthplace of one of history’s greatest bands of all time. But it was at this very Palo Alto address on Nov. 12, 1965 that the late Jerry Garcia smoked the psychedelic drug DMT, then picked the band’s title at random from a book he was flipping through, Palo Alto Online previously reported

(Other once could-be monikers included Mythical Ethical Icicle Tricycle.) 

The backyard. Open Homes
Inside the backyard studio. Open Homes
A covered porch. Open Homes
The fireplace-equipped living room. Open Homes

“This is a beautiful Craftsman in the heart of Professorville, one of Palo Alto’s most desired and unique neighborhoods,” Compass agent Helen Lippert, who holds the listing, told The Post in a statement. “I was not a Deadhead in the ‘60s or ‘70s, but I think I could be now. I can definitely feel a certain vibe here that gets new creative energy flowing.”

In addition to the primary house — which includes an eat-in kitchen, a laundry room, a covered front porch and a fireplace-equipped living room — there is also a studio and one-car garage where the Dead would often rehearse during Lesh’s time there. That remains standing.

The address has a total of two bedrooms. Open Homes
The property is located at 1012 High St. Open Homes
The single bathroom. Open Homes
Photo of the Grateful Dead circa 1960. Michael Ochs Archives

As well, the listing boasts a new roof, an EV charger, 1,008 square feet of living space, an outdoor vegetable garden and the potential to expand — all a short walk from Stanford University.

“While maintaining the property as it is … this home has been deemed ‘not to be legally historic,’ making it easier for a new buyer to change or increase the size if desired,” Lippert noted.

The current owners say they’re sad to leave but feel they need more space than the bungalow can provide. 

“It is a difficult decision to sell this house. In many ways, we started here just like the Grateful Dead. This was our first home in Palo Alto,” sellers Sonya Saunder and Amrik Kang told The Post in a statement. “We thought about building a larger house on the property in order to accommodate our growing family, but couldn’t bring ourselves to tear down a home with so much history and charm.”