Grateful Dead House For Sale In Bay Area, Priced At $2.7M

PALO ALTO, CA — A Palo Alto home that served as an early practice space for the Grateful Dead, where the legendary Bay Area jam band settled on its name, is back on the market with a $2.7 million price tag.

According to SFGate, the "Dead House" at 1012 High Street was rented out to the band's founding members in the early 1960s, and its garage played a central role as the Dead fleshed out their style and identity. As the story goes, Jerry Garcia was sitting on the couch at the house when he flipped through the dictionary and landed on the term "grateful dead," which the band — then called the Warlocks — soon adopted as its new moniker.

As SFGate reports, the Palo Alto home served as the Dead's home base as they booked early live shows, including playing high school dances on the Peninsula.

At just over 1,000 square feet, the 1918 Craftsman has just two bedrooms and one bathroom. According to realtors at Compass Real Estate, much of the 106-year-old home's original elements remain intact, accompanied by modern amenities like an EV charging station, remodeled kitchen and new roof.

While the sellers opted not to rebuild, the property comes with optional plans if the new owner chooses to replace the house with a bigger, four-bedroom model and accessory dwelling unit.

"While we outgrew the house, we retain the essence and will always cherish it," said Sonya Saunder and Amrik Kang. "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. We love the neighborhood and our neighbors and hope to remain connected with this community where we built such strong roots."