San Francisco's Disgraceful closure of the Cliff House

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As a building with a history as odd as it is tragic, the Cliff House is by far one of San Francisco’s most iconic historical sites. Today on It’s History, we will uncover this history and one of its strangest and most dangerous accidents.
The Cliff House is a neo-classical style building perched on the headland above the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach in the Outer Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The building overlooks the site of the Sutro Baths ruins, Seal Rocks, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS owns the Cliff House; the building's terrace hosts a room-sized camera obscura. For most of the Cliff House's history, since 1863, the building's main draw has been restaurants and bars where patrons could enjoy the Pacific Ocean views. Since 1977, these restaurants and bars have been run by a private operator under contract with the National Park Service. In December 2020, the 47-year operator of these amenities announced that it was closing, and it criticized the NPS for not having signed a new long-term lease with any operator since its own prior 20-year lease had expired in June 2018.] Dozens of ships have run aground on the southern shore of the Golden Gate below the Cliff House.
Chapters:
2:26 - How The California Gold Rush resulted in the construction of the Cliff House.
4:30 - The origins of the first Cliff House
5:48 - Why the Mayor of San Francisco bought the Cliff House in 1883
6:18 - Why The California cliff house is cursed
8:26 - The History of the Sutro baths
9:10 - Why the 3rd Cliff house was indestructible
10:48 - The Final Downfall of The Cliff House
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IT’S HISTORY - Weekly tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Imana Schoch,
Editor - Karolina Szwata,
Host - Ryan Socash
» SOURCES
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» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

Опубликовано:

21 ноя 2022

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Комментарии : 395

@BigDaddy-dr8gf Год назад

In the late 50's and early 60's my parents would take us to Playland at the Beach and afterwards they would take us to dinner at the Cliff House. Sometimes in the summer we would go to the Zoo or Fleishhacker pool, but we always ended the day at the Cliff House. My Dad was far from a rich man, but he always found the means to take us once or twice a year. It was always a big treat and I loved every minute. All of my childhood memories are gone now, except for the SF Zoo. RIP Mom & Dad, Love You.

@BeingMe23 Год назад

Your memories aren't gone if you can recall them. Life is about holding on and letting go.

@illusionary5951 Год назад

My parents back in the 60's would fly out of LAX into Frisco and go to the cliff house. Most of Cali is gone eaten up by little ticky tacky houses & ppl

@RVBadlands2015 Год назад

I remember playland we went there a lot as children.

@flstffatboy3910 Год назад

Me to I would’ve gone with my mom and stepdad in the early to mid 60s

@anndaniel1950 Год назад

I also have fond memories of our family outings at, Playland by the Beach. I've wondered when it was finally closed down. Thanks for this brief walk down memory lane!

@user-lp2un7rc9x Год назад

National Park Service is to blame for the recent closure 2 years ago, NOT the pandemic. The vendor tried for 2 years before the pandemic to negotiate the lease. About 60 years with the same vendor operating that space. They did an amazing job. Made me very sad to see it close and turn into offices for the federal govt.

@deejayimm Год назад

The federal government we have allowed has two self-appointed purposes. To take, and to control.

@sandramorey2529 Год назад

I swam at the Sutro baths at age 6. I ice skated at the reimagined pools in the early 1950's. I remember "the Mermaid" in the Sutro museum. I've eaten at the Clff House over decades and I hope they will reinvent the place yet agin.

@LongdistanceRider22 Год назад

Thank you for sharing your beautiful story …. I found a picture in a gallery many years ago of the Cliffhouse I hold it near and dear to my heart.

@kylemerellas1710 Год назад

What was it like swimming in sutro bath?

@biggie2568 Год назад

I hope they do too. You're lucky- as a minor I never got to see the sutro baths open. I wish I was there dearly.

@williamwoo866 Год назад

I am currently 71 years old born and raised in SF, Calif, I remember swimming in those swimming pools with my parents. What would it take to restore this area back to it’s original glory starting with the bath house. I believe that SF, Calif needs to return SF back to it’s beauty for all to enjoy

@santoscarrillo2996 Год назад

No no no they need to close it all down its lost like Baltimore and Chicago

@sasquatchhunter86 Год назад

@@santoscarrillo2996 the bones are there but it’s guts (people) are an unfortunate circumstance the city has to deal with

@thomasmulhall4873 Год назад

The demographics of SF must change back as well.

@ngprentee Год назад

I’ve been to a bathhouse in San Francisco and there were a lot of VERY friendly men without a shirt, no children and ladies there too, and no pools, it was very weird experience..

@DouglasLippi Год назад

San Francisco used to be such an awesome and creative place. It truly breaks my heart going there nowadays.

@akreation Год назад

The product of sexual immorality is destruction.

@carlwilliams6977 Год назад

As a native San Francisco.... I concur! Out of towners always used to comment on how clean the city was. Don't hear that anymore!

@DouglasLippi Год назад

@@carlwilliams6977 it is frickin gross. And I am not one to usually care much about cleanliness, but this is ridiculous.

@thefutureisnowoldman7653 Год назад

@@carlwilliams6977 I mise being able to walk in sandals

@bkm2797 Год назад

Douglass, where in the city were you? I live over in Cow Hollow and it's very clean and hasn't changed. However in the last 12 or so years I won't go out for a walk late at night like I used to, definitely not safe for that anymore. Hoping for a brighter future.

@DeanStephen Год назад

I would love to see the entire Lands End area reconstructed: the Victorian Cliff House, the Sutro Baths and Ice Rink, Playland at the Beach, all connected with downtown with a new subterranean extension of BART.

@tomgreenleaf1918 Год назад

Umm...Call me crazy, but a bath house in San Francisco right next to a playland sounds like a recipe for disaster.

@DeanStephen Год назад

@@tomgreenleaf1918 Not that kind of bathhouse.

@michaelwhite2823 Год назад

Nobody goes out there.

@DeanStephen Год назад

@@michaelwhite2823 Clever boy, do you think there might be a reason why?

@jonnda Год назад

@@michaelwhite2823 Build it and they will come?

@karireyes7603 Год назад

We would always celebrate birthdays there. We lived about a mile away in the Outer Sunset. It felt so cozy there, sitting by a window, watching the crashing waves below on a foggy evening

@stevencheatham5041 Год назад

I had one of the best Sunday brunches I’ve ever had at the Cliff House in the early 2000’s. Wonderful memories, I hope they open again someday.

@bruceeffisimo9597 Год назад

I worked at the Cliff house in 1977-1978. I’m proud I was a small part of the history of that famous building. It’s a shame the Hountalas family wasn’t mentioned. Dan and Mary owned and operated the Cliff house from the mid 1970s until closure.

@thomasmulhall4873 Год назад

I miss Loui's too! Best French Dip on the planet, with crinkle cut fries.

@TheDroppedAnchor Год назад

A couple of us kids rode our bikes the half mile to the Cliff House in '66 just in time to see 2 of the last 3 fire trucks pass us on The Great Highway . By the mid-70's all of us had friends in every part of the resturant & bar. The building had many rooms with locked doors; some were frequently used, and some only to puff, etc, with maybe a tryst if you were lucky.. IAC wherever you were in that building at night during a full moon was memorable . Most storerooms stank due to lack of ventilation. (Actually I think there are three, at least two distinct buildings.) The Mechanical Museum underneath was so cheap and so fun to nerd out for a few hours. There was a massive camera as well. Camera Obsalee or Obscura (spell). The infamous Burning Man celebration did indeed start on the beach just below there. Kelly's Cove it's called, which may have gotten its name from a billboard across the street which for decades advertised for Kelly Tires. Further up the steel hill across the street from here is Sutro Park which is highly recommended. Old man Sutro built a mansion there- long since gone. The super cool Sutro Baths that was pictured was greater than that, according to my father and his brother. A hundred yards up the street is super chill luncheonette with what is certainly one of the 50 greatest viewing and dining table in the entire SF Bay Area, Louie's. I think covid ended the generations-long streak of single family ownership there. Further up the street is a trail head that ends a mile or so away at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. Just below the trailhead is the USS San Francisco memorial. A destroyer sunk in World War II, it has a parking lot where I lost my virginity in, 1971.

@Specialk6894 Год назад

Yes Louie’s is gone.

@0therun1t21 Год назад

The last time I went to Cliff House was when Camera Obscura and Muse'e Me'canique were still there, probably the late 90s. Apparently the restaurant was good but I don't remember what I ordered. I spent hours there with my friends and once with my mom who stopped by to see me on a trip with her husband out from Tennessee. It's a truly magical place that begs for happy entertainments and healing baths, it has to come back!

@alexcarrillo5510 Год назад

Thank you for your history of the Cliff House and as a native of San Francisco that I did not knew that Sutro own the Cliff house since he had his home right above the cliff bluff from the Cliff House, as he also started the Sutro Baths that burn down in 1966. And also the Sutro Railroad which he started his own Steam Train line to Central and California in which it was called, and still running as the Ferries, and Cliff Railway aka the Powell Street, and Jackson Cable cars, and then later in 1905 made a Streetcar line to the baths to in which the right of way is still there next to the Visitor's Center. as it was the #1 California, and 2 Clement Streetcar line then turn into a Trolley, and Diesel Bus line. I really enjoy your videos, Thank You...

@jasonconrad4314 Год назад

And also the Sutro Tunnel that was used to drain water out of mines from Virginia City NV, to Dayton, NV.

@ITSHISTORY Год назад

Thanks so much Alex, there are many SF topics I want to cover, I might even spend the summer there. I’ve only been there once and loved it.

@Telcom100 Год назад

I was fascinated by the Musee Mechanique which was in the basement of the Cliff House until it moved to Fisherman's Wharf. It had a collection of early mechanical coin operated machines, including the Laughing Lady

@koyore Год назад

Laughing Sally was from play land The collection is now housed near Fishermen Wharf

@patrickdecambra2219 Год назад

When I was a kid my father would take my sister and me to Playland. That laughing lady scared the death out of me. I would make us walk way around her. I saw her at the Cliff House when I was an adult and it brought back a flood of memories.

@LongdistanceRider22 Год назад

Yes…. We call them marionettes.

@Vinas1000 Год назад

I was there two days ago. Fun to see.

@LongdistanceRider22 Год назад

Was the Restaurant closed ?

@ethanol1586 Год назад

I was very fortunate to be able to eat there once. It was a while ago so I don't remember much but I do remember the food being good and the view being absolutely incredible. Eating and looking out into the ocean is quite the experience. It's a shame what's happened to it :(

@sphinxrising1129 Год назад

I think you been drinking ethanol judging from your spelling, lol

@ITSHISTORY Год назад

I regret that I’ve never been there

@augustgade7084 Год назад

My grandma used to take me there it was nice

@user-vm5ud4xw6n Год назад

The picture of the house in its Victorian “mode” was amazing. What a beautiful structure. I’m afraid I wouldn’t have wanted to stay there with the building apparently teetering right on the edge of the cliff. I would have preferred for it to be inland a little bit but…whatever. It was still a stunning building, a true beauty. It almost sounded as if there was a long time “Hatfield and McCoy” feud going on, someone having it in for Cliff House and carrying the vendetta into each generation. What a tremendous loss. If it was still standing it would probably be in the order of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island . Shame!

@stevenshuman5645 Год назад

I remember my mother taking me, at four years old ( 1951) , to watch my nine year older brother involved in his swimming lesson at the Sutro Baths. Later memories of going out to Sunday afternoon dinner at the Cliff House....and yes, crying as I road the Merry-go- round at Playland scared to death riding the plugging up and down horse....and later watching that "Tank" ( or what ever it was) plugging down into its water filled "home" with big brother inside.....I feared I were ould never see him again.

@AMCguy Год назад

Laughing sal is definitely a creepy one too

@johnmorgan2619 Год назад

I was ALWAYS scared of THAT TANK"!.. never got in it . I'm 70 now ... Daly city kid...

@elanefike5407 Год назад

It was the diving bell it went 30 ft underwater

@bartonpercival3216 11 месяцев назад

Yup I grew up in the Sunset district in the mid 50's never liked the diving bell at Playland. But the food at Playland was pretty good. The chicken range, pie shop, It's it, and the Hot House with the best enchiladas and tamales. Also up at the Cliff House next to the gift shop was Bull Pup enchiladas. Miss all those great places out at ocean beach!!!!!!!! 👍

@whateva8964 Год назад

Before our family moved away in the late 70s, we would go there for brunch - the Mid-century version - and back then you could barter with the waiter for the price of your breakfast. What fun for a 7 year old! My Mom was a lifeguard at Fleishhscker Pool in the 50s when she was in HS - quarter mile long so they were in rowboats! My Dad loved going to Playland as a kid. Great video!

@deborahbailey5035 Год назад

I loved Playland as a kid my mom was a single mom of four but she always managed to take us there I cried the day it was no more

@bartonpercival3216 11 месяцев назад

Me too. I grew up in the Sunset district in the mid 50's and adored Playland at the Beach. The merry go round from Playland was bought from Marianne Stevens by the City of San Francisco in 1990 and currently operates at Yerba Buena Gardens. Also Laughing Sal (from Playlands Fun House) is up at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk along with the wurlitzer 165 band organ that use to operate on the Charles Looff merry go round at Playland!!!!!! 👍

@davidsincity2549 Год назад

A shout-out to the pictured and not discussed Giant Camera Obscura on the ocean site deck. For years it was operated by the Late Great Flamo La Grande, fire eater extraordinare, David Warren. It also served as club house for the San Francisco Suicide Club. The Cliff House also housed the Mechanical Museum.

@bartonpercival3216 Год назад

Yup, I remember Dave Warren. He came to my house in the late 80's early 90's to meet (then SF Supervisor) Susan Bierman to get Marrianne Stevens (buyer of the Charles ID Looff carousel in 1972) to sell the historic merry go round back to the city of San Francisco. RIP to Dave Warren a great San Franciscian

@FRumore0916 Год назад

Ate there in the fall of 1976. The was a Camera Obscura out-building; first one I ever heard of. It is visible in one of the photos with a sign “Giant Camera” at about 16 seconds in to video. The view inside was breathtaking.

@Balthorium Год назад

The waves on the camera obscura look amazing.

@kixigvak Год назад

I enjoyed the Camera Obscura very much. Is it still there? I live in Alaska now. The guy who supervised the operation was a seriously smelly perv. I was reluctant to go there because he was so disgusting.

@ronriesinger7755 Год назад

Fairmont Hotel, not “Fairmount”.

@ArtCurator2020 Год назад

Few know that right across the Great Highway from the Cliff House is a wall of sandstone on top of which stands the grounds of the old Sutro estate. The foundation of the mansion still existed the last time that I was there in the 1980's, and the spacious grounds were maintained as a park. If you stood at the edge of the cliff overlooking the Cliff House you could see all the way down Ocean Beach into San Mateo County. During the Depression, a New Deal work project put a heavy concrete coating down the cliff wall overlooking the Cliff House. They left a stairway of concrete that you could use to climb down to the Great Highway right across from the Cliff House. It was all overgrown with vegetation but you could see planters along the cliff wall down the stairway. Apparently the side of that cliff was designed as a park too. In the 1970's when I attended USF, college students would climb down that stairway and party on the side of the cliff wall at night. In the 1980's, they put a chain link fence across the entry to the stairway because some drunk college student fell off the cliff wall in the dark. But I'm sure that you could still get to it. The Cliff House, Sutro Baths, Ocean Beach, and Playland were famous even back then. But I always enjoyed the grounds of the old Sutro estate the best because so few people, even among native San Franciscans, knew about it and it was usually deserted and free of tourists. A beautiful and well kept park on top of a cliff all to myself !!!

@brentwalker3300 Год назад

In the early 90's I lived in SF and ate at the Cliff House a few times. There are lots of hiking trails along the coast there and it was fun exploring the ruins of the older structures. That early castle hotel structure and massive baths must have been incredible back in the day. The physical location of the Cliff House just up hill from Ocean Beach is gorgeous so I can't imagine that the site will remained unused for long.

@fosterkennel649 Год назад

Growing up in San Francisco I spent many years going to the cliff House. Playland used to be a lot of fun also my father used to swim At the baths next to the cliff house. Great video and blessings coming at you from Southern Oregon

@jomama5186 Год назад

Our country is so young, we should be protecting so many places, and structures that are from our very limited history, that should be protected and not demolished or messed with. A lot of the old Hollywood homes are torn down by modern builders. Look at Detroit, and all over our country are homes left to decay and fall in on themselves. Look at the old theaters, a lot of places are left unprotected. It's a real shame.

@briansalisbury4764 Год назад

I am too young to have seen this wonderful place in its heyday but I respected its history. Built in 1895 It was rebuilt 3 times. I loved the old penny arcade below the Resteraunt which was like going back into time. And the remains of the Sutro baths that you could witness. So much history. Also the food was great.

@davidrubin8228 Год назад

I remember when I was younger, my parents and I visited San Francisco to see my brother who had recently moved there with his new wife. My brother was a writer and had his own publication called San Francisco Stories. During the visit, we all went to the Cliff House for Sunday brunch and I loved it. I remember this is when I first saw photos of the Sutro Cliff House and my father told me stories that he, as a young man had swam in the Sutro baths. Dad always thought that the fire of the baths was purposely set to get the insurance money. It is sad that the Cliff House is now no longer what it once was. I sincerely hope that the Parks Service does find a new tenant as I would definitely visit it again. I also agree that if some heavily pocketed individual were able to do so, to rebuild the Baths and Playland. This is an area with such rich history that it deserves to be noticed on a grand scale once again.

@glennhubbard5008 Год назад

That is unacceptable. San Francisco needs to step up for its beautiful beach area and do something.

@marshalldrummond5487 Год назад

My Dad took the family “around the horn” of great San Francisco legends. The Cliff House (we always had Swordfish), Omar Khayyam’s Grison’s Steakhouuse, Tadish Grill, Julius’ Castle. We had a habit of hitting one of those places every Friday evening late 1940’s. This great video triggered those fabulous memories. Thanks!

@cardenasrc51 Год назад

Thanks for making this video!! We often travel to SF and go walk around the Cliffhouse and Sutro baths. Nice piece of history 🤙🏽🤙🏽

@bkm2797 Год назад

Been to the Cliff House many times since the early 70's, never cared much for the food, but the views were spectacular. I also loved the Ocularium, always took guest from out of town inside because of the camera obscura (I think that's what they call it). Thanks for the memories, I hope someone brings it back to life again.

@leslieschott754 Год назад

Born in 1945 & living in San Francisco, I remember going to the Sutro Bathes with my dad at age 5 & sliding down the slides with my dad catching me at the end. The oldest of 3 brothers (I’m female), we spent many an hour & days off & on at Playland when Mom had the money & Dad was working. Our favorite was the magnificent funhouse (don’t make them like that any more), with Laughing Sally looking slightly spooky as she laughed until she couldn’t catch her breath. We really liked the slides, house of mirrors, rolling barrel & spinning disk! Out on rest of playground, the “diving bell” & carousel. Also zoo, Japanese Garden in Golden Gate Park…..sometimes treated to tea & cookies there & came home with a paper umbrella. Very happy memories, very sad to me it’s all gone!😢

@becky4728 Год назад

Tea and seaweed cookies at Japanese Tea Garden!!! Yes! One of my favorite childhood memories! 79s. I bought a package of those umbrellas with pennies and nickels I’d saved up. 💜

@lazlobean Год назад

I remember being a little kid and visiting the Cliff House - it would have been around 1968. I was in love with it.

@markmh835 Год назад

My parents honeymooned in San Francisco in 1958. They loved Cliff House and brought back many souvenirs.

@timberrr1126 Год назад

There is now a firehouse just 4 blocks away from the present Cliffhouse. There is a fire hydrant just uphill to the Cliffhouse. So, less chance of a devastating fire in the future.

@J-smoke Год назад

One of the chefs at Cliffhouse was the person who taught me how to cook my father had a restaurant in the city and Dave was chef. I spent a lot of time in my childhood learning how to cook with him. He was such an inspiration to me. I really looked up to him. I guess it’s all over now. 😢miss u. RIP Cliff house

@Mondo762 Год назад

I remember going to the previous Cliff House for lunch back in the 1950's with my mother. There was actually a colony of sea lions on Seal Rock back then. Also went to Playland at the Beach with my girlfriend in the 1960's. Road the famous rollercoaster and she left teeth marks in my jacket.

@fredphilippi8388 Год назад

Cliff House seems so integral to life in San Francisco. Someone or something must restore it in some form.

@billybussey Год назад

I’ve eaten there a few times. There’s a park just East of it called lands end I think. Great view of Ocean beach where Burning Man first began. One of my favorite places in California.

@ITSHISTORY Год назад

Oh cool!

@Shag471 Год назад

I had a small framed, really old sepia photo of the Victorian version of this place back in the early 1990’s for some reason and don’t even remember how I obtained it. But the structure always mesmerized me so I kept it. It wasn’t until maybe 10 years later when I finally discovered where the place actually used to be. But I never knew all the history about this place. Thank you!

@skyrocketcoast219 Год назад

As a someone born & raised in the City: Any property / place/ park that the U.S. Feds, Golden Gate National recreation Area - get a hold of: gets absolutely downgraded, neglected and trashed. The GGNRA are terrible caretakers.

@kattilathehunfreedomfighter Год назад

I've been there many times having been raised in the SF Bay Area. Every time a relative would come to visit from Hungary, we took them there. I have lots of great pics posing among the ruins and the rocks amid the crashing waves below. Thanks for this trip down memory lane. Such a mysterious history!

@ITSHISTORY Год назад

Interesting!

@brendaparker2466 Год назад

I visited this beautiful area recently for a few weeks, and my goal was to see everything. San Francisco offers so much more than most tourists see. I was so disappointed that there was not a museum with a coffee/gift shop. It was a pleasure to walk out on the observation area and imagine the activity below when seeing the ruins of the Sutro baths. I do understand the one major drawback would be parking. The panorama is breathtaking. My visit to this area including Golden Gate Park visits daily left me loving San Francisco. 😊

@MrGTO-ze7vb Год назад

I have been there a few times in the 80's and 90's. The food was great and the sunset view was romantic. My girlfriend at the time loved it...!! I hope it reopens as a restaurant / bar again...!!!

@gmanbergdorf7548 Год назад

Hey there ItsHistory I’m a builder on the WBC builds MC server, and my city is based off of California's towns and cities in the early 1900s. Anyways I plan on building the cliff house, on top of that I have many more lost California landmarks on the server. Hopefully you see this comment, I’d love to show ya some of the things, and I'm sure the build team would as well!

@maxwellsugerman Год назад

I suggested this! Another great video, thank you!

@highplainsdrifter3742 Год назад

In the late 70s/early 80s the cliffhouse and Sutro bath ruins were my playground. Gone are the days of the musee’ mechanique arcade and the pronto pup stand. The things we did on those rocks, I’m lucky I was never washed out sea. Great times.

@melodiefrances3898 Год назад

I have vague memories of the baths being frozen and used for ice hockey. So sad to hear it's been closed. SF should take better care of it's history, IMHO...

@roberthenleynola Год назад

A truly fascinating and informative video. I so admire the professional way it has been produced. I'll be subscribing.

@Thefonz94 Год назад

Been in that area and everytime it feels like something is missing there feels eerie

@13_13k Год назад

The last time I had lunch and drinks at the Cliffhouse was 2018 or 19. I used to go there maybe once or twice a year when I lived in Marin County. Usually for someone's birthday or if guests from out of town would visit. It was not the best restaurant but the food was good. Great bar and great views

@lo8127 Год назад

having been born and raised in sf for 18 years, i would give anything to be able to visit the cliff house and sutro baths in their glory days. as a kid i remember visiting the cliff house restaurant and walking along the bath ruins. it would be amazing to see it restored to its former beauty.

@Elhastezy888 Год назад

I *REALLY* Appreciate the title!!👍🏼 Best description "Disgraceful"

@glittersparkle5148 Год назад

I so thoroughly enjoyed your videos they're so relaxing thank you for uploading

@wannacashmeoutside Год назад

My fun memory there; I was 14 years old and at the beach with a friend killing time to go somewhere later. We only had $12 and we went to the cliff house restaurant and ordered soup to share ($6) and 2 sodas and a $2 tip 😂😂😂 that’s all we could afford. Fun time. I think it was clam chowder

@DEEuroworks Год назад

Very cool, driven by it few times before never knew it’s history. Thanks.

@andyhastings5950 Год назад

I ate lunch there several times in the early 1970s. The Camaraobscura (Sp) was a great attraction. It was located outside the Giftshop.

@ITSHISTORY Год назад

Thanks for sharing!

@rita8274 Год назад

Visited for the first and only time five or so years ago. It was a beautiful view and the food at the Cliff House was delicious. I'm lucky and happy I was able to visit prior to the closure. Hopefully they will be able to renew themselves once again so that I can visit with my husband who never had the chance to visit.

@hollib3900 Год назад

Oh this is so sad! I was there in November 2019 and absolutely loved it there. Such a beautiful building.

@MrJeep75 Год назад

Very cool, hope they find a use for it

@DeanStephen Год назад

Consider amending this with a segment on the Fleishhacker Pool.

@megansfo Год назад

In the early 60's my family lived on 44th Ave, near Lawton, and us kids would walk along the beach and up to the Cliffhouse. The antiquated museum with mumkies and automatons is what wr went to see, and the skating rink. I was 10 or 11.

@Tanhands36 Месяц назад

Really enjoy your videos. Thanks for making them.

@ITSHISTORY Месяц назад

Thanks for watching!

@laurabeltramini8269 Год назад

The latest version of The Cliff House closed because the National Park Service would not negotiate a long term lease with them (according to the owners who were interviewed in SF Gate). They only wanted to give them 2 years, the owners wanted 10. The Sutro Restaurant was incredible. What a view and the food and drinks were incredible. I miss eating there. Also, Louis' and Seal Rock Inn closed around the same time. The neighborhood isn't the same. Land's End is always a great walk, but really miss Sutro's after the walk. Beach Chalet it is.

@Gryphonisle Год назад

People may remember the unfortunate period when Yosemite National Park had to change the names of several of its famous sites, from Camp Curry to The Awahnee Hotel because the NPS dropped the ball in allowing a new licensee trade mark the names (necessary to commission souvenirs) but without ensuring the trademarks ultimately belonged to the NPS. It appears the same thing has happened at the Cliff House, it’s just nobody noticed as the Cliff House was still open at the time. When it closed though the family who lost the license (crappy tourist food at star SF restaurant prices) took the signs with them, when in fact they’re the property of the People/the NPS. I hope a museum is not in the picture, unless it’s confined to the shell of the old fire-proof building which should have been torn down in the last upgrade. It has lost all of its 1909 elegance, it has none of the spiffy mid-century modernism it once enjoyed, and the windows are positively claustrophobic when paired with the spectacular view, which the new room more than makes up for. Still, we need more places for folks to have food and drinks in scenic places, not more museums and open spaces in a city that already has too many of one and not enough waterfront bars.

@Tipi_Dan Год назад

I look back with great fondness on the Sunday Brunch buffet at the Cliff House in the '80s and '90s.

@Barryfordmemphis Год назад

Great video!!

@cherylsmith4826 Год назад

The museum sounds like an interesting place

@r.hill.2369 Год назад

Taking a date there in the 80's was a surefire way of showing a girl a good time. Food was never that great but the views and ambiance made up for it.

@zippydedodah1 Год назад

an amazing documentary! My father was the manager of the Cliff House while i was in high school - around 1963 - and i used to love and go and take advantage of free lunches. There was one day a week where the old wealthy ladies of SFO used to gather and just eat little cakes and gossip (and CREATE gossip too! ) Truly an amazing slice of SFO history, for sure.

@alanogilvie4504 Год назад

I was very fortunate to have lived on 47th and Fulton for a number of years in the mid 90s. Golden Gate Park was our back garden 100 ft away. Loved the entire area, the beautiful views, the beach, the windmill, Sutro Park. Made many good friends in the area, meeting them due to our dogs. Live in Sacramento now, way too costly in the City these days..I'm an older guy at 69 and San Francisco is a youngsters City. Happy memories, happy days raising a daughter and taking her to see Mad Sal at the Musee Mechanic he. She fondly remembers it to this day. Wonderful place, and I was glad to see that it relocated to Pier 45.....former site of the Dicken Faire where I was married in 1987

@stevenp.sparks2953 Год назад

I kept waiting for you to show a larger image, one which would've allowed me to figure out where it's located? I'll Google of course, but please be mindful of such things in the future. Thanks for the vids, Sparks in Daytona

@kristencarlbon4561 Год назад

I remember picking up the glass and some tile from the bath houses back in the 80

@03stmlax Год назад

Whoaaa that's was a friggin crazy house. Never heard of it before now

@isaurodominguez6055 Год назад

I had a lot of special moments there it's a great place I'm just now here and it's closed it's got too much history to be gone forever

@williambragg5064 Год назад

We lived in the sunset district as kids in the late 40s I started school at parkside grade school in 48 went there for 2 yrs before we moved to mill valley . But remember going to the cliff house to the swimming pools and wearing those wool swimsuits that were so uncomfortable and heavy when they got wet lol. Went to the amusement park or play land too, and remembered the flyzakers zoo too and the arcade on the beach back then. We lived on 15th and Taravel st in the sunset district. Miss old San Francisco , and we moved to mill valley, well Mt Tam, off the panoramic Hwy about a mile from the old Mt tam inn. Grew up there, our play ground was the Muir Woods , great place to grow up. Loved it there.

@loesjevervloet3769 Год назад

Remember eating there. Beautiful view and dining at the same time.

@KAMMD Год назад

We recall the climb back up after a day of ice skating.

@heidicrimmings9615 Год назад

Had my very first REAL sourdough bread there in 1982. Dont remember what I ordered....just that ( drool) bread. Sooooo glad I got to experience The Cliff House 💙💙💙💔💙💙💙💔💙💙💙

@patricialong5767 Месяц назад

Very interesting!

@millardfillmore241 Год назад

The last time I was there the food was awful and overpriced. I wasn't surprised that it closed.

@tonyuzi881 Год назад

Very expensive to dine...

@garyallsebrook3493 Год назад

I've ridden the tram out to the island! Been to the Cliff House many times for events and meals. loved Playland.... SF native

@batmayn Год назад

This main stream narrative is really hard to believe. This video was great though, thanks for sharing all the good pictures. 👍

@Talk2WandaVision Год назад

The ruins aren't forgotten. It's one of the most visited spots in San Francisco.

@seancrutcher525 Год назад

Reminds me of the house from lemony snicketts

@josesiliezar1758 Год назад

Hopefully the title of the next video will be: "San Francisco's Disgraceful Politicians keep getting reelected"

@Putapota21 Год назад

I was born and raised in San Francisco California. My Mom used take us here when we were kids to playland and to the beach ⛱️ where i almost die when a huge 🌊 came up on me and pulled me out to the sea🌊 and thank God my mom came running and saved me. I haven't been here in 10 yrs and when we took pictures of totem pole and you can see all the orbs flying around and if you go down where the tunnel is it's haunted you can get hear people talking screaming and orbs flying around.

@santacruznewsnet493 Год назад

I use to go ice skating there every week , I’d stop off at play land on the way , the cliff house was a gem, there was mummies,games , moving picture machines and all sorts of interesting things there. I live on Hayes ans Divisadero and I would take the 21 Hayes bus to get there , golden gate park was just down the street.

@kk6aw Год назад

In the 50s my Sister and I ran all over SF. Trolleys to Beach, playland, cliffhouse, Sutros, Beach, Flishacker zoo, Market Street, Fisherman’s Wharf and environs.

@gabrielhubble7448 Год назад

One interesting thing I have found about San Francisco is : early census data: first photo taken and last. How were they able to build all those buildings

@ron5935 Год назад

My family went there to eat during a trip to san Fransico. We had a 1953 Buick, so it was sometime 1953 to 57. I would have been 11 to 14 at that time. We stayed 2 months in San Mateo and it was wonderful. Mom let me wander the streets alone. Hate to see it now.

@Harpwailer1 Год назад

Back in the beginning of the Haight Ashbury early nineteen seventies hippie day's, we used to go to The Cliff House. It was so much fun to wander through. We would go down to the cave seen in the video, fire up a joint or two, then go back up to the Cliff House to wander around some more. it was quite a long walk from Golden Gate Park to the Cliff House, but we were young and full of energy back then. It was kind of strange, but along the Hwy 101 there were huge fake boulders along the roadside that you could go into from the backside . We would do so, and toke up in there as well. Oh the memories.

@dianecheney4141 Год назад

We used to go swimming in the American River in the ‘70s. I remember they had to close it for awhile because of contamination concerns

@LongdistanceRider22 Год назад

I was a child when the Cliffhouse had the children’s museum and play land by the beach . There was also a large ocean, swimming pool in Golden Gate Park. I am sorry to hear the Cliffhouse is closed, many times after Harley Strickly we will gather at the Cliffhouse….

@jerrybriggs3233 Год назад

Cool story . 👍

@scenicruiser54 Год назад

I worked for a nice couple in SF, aids activest, antique dealers that got the bid to salvage the awning at the entrance, the copper stove wall and hood, and the entire hand painted copper ceiling from the restaurant! I took it out, I had no idea They never reopened? The ceiling was in one of the storage units by recycling.

@noneya7297 Год назад

Been there in the early 90’s beautiful ❤

@koogle612 Год назад

Had a few really pleasant times there. always busy. Curious about the bath house nearby - part of the original?

@Carolesoriginalpieces Год назад

My husband and I used to visit California twice a year thru the 80s. We ate at all the different restaurants at the cliff house. Some afternoons we would get hot butter rums and sit in room with the fireplace. We watched many a storm roll in thru those big windows. We were lucky to have made great memories there. You could buy documents and such in the gift shop explaining its history! We were sorry to here of its closing. I’m glad we bought documents and photographs of its history.

@ITSHISTORY Год назад

So cool!