Playland At The Beach: San Francisco's Vanished Seaside Pleasure Ground

[@barriegiles9076]

I was born in Sacramento in 1962. My parents divorced in 1966 and on my weekend visits to my dad, he would sometimes take me to Playland. In 1983, after not seeing my father for over 15 years, we reconnected. I was living in Utah and had not been back to California since I moved from there to Oregon in 1972. We had a great reunion. As we were were driving from the airport the day of our reunion, I mentioned to him a memory I had of a big electronic laughing lady, a long wavy slide and the pressurized air - all of which was rather scary to a little 5 year old girl. He was astonished that I remembered Playland and said I was probably one of the youngest people around who had a memory of it. I am happy to hear Laughing Sal lives on - as scary and creepy as she was to me back then!

[@jasonkirby9454]

I CAME-OUT to "Play-land @ the beach its last day as the Play :-)

[@Waltkat]

Around 1962, my father moved us to a house about two blocks from the SF Zoo. I was 8 years old then and when I was around 10, my older brother and I would walk to Playland and spend a couple of hours there. And some of my most treasured memories are the times my mother brought me to Fun Tier Town. I sure miss those days. One of my favorite places at Playland was the penny arcade where all the mechanical attractions and games were. I'm so glad the majority of the attractions were saved and moved to the Musee Mecanique on Pier 45 in San Francisco. They even have a functioning Laughing Sal there.

[@3henry214]

This brought back so many fond memories... the diving bell, the giant wood slide, laughing Sal, salt water taffy, It's It, shooting gallery. I don't remember which arcade game it was where I won a brown ceramic turtle that was a coin bank with a rubber stopper on the belly... 60 years later, and I still have that little bank!

[@HappySingh-ri9qh]

That’s awesome!

[@glennanderson6052]

I went there for my 5th birthday in 1957 it was great.

[@GuyPipili]

I remember Playland from the sixties with the diving bell and the rides. And of the beach it was on. I was very young at that time.

[@davidshepherdgrossman]

I spent time at Playland. Was there on closing day. The Fun House may have been my weekend babysitter. What a place. We lived on 43rd Avenue . Feel fortunate to have experienced that place.

[@robderham1958]

Great, informative, as I had always wondered about Playland. You are so spot on about the lure of an old, tattered, weathered, seaside amusement. I recall the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, (my parents never made it up to Playland, we were in San Jose) had a great old Haunted House, the pre-1973 version. I can still see the black light illuminated florescent spook figures, feel the blasts of compressed air, hear the analog recorded sound of some old ghost or monster, smell the ozone spark from the motorized coffin styled cart. It was a great time. So sad it is gone. Thanks for putting this together.

[@rebeccascott8607]

Same here never went to Playland we lived in Fremont, but Santa Cruz every birthday that was where I wanted to go.

[@merrywriterb7811]

"Shoot the Shoots" was a saying in our San Francisco family and with friends meaning "Go for it," especially w/playing cards, or that is how I visualized the spelling. My parents knew different. One Saturday circa 1954 my dad, a dentist, filled a cavity and then we went for a ride on the Big Dipper. It was that 80 foot drop that made my brand new filling not "settle," and he had to redo it. I always wondered how many oaks were cut down to make that 3 story slide. The best Fun House ride to me. Still the best to me out that way was Sutro's museum as I went up & down the stairs to ice skate after school.

[@MetalTeamster]

Cool , cool vid. My family and I lived at 1292 La Playa st from 1968-1976... I was in K - 8th grade at that time. I vividly remember walking around in there during the tail end of playland. It was sad, as the fellow says. By the time I was wandering around, a lot of things were closed / in dis repair. I recall the Safeway being built, that was our shopping place every weekend. I also wandered all around and played a few games at the Cliff House. There was a restaurant that was closed at the end of La Playa by Lincoln way...right across from the Union 76 gas station . Cool memories....

[@tricialinden]

Thank you, Roberto, for putting this together, and John Martini for such a great presentation. I missed the 'live' version and am thrilled to see this preserved here for our tour guide guild.

[@2Lisie]

I worked the cotton candy concession stand in 1966-67. Came home covered in sticky cotton candy most of the time. Fun job, though--in the middle of the fun!

[@noracarvalho8323]

🙌🙌Awesome History presentation!!

[@gymbeef]

This was brilliant 👏

[@akamano5]

... the diving bell was my favorite..!!!..

[@ltplounge8318]

Great work here. My dad grew up in Westlake and worked at Playland during high school and just a little afterwards. He worked the Diving Bell for a bit. The park was already closed and mostly torn down by the time I was born. But I do remember walking to the remains of the Diving Bell, all that was left was the cement tank. He told me that towards the end, people had just dumped trash (beer bottles, etc.) into the water and it was just a mess.

[@farmyardflavours]

i loved this video so much. thank you !

[@Cold417]

Very interesting. Thank you for the presentation.

[@snnutting]

I had heard that the actual blueprints to the various attractions including the fun house & haunted house dark ride is stored somewhere @ UC Berkeley. What a find that would be!!

[@FirstLast-jm4dx]

I knew a bit of the backstory regarding Musee Mechanique, but had no idea that the carousel at the Children's Creativity Museum was originally part of Playland at the Beach.

[@craigster1244]

A teenager stole Sal's head. He put it up for auction about 10 years ago. They made a much better mechanical body for her and she's in Santa Cruz Boardwalk. The merry go round was made in Rhode Island for playland in 1906. The earthquake happened and it went to Luna Park in Seatle. There was a fire there in 1913; the carousel survived and Whitney brought to Playland after that. Then it went to Long Beach/Queen Mary. It was not taken care of and refurbished and rebuilt at Yerba Buena Gardens. They also run the carousel in Golden Gate Park from the 1915 Fair. (it was also at the Gay Way during the Golden Gate International Expo on Treasure Island. There was another one at the SF Zoo and one at Pier 39.

[@bartonpercival3216]

I met the woman who bought the carousel at auction in 1972. I was born and raised in the inner Sunset Dist in the early 1950's and going out to Whitney's Playland at the Beach was always a fun time in my childhood. I fell in love with the Charles I.D.Looff merry go round with it's many circular lights on it as it spun around. My grandparents who weren't rich, would always take my brother & me out to Playland (sometimes not having the 25 cents to ride) we would just sit inside the merry go round building on the benches and just watch it run while listening to the wonderful music that played on the 4 different band organs that operated on the carousel. I always have wondered when they repainted the outer rounding board mirrors at Playland. When it was originally built and operated at Luna Park in Seattle, the outer rounding board mirrors were just glass and not painted the colors of (yellow,blue, yellow, red, yellow, green yellow) when we went out there in the late 1950's. After Playland at then at Shoreline Village in Long Beach, I see they finally restored the carousel to it's original design now at Yerba Buena plaza. Great memories of growing up in San Francisco. I might add that my brother (also a Playland enthusiest) sent me a picture of the Looff merry go round circa: 1944 where the outer rounding boards are still glass and not yet painted over

[@blueyedvenus]

My mom graduated from Mercy High in 1958. :)

[@samshepard6235]

I remember eating mexican food at the Bull pup restaurant and of course the fun house

[@AlistairKiwi]

Wish Playland-at-the-Beach could still be there. Laughing Sal agrees with me (as does my cat!). But this was iconic S.F. they pulled down so much in the '50s & '60s. I've lived in the East Bay for 38 years as of w024. But, in S.F., do not go swimming in Ocean Beach. Anything above your knees can be fatal. Frequently. The Cliff House used to be somewhere any of could have gone and enjoyed the views and a few drinks. But in the late '90s? 2000s? They turned it into an expensive restaurant and got rid of the public area. Hurray for developers.

[@craigster1244]

Santa Cruz also has safer and warmer water...being the head of the 'banana belt'. Yes, Fox theater was one of the biggest tragedies for city. Also, so many families moved out of the city. I went to Playland since 1954. We went to Santa Cruz many times of year.

[@avalleygirl]

My Aunts husband, Bill Huber, was Mr. Whitney's construction man. He was with Mr. Whitney from the beginning until Uncle Bill's company demolished everything.

[@jeffwolcott7815]

I loved the song in the credits of the 'Remembering Playland at the Beach'. I saw it on Amazon Prime. Anyone know who sang it or if it's available anywhere?

[@Bish221]

When life was fun

[@characterunderconstruction5891]

If Playland at the Beach was there today it would be successful? My grandson was at Disneyland in Southern California complaining to his mother that he wanted to go home to Stockton to play Fortnight (A video game). My granddaughters was given the option to go to Universal Studios or go swimming, they both wanted to go swimming. I loved Playland at the Beach. But if Playland at the Beach was still there today, it still would be condominium or a bunch of sand dunes. You can't beat videos games.

[@samuelglenn936]

Born & raised in San Francisco. Top of the hill Daly city 1961 my dad was born in 1912 when I was little we use to go all the time playland - flysacker saltwater pool my name is frances

[@ltplounge8318]

Another update here regarding Laughing Sal. The boardwalk in Santa Cruz has one that functions.

[@AlistairKiwi]

Don't go swimming at Ocean Beach unless drowning is your goal. I wish I could have been there for laughing Sal. I've only been here for 40 years. (You can see her today at the Musée Mechanique near Fishermans Wharf) And some of the things I loved like the Cliff House are totally lost to most of us. Now the Cliff House is just for wealthy people who can afford overly-priced-food at a white table cloth restaurant with reservations. But before the 2000s you could go there, get a beer, and look out over Seal Rock at the seals. The Cliff House was taken away from most of us for the very wealthy, and this feels like an enormous loss to those of us who are not amazingly wealthy.

[@doogboy]

WOW!

[@UpYours4Today]

Muni was 5 cents in San Francisco for kids in 1977

[@scramble111]

Was Woody the inspiration for PIXAR'S Toy Story Woody ? 1:10:59

[@characterunderconstruction5891]

I was there, I was one of the bad kids.

[@ub1953]

Fond memories as child JFK presidency era and pre-liability laws so recall turntable ride and super wood slides and visits to Cliff House.

[@kurthenze2900]

I wonder if there was any paranormal stories anyone has to tell that was present there?

[@marilynshefcyk6817]

Started going in 1945

[@Yahootie]

Money hungry developers hired thugs to change its reputation to “seedy”.

[@citychick4154]

Cut the crap with skirting around the "bad element" and blaming it on motorcyclists. We all know who the "bad element" was.

[@michaeltwomey4800]

Sad how people are called racist just for telling the truth, facts are facts...

[@citychick4154]

@@michaeltwomey4800 It's a means to stop any real conversation.

[@johnpabst6101]

@@michaeltwomey4800 please tell me the facts.

[@johnpabst6101]

who "was" it?

[@citychick4154]

@@johnpabst6101 If you need it spelled out, you're not from around here.