Cliff House, San Francisco
Encyclopedia
The Cliff House is a restaurant
perched on the headlands on the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach on the western side of San Francisco, California
. It overlooks the site of the former Sutro Baths
and a room-sized camera obscura
and is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
, operated by the National Park Service
.
Cliff House has had five major incarnations since its beginnings in 1858. That year, Samuel Brannan
, a prosperous ex-Mormon
elder from Maine
, bought for $1,500 the lumber salvaged from a ship that foundered on the basalt cliffs below. With this material he built the first Cliff House. The second Cliff house was built for Captain Junius G. Foster, but it was a long trek from the city and hosted mostly horseback riders, small game hunters or picnickers on day outings. With the opening of the Point Lobos toll road a year later, the Cliff House became successful with the Carriage trade for Sunday travel. The builders of the toll road constructed a two mile speedway beside it where well-to-do San Franciscans raced their horses along the way. On weekends, there was little room at the Cliff House hitching racks for tethering the horses for the thousands of rigs. Soon, omnibus railways and streetcar lines made it to near Lone Mountain where passengers transferred to stagecoach lines to the beach. The growth of Golden Gate Park
attracted beach travelers in search of meals and a look at the sea lions sunning themselves on Seal Rocks, just off the cliffs to visit the area.
In 1877, the toll road, now Geary Boulevard, was purchased by the city for around $25,000. In 1883, after a few years of downturn, the Cliff House was bought by Adolph Sutro
who had solved the problems of ventilating and draining the mines of the Comstock Lode
and become a multimillionaire. After a few years of quiet management by J.M. Wilkens, the Cliff House was severely damaged by a dynamite explosion when the schooner, Parallel, ran aground. The blast was heard a hundred miles away and demolished the entire north wing of the tavern. The building was repaired, but was later completely destroyed on Christmas night 1894 due to a defective flue. Wilkens was unable to save the guest register, which included the signatures of three Presidents and dozens of illustrious world-famous visitors.
In 1896, Adolph Sutro built a new Cliff House, a seven story Victorian Chateau, called by some "the Gingerbread Palace", below his estate on the bluffs of Sutro Heights
. This was the same year work began on the famous Sutro Baths
, which included six of the largest indoor swimming pools north of the Restaurant that included a museum, skating rink and other pleasure grounds. Great throngs of San Franciscans arrived on steam trains, bicycles, carts and horse wagons on Sunday excursions.
The Cliff House survived the 1906 earthquake with little damage but burned to the ground on the evening of September 7, 1907. Dr. Emma Merritt, Sutro's daughter, commissioned a rebuilding of the restaurant in a neo-classical style that was completed within two years and is the basis of the structure seen today. In 1937, George and Leo Whitney purchased the Cliff House, complementing their Playland-at-the-Beach
attraction nearby and extensively remodeling it into an American roadhouse. The building was acquired by the National Park Service
in 1977 and became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
. Many of Whitney's additions were removed and the building was restored to its 1909 appearance. In 2003, an extensive further renovation added a new two-story wing overlooking the Sutro Bath ruins. The site overlooks Seal Rocks and the former site of the Sutro Baths. More than thirty ships have been pounded to pieces on the southern shore of the Golden Gate below the Cliff House. The area immediately around Cliff House is part of the setting of Jack London
's novel The Scarlet Plague
(1912).
In the 1960s, upon the closing of Playland
, the Musée Mécanique
, a museum of 20th-century penny arcade
games, moved into the basement of the Cliff House.
When the Cliff House became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1977, the National Park Service contracted with Dan and Mary Hountalas as official concessionaires of the property. The NPS renewed its contract with the Hountalas family, under the name Peanut Wagon, in 1998. Peanut Wagon continues to manage Cliff House operations and worked with the Park Service for extensive site restoration that was completed in 2004.
The Cliff House features two restaurants, the casual dining Bistro Restaurant and the more formal Sutro's. Additionally, the Terrace Room serves a Sunday Brunch buffet. There is a gift shop in the building and the Camera Obscura
on a deck overlooking the ocean. During the site restoration, the Musée Mécanique
was moved to Fisherman's Wharf.
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
perched on the headlands on the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach on the western side of San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It overlooks the site of the former Sutro Baths
Sutro Baths
The Sutro Baths were a large, privately owned swimming pool complex in San Francisco, California, built in the late 19th century. The building housing the baths burned down in 1966 and was abandoned. The ruins may still be visited.- History :...
and a room-sized camera obscura
Camera obscura
The camera obscura is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side...
and is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service that surrounds the San Francisco Bay area. It is one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States, with over 13 million visitors a year...
, operated by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
.
History
Samuel Brannan
Samuel Brannan was an American settler, businessman, and journalist, who founded the "California Star" newspaper in San Francisco, California...
, a prosperous ex-Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
elder from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, bought for $1,500 the lumber salvaged from a ship that foundered on the basalt cliffs below. With this material he built the first Cliff House. The second Cliff house was built for Captain Junius G. Foster, but it was a long trek from the city and hosted mostly horseback riders, small game hunters or picnickers on day outings. With the opening of the Point Lobos toll road a year later, the Cliff House became successful with the Carriage trade for Sunday travel. The builders of the toll road constructed a two mile speedway beside it where well-to-do San Franciscans raced their horses along the way. On weekends, there was little room at the Cliff House hitching racks for tethering the horses for the thousands of rigs. Soon, omnibus railways and streetcar lines made it to near Lone Mountain where passengers transferred to stagecoach lines to the beach. The growth of Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
attracted beach travelers in search of meals and a look at the sea lions sunning themselves on Seal Rocks, just off the cliffs to visit the area.
In 1877, the toll road, now Geary Boulevard, was purchased by the city for around $25,000. In 1883, after a few years of downturn, the Cliff House was bought by Adolph Sutro
Adolph Sutro
Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro was the 24th mayor of San Francisco, and second Jewish mayor, serving in that office from 1894 until 1896...
who had solved the problems of ventilating and draining the mines of the Comstock Lode
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims...
and become a multimillionaire. After a few years of quiet management by J.M. Wilkens, the Cliff House was severely damaged by a dynamite explosion when the schooner, Parallel, ran aground. The blast was heard a hundred miles away and demolished the entire north wing of the tavern. The building was repaired, but was later completely destroyed on Christmas night 1894 due to a defective flue. Wilkens was unable to save the guest register, which included the signatures of three Presidents and dozens of illustrious world-famous visitors.
In 1896, Adolph Sutro built a new Cliff House, a seven story Victorian Chateau, called by some "the Gingerbread Palace", below his estate on the bluffs of Sutro Heights
Sutro Heights Park
Sutro Heights Park was the estate of Adolph Sutro, land developer and a mayor of San Francisco. The estate once contained many Romanistic statues and a plant conservatory....
. This was the same year work began on the famous Sutro Baths
Sutro Baths
The Sutro Baths were a large, privately owned swimming pool complex in San Francisco, California, built in the late 19th century. The building housing the baths burned down in 1966 and was abandoned. The ruins may still be visited.- History :...
, which included six of the largest indoor swimming pools north of the Restaurant that included a museum, skating rink and other pleasure grounds. Great throngs of San Franciscans arrived on steam trains, bicycles, carts and horse wagons on Sunday excursions.
The Cliff House survived the 1906 earthquake with little damage but burned to the ground on the evening of September 7, 1907. Dr. Emma Merritt, Sutro's daughter, commissioned a rebuilding of the restaurant in a neo-classical style that was completed within two years and is the basis of the structure seen today. In 1937, George and Leo Whitney purchased the Cliff House, complementing their Playland-at-the-Beach
Playland (San Francisco)
Playland was a seaside amusement park located next to Ocean Beach at the western edge of San Francisco, California along the Great Highway where Cabrillo and Balboa streets are now...
attraction nearby and extensively remodeling it into an American roadhouse. The building was acquired by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
in 1977 and became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service that surrounds the San Francisco Bay area. It is one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States, with over 13 million visitors a year...
. Many of Whitney's additions were removed and the building was restored to its 1909 appearance. In 2003, an extensive further renovation added a new two-story wing overlooking the Sutro Bath ruins. The site overlooks Seal Rocks and the former site of the Sutro Baths. More than thirty ships have been pounded to pieces on the southern shore of the Golden Gate below the Cliff House. The area immediately around Cliff House is part of the setting of Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
's novel The Scarlet Plague
The Scarlet Plague
The Scarlet Plague is a post-apocalyptic fiction novel written by Jack London and originally published in London Magazine in 1912.The story takes place in 2073, sixty years after an uncontrollable epidemic, the Red Death, has depopulated the planet...
(1912).
In the 1960s, upon the closing of Playland
Playland (San Francisco)
Playland was a seaside amusement park located next to Ocean Beach at the western edge of San Francisco, California along the Great Highway where Cabrillo and Balboa streets are now...
, the Musée Mécanique
Musée Mécanique
The Musée Mécanique is a for-profit interactive museum consisting of 20th-century penny arcade games and artifacts located at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California...
, a museum of 20th-century penny arcade
Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade may refer to:* Penny arcade, a venue for coin-operated devices* Penny Arcade ** Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, a series of video games based on the webcomic...
games, moved into the basement of the Cliff House.
Modern Cliff House
The Cliff House features two restaurants, the casual dining Bistro Restaurant and the more formal Sutro's. Additionally, the Terrace Room serves a Sunday Brunch buffet. There is a gift shop in the building and the Camera Obscura
Camera Obscura (San Francisco, California)
The Camera Obscura in San Francisco is a large-scale camera obscura and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located near the Cliff House restaurant perched on the headlands on the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach on the western side of San Francisco, California...
on a deck overlooking the ocean. During the site restoration, the Musée Mécanique
Musée Mécanique
The Musée Mécanique is a for-profit interactive museum consisting of 20th-century penny arcade games and artifacts located at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California...
was moved to Fisherman's Wharf.
External links
- Cliff House official site
- CliffHouseProject.com
- 1903 film of the Cliff House
- Cliff House Visitor Guide
- JB Monaco Cliff House and Ocean Beach Photo Gallery
- 2010 Article About Cliff House
- Short radio episode, "Fog" from Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's "Early Rising as Regards Excursions to the Cliff House," published in The Golden Era magazine, 1864, from California Legacy ProjectCalifornia Legacy ProjectThe California Legacy Project began in 2000 as a project at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA and later partnered with Heyday Books in Berkeley, CA. The project uses a research team of SCU interns to create radio scripts for the radio anthology "Your California Legacy" on KAZU 90.3 FM,...
.