For those lucky enough to have enjoyed Playland at the Beach, a 10-acre amusement park at San Francisco's Ocean Beach, now you can relive those memories. For those who are new to San Francisco or too young, you are in luck. The documentary, Remembering Playland at the Beach is once again playing playing at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco, click here for movie times. It features interviews with park goers and former workers. There is also a Bay Area Museum dedicated to Playland, called Playland Not at the Beach, in El Cerrito.
Playland at the Beach was the pride of San Francisco, an ocean-front style Coney Island, running from 1928 until 1972. Playland featured the famous Fun House, filled with all manner of rides and amusements such as the Mirror Maze, Human Laundry, Barrel of Laughs, Moving Bridges and a long, bumpy slide, to name a few. Laffing Sal served as greeter to the Fun House; her laugh could be heard for blocks. The Big Dipper roller coaster was popular from the start and larger than the Santa Cruz Boardwalk ride. There were also concession stands, restaurants and arcade games. For the smaller patrons, Fun-tier Town kept them busy with rides of their own. Playland was open 365 days each year, from 10 AM until Midnight.
"IT'S IT," ice cream bar was invented and sold exclusively at Playland. That in itself, was reason enough to come visit the amusement park.
Remembering Playland at the Beach allows everyone to experience Playland for themselves, if only vicariously. Go back in time to see Laffing Sal, the Fun House, the Carousel, the Big Dipper, the Diving Bell, Dark Mystery, Limbo, Fun-tier Town, and much, much more, all through the eyes of the people that were there. The first and only documentary ever made about Playland. Written and Directed by Tom Wyrsch. Don't miss it this time! Watch a video of some of the amusement rides, link is below.
Once you have experienced the documentary, you will want to visit Playland Not at the Beach, a unique museum and collection of old fashioned games. There are 30+ pinball machines set on Free Play, arcade games, videogames, carnival games of skills where you can win prizes, penny arcades full of antique amusement devices, live magic shows, an amazing hand-carved miniature circus, side show acts, miniature dioramas, Fascination games, and historic exhibits with artifacts from the Sutro Baths and Whitney's Playland in San Francisco.
Designed and built entirely by volunteers, the 20+ interactive exhibits celebrate the magic and history of America's bygone amusements. Their goal is to educate newer generations about the bygone days and allow those who remember Whitney's Playland and the Sutro Baths the opportunity to recapture the glorious sights and sounds of that marvelous era. Playland Not at the Beach is open Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10 AM until 5 PM and open every night of the year for private events.
What was the fate of the attractions of Playland at the Beach? Most of the amusement park and the exhibits were destroyed but some objects were salvaged. Playland's Laffing Sal is located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Another Sal is located in the Musee Mecanique at Pier 45; Playland Not at the Beach has acquired a number of items from the original Playland, including another Laffing Sal; and the Carousel, restored to its original beauty, is operating at Zeum at Yerba Buena Gardens.
For photos from Playland, see the Slideshow at the end of the article, click "View Slideshow" for historic photos and memorabilia.
To subscribe to this Examiner, click on the Subscribe button above near the author photo. You will not be spammed and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Follow Karla on Twitter.
To read more from Karla's Travel Column, click here.
Some of the amusements from Playland at the Beach, circa 1960
Comments
Ah, the memories! We grew up in the Ingleside District and would walk to Playland. I was terrified of Fleishhaker Pool!
Yes, the memories.. I grew up in the Mission district at 1248 SouthVanness. Every Sunday, my uncle would bring us to PLAYLAND. I was afraid of Laughing Sal.
I enjoyed every moment from the greyhound races, the diving bell, the carousel, and especially the Fun House. It never got old althougbh I did. My grandmother lived on the top of the bluff on 145 Sutro Heights Drive overlooking Playland. At night as the thick fog bumped against the wide bedroom window, I could only distinguish the hazy red lights of PlayLand below and the distinct laugh of Sal. In the day I walked its length eating hard red bricks of papered popcorn, takin g a gunny sack and sliding down the length of the wooden slide and trying to stay tight on the spinning wjheel watching with glee as each person in turn slid across oits depth and onto the floor.
There was not an inch that I did not know, was familar to the sounds and smells and the barkers and canned music of the offerings of the shooting gallery and the like.
As many times as I have revisited San Francisco, I cannot go to the beach where the changes have made the best landscape disappear for a sterile living environment where once laughter, romance and fun took place every hous, every day.
Oh what stories I could tell....lol
Good bye old friend.
You shall always be in my heart.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!