San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Time to leave nostalgia in past, reinvent Cliff House for future
When thinking about the Cliff House right now, as it permanently closes and landlords contemplate the next move, it evokes a previous crisis on the western shores of San Francisco.
There was once a roller coaster, a wooden sister to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Giant Dipper, down the hill from Lands End on Ocean Beach. This was at Playland-at-theBeach, a legit amusement park within San Francisco city limits, which popularized the It’sIt, hosted some of the best dancing in the city’s history, and housed Laughing Sal, the best nightmareinagoodway attraction maybe in the entire world.
When Playland was demolished in 1972, it seemed like such a loss for the city. Roller coasters replaced by seaside condos. Who would support that, except career politicians, real estate developers and villains in 1980s breakdancing movies?
While no one is talking about demolishing the Cliff House or building condos in its stead, there’s a similar vibe going on right now in re
sponse to the restaurant’s closure. The family that kept the traditions going, wonderful stewards for the San Francisco establishment, has bitterly parted, literally taking the signage.
The landlords at the National Park Service who will decide the fate of the space so far seem to have graduated from the Gavin Newsom school of communication, saying many words with very few certainties, and seemingly contradicting themselves along the way.
It’s right to be concerned, to mourn a little and be ready for a political fight if necessary. But when the emotions subside, I’m hoping we realize this moment might be one more thing: an opportunity.
My own conflicted and meandering thoughts about Cliff House were crystallized when I read a pair of tweets from Richie Nakano, a chef, writer and (he’ll hate this) thought leader in San Francisco.
“It shouldn’t be a restaurant, period. It should have a really good deli, a coffee place, an ice cream stand, maybe a raw bar,” Nakano said. “For tourists it’s not great to be on the western edge of the city after dinner, and try getting someone that lives in the Mission to drive over there. … I don’t want to pull a ‘let’s open a food hall’ like its 2016, but a ferry building west would kill it there.”
His point is supported by history. Every change on that corner of the city looked atrocious at the time, and has turned out good for San Francisco.
When Musee Mecanique
moved from its dank basement space below the Cliff House to touristzone Fisherman’s Wharf in 2002, it seemed like a horrid development and spawned passionate protests. I think it has been a wonderful fit. It may have helped extend the historic arcade’s life, and supports the growing argument that Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf are an increasingly fun place to be a touristinyourowntown. When Sutro Baths burned down in 1966 and didn’t rebuild, it seemed tragic for anyone who grew up wearing onepiece bathing suits and swimming in the aquatic engineering wonder. No longer would anyone in San Francisco ice skate and view taxidermied exotic animals in the same space. I think it has been a good thing, turning the focus from an aging and increasingly irrelevant entertainment complex to the recreation possibilities of Lands End Lookout, Seal Rocks Beach and the ruins of Sutro as one of the most enjoyable and mystical hikes in the city.
And let’s look at the reality of PlaylandattheBeach. From a plane flying well off the coast in the 1960s, it still looked like the same magical spot that ruled in the 1920s and 1930s. But the park had been declining steadily. The good roller coaster was torn down in the 1955 because of misguided city leaders. The It’sIts could now be found at supermarkets across the Bay Area. And, as The Chronicle’s photos of the last day at the park prove, Playland was dingy, crimeridden and arguably a half decade or so past its ideal demolition point.
If there’s a tragedy in 2021, it’s not that the condos replaced PlaylandattheBeach, it’s that they weren’t built another story higher. We need housing more than we need bumper cars in San Francisco.
So what’s next for Cliff House? A drive to replicate the white tablecloths and expensive meals and exact same experience your greatgrandparents had? Or is this the chance to pivot to something different? Something more inclusive? Something more accessible? Something that lets an even greater number of people enjoy those fantastic views?
Should we cling to our cherished memories, or create something that will also delight and welcome the newcomers to San Francisco, who we need more than ever to fall in love with this city and invest in its present and future?
History sends a clear message. I’m voting for Ferry Building West in 2021.
“It shouldn’t be a restaurant, period. It should have a really good deli, a coffee place, an ice cream stand, maybe a raw bar. For tourists it’s not great to be on the western edge of the city after dinner, and try getting someone that lives in the Mission to drive over there. … I don’t want to pull a ‘let’s open a food hall’ like it’s 2016, but a ferry building west would kill it there.” Tweet from Richie Nakano, chef and writer