San Francisco's Playland at the Beach by James R. Smith

And in talking with Smith, I solved the mystery as to why it has taken until 2010 for the pictorial history of a lost but not forgotten San Francisco treasure to be told. Thanks to James Smith, everyone can now learn about Playland’s magic, and how it fit in the Ocean Beach landscape. I saw Orson Welles’ classic, The Lady From Shanghai, which shot certain scenes of Playland (I later learned from a soundstage), but was really not clear on what rides, arcades and dining spots drew daily crowds of thousands of people for nearly forty years. It was hard for me to find out what Playland actually looked like. I was also acquainted with a Mission District activist of the time, Brian Doohan, who was obsessed with Playland and seemingly devoted his life to preventing its replacement by condominiums. I recall the fight over its demolition, which was delayed from 1972 to 1982 over permit controversies. When I moved to the Bay Area in 1974, I soon heard about Playland, which had a lot in common – though vastly superior – to POP. I still recall visiting Pacific Ocean Park near Santa Monica Pier before it closed in 1967, and long sought out movies or television shows that could remind me what “POP” actually looked like (there is a Mod Squad episode on DVD that takes place at POP which was revelatory). There is something about visiting amusement parks as a child that sticks with you forever. Smith has reclaimed a lost jewel of San Francisco history, and this book is a must read for anyone interested in the city’s past. To my knowledge, this is the first book that contains the full photographic history of this essential part of San Francisco history, and readers who never visited Playland will soon learn why the park has maintained mythic status long after closure. Playland, however, survives in the memories of those for whom a visit was the highlight of their year, in the ongoing popularity of the “It’s It” ice cream treat, and in the remarkable photos available for the first time in James Smith’s wonderful new book, San Francisco’s Playland at the Beach, The Early Years. It was later demolished and replaced by condominiums. Unlike the still popular Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk amusement park, Playland failed to survive the era of Disneyworld’s and Six Flags and closed on September 4, 1972. – SF Chronicle, January 18, 1922Ĭhutes at the Beach, later renamed Playland, was San Francisco’s great Ocean Beach amusement park from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. For years many have wondered why San Francisco has not had its great amusement center at the ocean beach … But today San Francisco has a real Coney Island in the making, as known as Chutes at the Beach.

San Francisco's Playland at the Beach by James R. Smith