Beach Fun Kid

Playland (also known as Playland at the Beach and Whitney's Playland beginning in 1928) was a 10-acre (40,000 m 2 ) 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. It began as a collection of amusement rides and concessions in the late 1800s, and was known as Chutes At The Beach as early as 1913. It closed Labor Day weekend in 1972.

History

Before Playland

The area that was Playland began as a 19th century squatter's settlement, "Mooneysville-by-the-Sea". By 1884, a steam railroad was in place to bring people to the first amusement ride at the City’s ocean side — a "Gravity Railroad" roller coaster, and to the Ocean Beach Pavilion for concerts and dancing. By 1890 there were trolley lines to Ocean Beach: the Ferries and Cliff House Railroad, the Park & Ocean Railroad and the Sutro Railroad that encouraged commercial amusement development as a trolley park. The Cliff House, which opened in 1863, and Sutro Baths, which opened in 1896, drew thousands of visitors.

The various rides and attractions that began to spring up along the beach were separately owned by various concessionaires. For example, John Friedle owned a shooting gallery and baseball-throwing concession. All of the rides at Chutes at the Beach were purchased new or built there, including the Shoot-the-Chutes which inspired the first official name for the amusement area - Chutes at the Beach. Around 1913, Arthur Looff, leased a piece of land for a carousel and its house—the Looff Hippodrome, located next to John Friedle's concessions. Friedle and Looff become partners in Looff’s Hippodrome and began to buy other concessions to realize their vision of creating "the grandest amusement park on the Pacific coast." By 1921, they had ten rides, including the Shoot-the-Chutes. A writer for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1922 reported that “by 1921 the owners had spent $150,000 to produce ten spectacular new rides ("clean, safe, moral attractions") which were open from noon to midnight, everyday.” Attractions included Arthur Looff’s roller coaster the "Bob Sled Dipper" (also known as "the Bobs") (1921), the Looff-designed Big Dipper roller coaster (1922), Shoot-the-Chutes, the carousel, Aeroplane Swing, the Whip, Dodg-Em, the Ship of Joy, the Ferris wheel, Noah’s Ark, and almost a hundred concessionaires.

In 1923, George and Leo Whitney hit town. The Whitney brothers opened a photographic concession in 1923, pioneering a fast photo-finishing process that allowed people to take pictures home rather than having to wait days for the film to be developed and images printed. By 1924, the Whitney brothers owned four shooting galleries and a souvenir shop in addition to the quick-photo studio .

Playland

In 1926, George Whitney became general manager of the growing complex of seaside attractions. and changed the name to Playland-at-the-Beach. (sometimes known as Whitney's At the Beach). Although the attractions continued to be operated as independent concessionaires, during the late 1920s and '30, especially during the Depression when concessions began to fail, George and Leo began to purchase the attractions outright. The Whitneys bought the Roller Coaster in 1936 and the Merry-Go-Round in 1942. Playland took up three city blocks and in 1934, the Midway had 14 rides, 25 concessions and 4 restaurants besides Topsy's Roost.

Although Playland's attractions originally sat upon leased land, the Whitneys eventually purchased the land beneath Playland as well as several adjacent lots for future expansion. In 1937, George Whitney, Sr. purchased the then-vacant Cliff House from the Sutro estate and reopened it as an upscale roadhouse that same year. George Whitney was called “The Barnum of the Golden Gate” as he went on to buy up the concessions and even bought the Sutro Baths in 1952. He bought out his brother in 1952 and continued to operate the area on his own until his death in 1958.

Despite this expansion, the post-war years saw the tearing down of the Shoot the Chutes in 1950, and the Big Dipper in 1955, and after George Whitney died in 1958, Playland was never quite the same. For a while after George Whitney's death, Playland was operated by his son, George K. Whitney, Jr. and then by Bob Frazier. It was eventually sold to Jeremy Ets-Hokin (a millionaire developer) in 1971 and it was torn down in September 4, 1972. Condominiums were built on the Playland property and a permanent art project commemorating Playland was installed in 1996.

Attractions

By 1922 the attractions included Arthur Looff’s “Bob Sled Dipper” (the Bobs) (1921), the Looff-designed Big Dipper (1922), the Shoot-the-chutes, the carousel, Aeroplane Swing, The Whip (ride), Dodg-Em, the Ship of Joy, the Ferris wheel, Noah’s Ark, and almost a hundred concessionaires.

At various times the rides at Playland included: Skyliner, Rocketship, Big Dipper, Big Slide, Dodgem (bumper cars) Limbo (dark house), Kookie Kube, Dark Mystery (which started as an African-themed dark ride but was redone in the 1950s with a Dali-esque surrealistic facade), the Mad Mine (a dark ride that literally covered over Dark Mystery), Scrambler, Twister, Kiddie Bulgy. Another favorite was the Diving Bell, a metal chamber that took guests under water and then returned them to the surface with a big splash. This ride originated at the 1939-40 Golden Gate Exposition on Treasure Island. George Whitney commissioned the inventor to build another one at Playland on the southeast block of the park. After a decade the attraction was rebuilt on the northwest block where it remained until Playland's closing in 1972.

Carousel

Arthur Looff actually commissioned the carousel in 1906 for a little amusement park that was originally on Market and Van Ness in San Francisco, but because of the earthquake in 1906 the carousel was shipped to Luna Park, Seattle, Washington. It was not until 1913, that Arthur Looff leased land for the carousel and its house-—the Looff Hippodrome—that the carousel came to Playland. Looff’s Hippodrome at Chutes-at-the-Beach was the first permanently installed concession in 1914. The carousel was an elegant 68-horse merry-go-round with a $5,000 organ, a staggering amount at that time.

The carousel was sold at auction in 1972, and went to Long Beach, California. San Francisco bought the carousel and it is now located off Fourth Street downtown in Yerba Buena Gardens.

Fun House

Among the more popular concessions was the Fun House originally called the Bug House, erected in 1923-24. Laffing Sal was the laughing automated character whose cackle echoed throughout the park. After Playland was closed, one of the original animatrons was relocated to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, and another Sal is located in the Musée Mécanique in San Francisco. The last remaining Walking Charley figure is located at Playland-Not-At-The-Beach.

Patrons entered by first passing through a mirror maze which had originally been a separate attraction on the opposite side of the midway. Next patrons squeezed through the spin-dryers and entered the main area of the Fun House which contained a Joy Wheel (flat wooden disc that spun quickly and forced kids to slide off), the Barrel of Laughs (rotating walk-through wooden barrel), the Moving Bridges (connected gang planks that went up and down), and the Rocking Horses (attached by strong strings to a moving platform creating quite a galloping sensation). The Fun House had air jets, rickety catwalks, steep, moving and rocking staircases, the topsy-turvy barrel and the three-story climb up to the top of "the longest, bumpiest indoor slide in the world" -- and a 200-foot (61 m) indoor slide.

The famous funhouse mirror sequence at the end of Orson Welles's The Lady from Shanghai (1948) was filmed in Hollywood, but the last moments of the movie, the exterior shot of Welles walking past the Funhouse, was filmed at Playland at the Beach. Laughing Sal is nowhere to be seen because curtains hide her on the second floor bay window above Orson Welles' head. In the background as Welles crosses the street, the Laff in the Dark is clearly visible. The name on the Funhouse was changed to "Crazy House" during the filming of this sequence.

Fun-Tier

Playland also included a “Fun-tier” Town for “little western gals and little cowboys” which was an area with ten rides geared for children with western motif and a place for birthday parties. "Fun-Tier" Town sat on the land where the Laff in the Dark attraction had previously been for decades.

Camera obscura

The Giant Camera obscura was built in 1948-49 as part of the Playland at the Beach amusement area. It was moved to a location next to the Cliff House when Playland closed and is still present in the Cliff House area.

Roller coasters at Playland

  • Alpine Racer - Opened 1959, closed August 4, 1972. The Alpine Racer was originally located on the southeast corner Playland's south block. This area closed in 1964 or 1965 and the Alpine Racer stood idle for about a year until it was moved to the opposite end of the park in the northwest corner of the main block. This was a German-made w

    Cooters Fun Map - Fun Travelers Map of Clearwater ...

    Kids Club Map & Directions Cooters Fun Map Contact Us Links News Sports Bar Home ... A fun travel map of Clearwater Beach, Florida. There are plenty of "treasures" for those who like to ...

    ...

    Kids Beach, Kids at the Beach, Beach Kids, Kids on the ...

    Kids beach fun is easily achieved using our comprehensive guide. From fun activities to great list of beach toys, you'll find everything you need here.

    ...

    Fun Beach Activities for Kids

    Beach House Vacation Rentals. Detailed listings of the most beautiful beach house vacation properties in the world.

    ...

    Myrtle Beach Kids - Kid-Friendly Places and Things to ...

    Myrtle Beach Kids is your local guide for fun things to do with your kids

    ...

    The Beach House Kids Fun Centre & Kids Play Centre in ...

    The Beach House. The ultimate kids play centre.The Beach House is a popular spot for mums, dads, grandparents and friends to come and relax while the children can safely play.

    ...

    Beach Fun and Games Online

    Beach fun games for kids. ... Submit your favorite site for inclusion on this list. All sites are reviewed before being listed.

    ...

    Kids Beach Games

    Kids beach games can be found in The Little Book of Holiday Fun. Lots of fun your little ones can enjoy on the beach. Free From Halos N Horns

    ...

    Amazon.com: Fun Kids Beach Towel Wrap Shark: Sports ...

    The Shark Fun Kids Beach Towel Wrap is a big hit with everyone! This towel is nice and thick, better than most novelty kids towel wraps that I have seen.

    ...

    Kids Fun Pages - Mary Greeley Medical Center

    The beach is a lot of fun in the summer. The sun, the sand and the surf. Complete the Beach Puzzle Online!

    ...

    Amazon.com: Fun Kids Beach Towel Wrap Navy Seal: Sports ...

    The Navy Seal Fun Kids Beach Towel Wrap is a big hit with everyone! This towel is nice and thick, better than most novelty kids towel wraps that I have seen.

    ...