I always wonder what happened to that pier on Ocean Beach. When I was I kid in the 70s there were still some remnants of it visible at low tide.
It’s amazing how you can see all the stairs and ledges on the stone wall. Now it’s almost filled to the brim with sand.
What are those buildings on the left side of the photo?
“It’s amazing how you can see all the stairs and ledges on the stone wall. Now it’s almost filled to the brim with sand.” – since I’ve never seen these stairs before at ocean beach I assumed they were demolished when I saw the picture. Nice to know that they’re still there, but unfortunate that they’re all under sand.
Nice to see the Skate rink again at the foot of Balboa St., spent many hours there. That and the Hothouse.
Great photo! I agree, the stairs would be nice to uncover again, and it would have been nice had the wharf been maintained.
The sad thing is that everything except the beach itself is gone, and has just been replaced with cheap housing. Now days ocean beach is dead, and a sad rememberance of a once thriving beach side community.
It seems to me that no one is willing to dream big nowadays, to allow new ideas to sprout. The only major change on the horizon is the Safeway, and every comment I see is about “minimizing the impact”– making sure it’s not too tall, not too big, not too many people… It’s hard to imagine anything thriving that wouldn’t be immediately shot down for blocking someone’s view or being too noisy or just not conforming to what’s already there.
Yes Rob S., The day they demolished Playland was very sad, even sadder was seeing that string of sterile housing go up. From then, life was was gone to this day. They call it “progress”.
I was watching that playland documentary and was shocked to here that after it closed it was demolished quickly with out propper permits and approval from the city. Playland could of probably been designated a historic landmark and would still be here today if it wasn’t illegally demolished. The cheap buildings that are there now dont reflect any detail nor give any character to the surrounding neighborhood. Its a real shame the area hasn’t rebound from what it once was 40 years ago.
Rob S. Playland was a wonderful place in it’s heyday but by the time it was torn down it was a shadow of it’s former self. With that being said, yes there was much controversy with the tearing down and condo building. No one came in with enough money to save Playland. The resulting condos have had many issues. I live in a newer building that is not “cheap housing” nor is it part of the newer condos. I am happy to live in such a great place with a spectacular view. Many folks live out here who cherish and remember Playland and are happy to live on the site. Please use some caution when you speak about the housing of others.
the pipeline was torn down about 1961. My Dad’s old schoolmate in the City admin.got him a temp job dismantling that pipeline in 1961.
I always wonder what happened to that pier on Ocean Beach. When I was I kid in the 70s there were still some remnants of it visible at low tide.
It’s amazing how you can see all the stairs and ledges on the stone wall. Now it’s almost filled to the brim with sand.
What are those buildings on the left side of the photo?
“It’s amazing how you can see all the stairs and ledges on the stone wall. Now it’s almost filled to the brim with sand.” – since I’ve never seen these stairs before at ocean beach I assumed they were demolished when I saw the picture. Nice to know that they’re still there, but unfortunate that they’re all under sand.
Nice to see the Skate rink again at the foot of Balboa St., spent many hours there. That and the Hothouse.
Great photo! I agree, the stairs would be nice to uncover again, and it would have been nice had the wharf been maintained.
The sad thing is that everything except the beach itself is gone, and has just been replaced with cheap housing. Now days ocean beach is dead, and a sad rememberance of a once thriving beach side community.
It seems to me that no one is willing to dream big nowadays, to allow new ideas to sprout. The only major change on the horizon is the Safeway, and every comment I see is about “minimizing the impact”– making sure it’s not too tall, not too big, not too many people… It’s hard to imagine anything thriving that wouldn’t be immediately shot down for blocking someone’s view or being too noisy or just not conforming to what’s already there.
Yes Rob S., The day they demolished Playland was very sad, even sadder was seeing that string of sterile housing go up. From then, life was was gone to this day. They call it “progress”.
The pier was a water intake for the Lurline Baths on Bush and Larkin streets. If you follow the line of the pier to Playland, it lines up with a round building. That was the pump house.
http://webbie1.sfpl.org/multimedia/sfphotos/AAC-0085.jpg Pump house during Playland Demo.
http://www.cliffhouseproject.com/environs/lurine/lurine_pier.htm History of the pier.
I was watching that playland documentary and was shocked to here that after it closed it was demolished quickly with out propper permits and approval from the city. Playland could of probably been designated a historic landmark and would still be here today if it wasn’t illegally demolished. The cheap buildings that are there now dont reflect any detail nor give any character to the surrounding neighborhood. Its a real shame the area hasn’t rebound from what it once was 40 years ago.
Rob S. Playland was a wonderful place in it’s heyday but by the time it was torn down it was a shadow of it’s former self. With that being said, yes there was much controversy with the tearing down and condo building. No one came in with enough money to save Playland. The resulting condos have had many issues. I live in a newer building that is not “cheap housing” nor is it part of the newer condos. I am happy to live in such a great place with a spectacular view. Many folks live out here who cherish and remember Playland and are happy to live on the site. Please use some caution when you speak about the housing of others.
the pipeline was torn down about 1961. My Dad’s old schoolmate in the City admin.got him a temp job dismantling that pipeline in 1961.
Mike Smith
Kelly’s Cove
SF