Earlier in January, I wrote a post on the early history of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. I found so many amazing photos and so much interesting history that my post ran too long, so I ended it with the early 1930s. I realized that to share more of the pictures and info I discovered, I would need to do several posts. So, today, we look at the 1930s to the 1950s.

Playland and Nearby Attractions
In the 1930s, people continued to flock to the beach and Playland-at-the-Beach from around San Francisco, other parts of the Bay Area, and beyond, despite the hard times of the Great Depression. In fact, Playland continued to expand in the ’20s and ’30s.

George and Leo Whitney, the owners of Playland, had opened Topsy’s Roost in the former Ocean Beach Pavilion building in 1929. This restaurant and nightclub boasted live orchestras and even had slides for patrons to ride down onto the dance floor from the balcony! Unfortunately (but not surprisingly, given the era), Topsy’s decor and advertising included racist stereotypes of Black people. I’ll spare you by not including any photos here. The Whitneys also took over the Cliff House from the Sutro family in 1936.

In the 1930s, Sutro Baths struggled due to the Depression and changes in public health codes. As the baths became less popular, part of the complex was converted into a skating rink. Swimming continued, but the pools were no longer the gigantic attraction they had been in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when thousands would swim on many days.

Early Surfing
The late ’30s and ’40s saw some brave people getting into surfing at Ocean Beach. The northern end of the beach near Playland was dubbed “Kelly’s Cove” and was a popular surf spot. According to an article in Surfline, the roots of surfing at Ocean Beach were planted when a handful of lifeguards from Fleishhacker Swimming Pool at Sloat Boulevard and the Great Highway were inspired by their Hawaiian colleagues, Cliff Kamaka and Eddie Eukini, to start bodysurfing and mat surfing. Apparently, surfboards were not used as much at first because most couldn’t withstand Ocean Beach’s harsh shore break and would end up damaged.

The ’40s and ’50s
Ocean Beach and Playland continued to be popular in the World War II era and the early 1950s. Playland offered service people and their friends a cheap and relatively respectable place to have a good time and was open from noon to midnight.

As I said in my prior post, a makeshift development of retired streetcars, Carville, had popped up along Ocean Beach in the late 1800s. Mainly occupied by poor and working-class residents and Bohemians, it was mostly gone by the 1920s; as property values went up, the city forced the residents out and got rid of most of the streetcar structures. By the ’30s and ’40s, just a few remained, and others became unrecognizable as additions built on covered up the inner streetcar structure.

Surfing gained more popularity through the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, and actual surfboards became the norm, although many got destroyed in the rough waters. Famous surfboard and wetsuit maker Jack O’Neill opened his first shop in the early to mid-1950’s near the Great Highway.

Sutro Baths continued to operate in the ’40s and ’50s but never regained its former acclaim. George Whitney bought Sutro Baths in 1952. A Sky Tram was built in the ’50s that took visitors across the Baths basin from Point Lobos to the outer balcony of the Cliff House. There also was an artificial waterfall.

Playland’s Big Dipper was torn down over safety code concerns and maintenance issues in 1955. Playland owner George Whitney died in 1958, and the park gradually became faded and dingy as families in the city chose suburban destinations for recreation. People continued to trek out to Ocean Beach and the surfing culture grew, but many of the local attractions were becoming less popular and were not kept up in the same way.

Enjoying this trip into the past? Check out my next Ocean Beach history post, which looks at the 1960s through 1980s.