HEADLESS at the Beach

Click on image to see it larger.

At first glance it appears to be a headless child standing on the beach. Nah, just a white sunhat that over time has faded in the photo. But it is sort of odd looking with the headless child and the head protruding from the left. These two are actually familiar if you saw my post Sandcastles at the CLIFF HOUSE.

This is another photo from the Betty Schnabel estate.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

Sandcastles at the CLIFF HOUSE

This is a repost from several years ago because gosh darn the photo of the tourist car fits the Sepia Saturday theme…several weeks ago. And I have a nice new photo to share of the old Cliff House if you scroll towards the bottom.

If you've seen past posts about the Kallman family you will probably recognize Alfred, patriarch of the family. This photo is from the George Kallman estate.

This is Alfred aboard a touring car in San Francisco, probably around 1919. He was on his way to see the Cliff House restaurant and Sutro Baths. The Cliff House still exists, the Sutro Baths not so much. And when I say the Cliff House still exists, it's not the Cliff House Alfred would have seen.

Click on image to see it larger.

The Cliff House has burned down several times. The photo below shows it at its most gorgeous, but it too burned down over 100 years ago.

I'll let good old Wikipedia fill-in some details about this San Francisco landmark.

The Cliff House is a restaurant perched on the headlands on the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach on the western side of San Francisco, California. It overlooks the site of the former Sutro Baths and a room-sized camera obscura and is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, operated by the National Park Service.

Cliff House has had five major incarnations since its beginnings in 1858. That year, Samuel Brannan, a prosperous ex-Mormon elder from Maine, bought for $1,500 the lumber salvaged from a ship that foundered on the basalt cliffs below. With this material he built the first Cliff House. The second Cliff house was built for Captain Junius G. Foster, but it was a long trek from the city and hosted mostly horseback riders, small game hunters or picnickers on day outings. With the opening of the Point Lobos toll road a year later, the Cliff House became successful with the Carriage trade for Sunday travel. The builders of the toll road constructed a two mile speedway beside it where well-to-do San Franciscans raced their horses along the way. On weekends, there was little room at the Cliff House hitching racks for tethering the horses for the thousands of rigs. Soon, omnibus railways and streetcar lines made it to near Lone Mountain where passengers transferred to stagecoach lines to the beach. The growth of Golden Gate Park attracted beach travelers in search of meals and a look at the Sea Lions sunning themselves on Seal Rocks, just off the cliffs to visit the area.

In 1877, the toll road, now Geary Boulevard, was purchased by the City for around $25,000. In 1883, after a few years of downturn, the Cliff House was bought by Adolph Sutro who had solved the problems of ventilating and draining the mines of the Comstock Lode and become a multimillionaire. After a few years of quiet management by J.M. Wilkens, the Cliff House was severely damaged by a dynamite explosion when the schooner, Parallel, ran aground. The blast was heard a hundred miles away and demolished the entire north wing of the tavern. The building was repaired, but was later completely destroyed on Christmas night 1894 due to a defective flue. Wilkens was unable to save the guest register, which included the signatures of three Presidents and dozens of illustrious world-famous visitors.

In 1896, Adolph Sutro built a new Cliff House, a seven story Victorian Chateau, called by some "the Gingerbread Palace", below his estate on the bluffs of Sutro Heights. This was the same year work began on the famous Sutro Baths, which included six of the largest indoor swimming pools north of the Restaurant that included a museum, skating rink and other pleasure grounds. Great throngs of San Franciscans arrived on steam trains, bicycles, carts and horse wagons on Sunday excursions.

The Cliff House and Sutro Baths survived the 1906 earthquake with little damage but burned to the ground on the evening of September 7, 1907. Dr. Emma Merritt, Sutro's daughter, commissioned a rebuilding of the restaurant in a neo-classical style that was completed within two years and is the basis of the structure seen today. In 1937, George and Leo Whitney purchased the Cliff House, complementing their Playland-at-the-Beach attraction nearby and extensively remodeling it into an American roadhouse. The building was acquired by the National Park Service in 1977 and became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Many of Whitney's additions were removed and the building was restored to its 1909 appearance. In 2003, an extensive further renovation added a new two-story wing overlooking the Sutro Bath ruins.

The site overlooks Seal Rocks and the former site of the Sutro Baths. More than thirty ships have been pounded to pieces on the southern shore of the Golden Gate below the Cliff House.

The area immediately around Cliff House is part of the setting of Jack London's novel The Scarlet Plague (1912). (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

To get a nice overall feeling about the Cliff House through the years click here to go to the official site and stay for the opening historical slideshow, including the Sutro Baths.

To see more images of these tour cars, including this very same No. 20, click here to enter the Cliff House project. And spend a bit more time clicking around the site to see other wonderful images.

The current Cliff House from the outside is not lovely at all. But oh my can you get an excellent meal there. I went there for my birthday a few years ago. The food was perfect, as was the view.

The following delightful snapshot is from the Betty Schnabel estate sale, specifically her mother's album. It is one of my favorite shots from my collection.



And just to make sure I have something for this weeks Sepia Saturday theme…another repeat from a few years ago.

Do a dogs ears lay flat against its head if a woman cackles in the background? You be the judge.

Until next week when I might just post something for a Sepia Saturday theme from years ago. It's been one of those weeks.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS on a flight in 1955

Next time you're on a plane take a look at the people sitting around you. For that matter, take a look at yourself. How are you and your fellow travelers dressed?


Click on image to see it larger.

Now take a moment and imagine it's 1955. Those flip-flops worn by the guy in the shorts and worn-out stained Megadeath t-shirt would never have made it onto a flight. Is this a good or bad thing?

Waiting to TAKE FLIGHT from San Francisco in 1955

Another Kodachrome shot from 1955. This has the caption "Chas. Perkins at Mills Field in San Francisco. Nov 1955."


Click on image to see it larger.

Mills Field is what the San Francisco airport was called when it was first established in 1927. Why this photographer was still calling it Mills Field in 1955 has me confused.

The airport opened on May 7, 1927 on 150 acres (61 ha) of cow pasture. The land was leased from Ogden L. Mills who had leased it from his grandfather Darius O. Mills. It was named Mills Field Municipal Airport until 1931, when it became San Francisco Municipal Airport. "Municipal" was replaced by "International" in 1955. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

FISHERMEN'S GROTTO at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco

I'm guessing this vintage snapshot of Fishermen's Grotto was taken in the late 1940s to mid-50s. Someone who knows the models of the old cars might be able to narrow it down.


Click on image to see it larger.

This restaurant is still in the same location.

Fishermen's Grotto opened in 1935 as the first sit down restaurant on San Francisco's world famous Fisherman's Wharf. Founded by Mike Geraldi, an immigrant fisherman from Sicily, as an avenue to deliver his fresh catch to the local population. The restaurant features Inside and Outside Dining. While indulging on your favorite seafood dish, enjoy the breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Russian Hill and the Fishing Fleet and Harbor. Four generations of the Geraldi family have been serving only the freshest Italian-style seafood since. (SOURCE: Fishermen's Grotto)

Click on image to see it larger.

You can read the history of the place here. I haven't been there since probably the early 1970s. There was another restaurant I preferred which no longer exists. I tend to avoid Fishermen's Wharf because of the abundance of tourists.

(SOURCE: Exploring the World One Day at a Time)

SMILE for Grandma

Eventually kids figure out what they're supposed to do when a camera is pointed at them. At least the way it used to be. These days everyone is pointing cameras at each other whether or not they know the person. And then the moments of your life end up online with others ridiculing something you did only hours before. We all risk being bullied these days simply by leaving the house. A photograph is no longer just for grandma.


Click on image to see it larger.

Loving the kids sweater. So when did the whole coal miner theme stop appearing on apparel?

Buy Your Holiday Gifts at MOORE'S ELECTRIC SHOP

Not a very festive photo, is it? Well, click on it and take a look at it large. Moore's Electric Shop had their store decorated for Christmas. Moore's was located south of San Francisco on the Peninsula.

Geo. McLeod BUILDING THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE

This vintage snapshot is a recent acquisition. I know nothing about the man other than what is inscribed below the image. I find the idea of standing on the top of one of the Golden Gate Bridge's towers terrifying. I love the bridge, but no amount of money could get me scrambling around on the structure, especially when it was being built.

Geo. McLeod is a hero to me.


Click on image to see it larger.

To see a post card of the bridge under construction click here. To listen to an interesting news report from the San Francisco Public Radio Station KQED click here and then click on item 23. To read a brief history of the bridge click here. To read about the men who built the bridge click here.

Now we're COOKIN' WITH GAS!

Thinking of buying a new stove? Not finding what you want? Step back in time to January 12, 1927 to a small store south of San Francisco along the Peninsula that sold stoves by Tappan.


Click on image to see it larger.

If either of these guys try to sell you one of these…think twice. It’ll be a real pain trying to find parts.

Tappan appliances was founded by W.J. Tappan as the Ohio Valley Foundry Company in Bellaire, Ohio in 1881 selling cast-iron stoves door-to-door. The company relocated to Mansfield, Ohio in 1889 and was renamed the Eclipse Stove Company before being renamed the Tappan Stove Company. It was acquired by Electrolux in 1979.

Tappan claims several innovations, including:

▪ 1920s all-porcelain range available in various colors
▪ 1955 the first microwave oven model for home use.
▪ 1960s electric ignition for gas ranges
▪ 1965 single unit conventional range and microwave oven.

(SOURCE: Wikipedia)

I'm guessing that this fellow is the boss. His shoes are shined.



I'm guessing this fellow is not the boss. His shoes are not shined.



And I'm guessing that most paper doll lovers would be thrilled to find one of these cut-outs.



This post allows Sepia Saturday posters to find a way to cook all of the staples Alan has recommended for this weeks post.

BARRY THE FLORIST

For this weeks Sepia Saturday I'm doing a reposting from 2009. I had so few readers at the time that I doubt anyone remembers Barry the Florist.

Once upon a time there was a little florist's shop at 222 Market Street, San Francisco. The owner's name, according to the big sign on the front of the shop, was Barry. Barry was proud of his shop and the truck he had for making deliveries. You could buy an orchid for $1.50 and you got free delivery all over the city. Looking for a gold fish in a bowl with a castle? $1.98 from Barry. Longing for a pair of love birds in a cage? $9.95 complete from Barry.

Over the years how many women saw Barry's truck pull-up out front of their home and paused hoping there were flowers inside for them? How many young men walked nervously through the doorway wanting to buy a corsage for the young lady who'd caught their eye? And how many families who had just lost a loved one to war saw Barry's truck arrive with funeral wreaths in remembrance?

We'll never know the answers to any of these questions. Barry the small businessman is not at 222 Market Street anymore. The entire block was raised a long time ago replaced with a cement plaza and two large nondescript high-rises. I've walked by this address many times and never even thought of the life that once was. Now it's just noise of a big city, homeless people, corporate logos. I think we should all miss Barry and what he represented.

Gypsy in COLOR

This is the last photo I have of Gypsy. An older, but still stylish woman. I wish I knew more about her other than she was fashionable and loved to travel. Still, that's really all I have. It's also all I have about Jean who travelled to Hawaii on a Matson liner in the late 1920s to early 1930s. So I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with what little I know about both of these women. Adventure on the high seas.

And to just clear this up I will again say this woman is NOT Gypsy Rose Lee and probably would not wish to be compared with her. I'm the one who named her Gypsy because she looks so much like her when she was young. Go back through past posts and you'll see all the photos I have of her.

Bon Voyage Gypsy!

Gypsy at the CAPTAIN'S PARTY

I think Gypsy was a very social person even though I only have a few photos of her with other people. She certainly looks to be having a grand time at this shipboard party, but it's the other people who draw me in, specifically the two fellows eyeing each other across the table.

Now certainly, this was just a moment caught that meant nothing, but out of context it strikes me very funny. And the fellow in the background with the hat looking up at the balloon, I could easily delete that balloon and we'd all be left wondering why this partygoer was staring at the ceiling.

Click on image to see it larger.

I'm thinking this was a Pacific cruise. Tomrrow...the gift shop!

Gypsy SETS SAIL

Gypsy went on cruise ships back in the day when it was a pleasant experience. The ships were beautiful and didn't look like the horrors of today, tankers filled to brim with shipping crates. There was fun and excitement to sailing across the sea; it started before you left port as you listened to the band and threw streamers off the ship to the people below on the docks. Those streamers were the only thing that tethered you to those not going along. You knew you were starting out on an adventure.

As a child in Hawaii we used to go down to visit new military families when they arrived. The dock was at the Honolulu Tower and there beside it would be one of the beautiful Matson liners. To a kid playing in the streamers thrown from the ship was just as much fun as being the one throwing them.

No idea where Gypsy was heading, but she certainly looks very happy. Over the next few days there will be two more photos of her aboard ship and a hint that she is most likely aboard a ship in the Pacific.

Click on image to see it larger.

Alfred Kallman on CLIFF HOUSE TOUR

Only a single photo from my collection this week.

If you've seen past posts about the Kallman family you will probably recognize Alfred, patriarch of the family.

This is Alfred aboard a touring car in San Francisco, probably around 1919. He was on his way to see the Cliff House restaurant and Sutro Baths. The Cliff House still exists, the Sutro Baths not so much. And when I say the Cliff House still exists, it's not the Cliff House Alfred would have seen.

Click on image to see it larger.

The Cliff House has burned down several times. The photo below shows it at its most gorgeous, but it too burned down over 100 years ago.

I'll let good old Wikipedia fill-in some details about this San Francisco landmark.

The Cliff House is a restaurant perched on the headlands on the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach on the western side of San Francisco, California. It overlooks the site of the former Sutro Baths and a room-sized camera obscura and is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, operated by the National Park Service.

Cliff House has had five major incarnations since its beginnings in 1858. That year, Samuel Brannan, a prosperous ex-Mormon elder from Maine, bought for $1,500 the lumber salvaged from a ship that foundered on the basalt cliffs below. With this material he built the first Cliff House. The second Cliff house was built for Captain Junius G. Foster, but it was a long trek from the city and hosted mostly horseback riders, small game hunters or picnickers on day outings. With the opening of the Point Lobos toll road a year later, the Cliff House became successful with the Carriage trade for Sunday travel. The builders of the toll road constructed a two mile speedway beside it where well-to-do San Franciscans raced their horses along the way. On weekends, there was little room at the Cliff House hitching racks for tethering the horses for the thousands of rigs. Soon, omnibus railways and streetcar lines made it to near Lone Mountain where passengers transferred to stagecoach lines to the beach. The growth of Golden Gate Park attracted beach travelers in search of meals and a look at the Sea Lions sunning themselves on Seal Rocks, just off the cliffs to visit the area.

In 1877, the toll road, now Geary Boulevard, was purchased by the City for around $25,000. In 1883, after a few years of downturn, the Cliff House was bought by Adolph Sutro who had solved the problems of ventilating and draining the mines of the Comstock Lode and become a multimillionaire. After a few years of quiet management by J.M. Wilkens, the Cliff House was severely damaged by a dynamite explosion when the schooner, Parallel, ran aground. The blast was heard a hundred miles away and demolished the entire north wing of the tavern. The building was repaired, but was later completely destroyed on Christmas night 1894 due to a defective flue. Wilkens was unable to save the guest register, which included the signatures of three Presidents and dozens of illustrious world-famous visitors.

In 1896, Adolph Sutro built a new Cliff House, a seven story Victorian Chateau, called by some "the Gingerbread Palace", below his estate on the bluffs of Sutro Heights. This was the same year work began on the famous Sutro Baths, which included six of the largest indoor swimming pools north of the Restaurant that included a museum, skating rink and other pleasure grounds. Great throngs of San Franciscans arrived on steam trains, bicycles, carts and horse wagons on Sunday excursions.

The Cliff House and Sutro Baths survived the 1906 earthquake with little damage but burned to the ground on the evening of September 7, 1907. Dr. Emma Merritt, Sutro's daughter, commissioned a rebuilding of the restaurant in a neo-classical style that was completed within two years and is the basis of the structure seen today. In 1937, George and Leo Whitney purchased the Cliff House, complementing their Playland-at-the-Beach attraction nearby and extensively remodeling it into an American roadhouse. The building was acquired by the National Park Service in 1977 and became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Many of Whitney's additions were removed and the building was restored to its 1909 appearance. In 2003, an extensive further renovation added a new two-story wing overlooking the Sutro Bath ruins.

The site overlooks Seal Rocks and the former site of the Sutro Baths. More than thirty ships have been pounded to pieces on the southern shore of the Golden Gate below the Cliff House.

The area immediately around Cliff House is part of the setting of Jack London's novel The Scarlet Plague (1912). (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

To get a nice overall feeling about the Cliff House through the years click here to go to the official site and stay for the opening historical slideshow, including the Sutro Baths.

To see more images of these tour cars, including this very same No. 20, click here to enter the Cliff House project. And spend a bit more time clicking around the site to see other wonderful images.

There are so many interesting people in the car with Alfred; let's just be thankful he wasn't sitting next to this happy go lucky soul. Actually, I can remember touring Europe with a person with this same joie de vivre.

This is my submission to this weeks Sepia Saturday. Another photo from the George Kallman estate.

And for those who like old photos, but don't visit me during the week, I think you might enjoy the lovely lady I've been posting this week. An unknown woman from the San Francisco/Bay Area. I will resume posting more images of her tomorrow.

In Gypsy's OWN WORDS

Gypsy POSING WITH A CAT

The kitty in this shot looks like a calico. I can identify with that. I can also identify with the cat fur she now has on her dress. Packing tape. I'm just sayin' packing tape! The only thing I've found to take cat hair off of stuff is packing tape. If someone else has a better idea I'm open to your suggestions.

Gypsy again looking lovely.

Gypsy POSE

There's really nothing to say about this other than once again this woman looks lovely. I'm imagining this is 1940s to early '50s. People were still wearing gloves in San Francisco in the early '60s too.

Again, I'd love to see all of the colors in this.

The next few days are nothing more than a fashion show by a woman who had a lot of style throughout her life. Well, I have no idea what she was like as a child. She'd be a fascinating story. What was her childhood like that she grew up to be so fashion conscious? You'll eventually see the final shot that shows right up through her later years she was stepping out.

GYPSY

Maybe you'll see it, maybe you won't. I'm referring to this woman's resemblance to Gypsy Rose Lee.

No information about this photo, but I'm guessing she loved the person who was taking the shot. She looks beautiful and I've tried to imagine what color the gown is. According to the only color photo I have of her, taken late in life, she had red hair. So what color would have looked lovely with red hair and pale skin?

A FORGOTTEN ROSE

I don't know anything about this woman other than what I can "see" in the photos I bought. I did a post about her several years ago entitled "I hope HER VALENTINE WAS TRUE." I've decided to feature the other photos I have of her; let you enjoy this beautiful and stylish woman.

I call her Gypsy, which would probably displease her, but there is one specific photo where she reminds me of Gypsy Rose Lee. Yes, the burlesque star; the high class stripper who my mother used to tell me about seeing when she had a stopover in Chicago while taking the train to California. She always told me the woman had style.

So take a look at the old Valentine and then the photo below. There will be 11 more in the series. This one was taken at a studio with the name "Jerome" on the back.

I can say that she lived in the San Francisco area; I do know that much. I so wish I'd bought more of her photos, but the seller at the antique store no longer has a booth.

Two Sides of WHIGHAM PHOTO in San Francisco

105 years ago today the earth shook and fire raised the city of San Francisco. This is the anniversary of the 1906 earthquake.

Today I have chosen to feature this photo from the George Kallman estate. I have no information about the children in the photo, but the photographer took some memorable photos of the aftermath of the earthquake.

I have not found any biographical information about Whigham. I'm hoping eventually someone steps forward and offers some.

The following three images showing the aftermath of the quake are from the Central Washington University Brooks Library Digital Collection, all taken by Whigham Photo. Click on the links to go to their site and see the images larger along with reference data.

The Mission at San Francisco, California; CWU Brooks Library

At home on the street at San Francisco, California;

CWU Brooks Library

Retrieving bodies at the Brunswick Hotel at San Francisco, California; CWU Brooks Library

Then there's the following little item from the January 5, 1908 newspaper The San Francisco Call from the Library of Congress archives. Click on the link to see the full page of the paper.

Apparently Whigham Photo was in the "Rooms to Let" business.

As with all old photos, you have to wonder what became of the people. Most assuredly, what became of these two children?

UPDATE: Thanks to an anonymous reader we now have a little bit of information about the Whigham Studio:

Whighams Studio was owned by Minnie Seavy of San Francisco. She had two studios one on Mission and the other on Market. One of the newspapers had a baby photo contest which she won with two photos that were titled A Breath of Heaven Day/Night. I know she also owned a few flats as well.

UPDATE: Thanks to Kevin Shiley for the following information.

Richard P Whigham, the photographer, was the older brother of my great grandmother, Matilda Whigham McCaslin. He was born in Belfast, Ireland (now Northern Ireland) and his family emigrated to Calgary, Alberta in 1872. He made his way to San Francisco sometime in the 1890’s and in the 1900 census is listed as a photographer. Minnie Seavy was his 2nd wife, he married her in 1910. He passed away in 1932, and she survived him. In the census data he was always listed as photographer. Minnie is first shown as a photographer in the 1930 census, before that under occupation it said none.