The Cliff House
Second manifestation
San Francisco, California
1896 - 1907
Adolph Sutro was a well-educated engineer, born in Prussia, who made his money as King of the Comstock, pumping water and toxic gasses from the tunnels of the Comstock Lode. With his hard-earned wealth, he bought up real estate in San Francisco, served as mayor from 1894 to 1896, and became an entrepreneur. His two most famous venues were the Cliff House (the second and by far most flamboyant of four, the last still extant), an eight-storey Victorian restaurant modeled after a French chateau, and the Sutro Baths, located on the beach below. The Cliff House provided splendid dining and dancing; the baths boasted seven pools of varying sizes and temperatures (one of fresh water, the others filled with sea water) that drew the get-fit crowds in the Gay Nineties and beyond.
Sutro Baths, exterior
b
Sutro Baths, interior
Very evocative pictures of the second Cliff House and other manifestations (some in 3-D; you can order glasses for $2 from this site) can be found at www.sanfranciscomemories.com/cliff/history.html.
THE SECOND CLIFF HOUSE: FROM BIRTH TO DEATH
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