When I moved to the Bay Area, one of the first places we had lunch was the Cliff House. I had no idea of the history behind the place. I just enjoyed the Pacific Ocean views, the sea gulls and the sea lions out on the rocks.

Perhaps this is where the saying “Third time is a charm” comes from, since the previous 2 Cliff Houses were burned down. The third was built in 1909 and in 1977 was acquired by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The Cliff House history page says this about the 3 versions of the Cliff House:

The first Cliff House was a modest structure built in 1863 by Masters Butler and Buckley…On Christmas Day 1894, the Cliff House was destroyed by fire.

Sutro spent $50,000 in 1896 to rebuild the Cliff House in grandiose style…This exquisite building survived the 1906 earthquake only to succumb to a raging fire the following year.

A third Cliff House was built in 1909 by Sutro’s daughter Emma…The Cliff House was remodeled several times before the National Park Service acquired it in 1977. Today the Cliff House is preserved as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

We constantly look for interesting places to go and history of our City. So keep coming back to see what we’ve found!

- Mick Orton