The First Cliff House

Charles Butler, a real estate speculator, built the first frame-and-clapboard Cliff House on the edge of the ocean in 1863. Extremely popular with the fashionably well-off, who could afford the toll roads and horses to get there (and the menu prices on arrival), it was expanded in 1868.

But by the early 1880s, transportation to the beach had improved to the extent that the ordinary folks could make the trip. High society began to abandon the Cliff House as fancier and more elaborate resorts emerged.

Captain Junius Foster, who ran the business for Butler, adapted by courting to a more "sporting" clientele. Before long, the Cliff House became known as "a den of gamblers and prostitutes."

In 1881, Adolph Sutro purchased the Cliff House and most of the land around it, moving into the cottage on the promontory above. He hired James Wilkins to make it a "respectable resort with no bolts on the doors or beds in the house." Sutro displayed educational material inside, such as rare coins and natural artifacts from his collection and attracted families to the establishment.

Sutro vowed to rebuild. The newspapers asked him not to get carried away with something too ornate...

The Cliff House Story, Part Two

The Cliff House Story, Part Three

Images: 1) A Currier and Ives rendition of the first Cliff House by moonlight; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; 2) First Cliff House (with minor renovations), Roy D. Graves Pictorial Collection, BANC PIC 1905.17500--ALB, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

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Page launched 12/06/01, Updated 1/11/02