Grab Bag #55
Babylands, acid-scarred roses, and three formidable women on a San Francisco vacation.
Lotta’s Fountain Event on Tuesday
Next Tuesday, September 9th, I will be doing an online show with Kerri Young (and maybe someone from the Arts Commission) on the history of Lotta’s Fountain, which turn 150 years old that day. Can you join us? It’s free.
Guess Where
Here’s our Grab Bag Guess Where, courtesy of photographer Cecil Hurd.
When and where are we with Jimbo’s Bop City, Uoki-Sakai Co., Chop Suey Noodles, Taiyo, and Jackson’s Theatre restaurant? Answer and some additional cool trivia at the bottom for Friends of Woody who can get there. (Not a Friend of Woody? Luckily my friendship can be bought.)
September Vacation Part I
You many not pass ere you answer our riddles three...
I’d say I saw this trio play a punk show in the late 1980s, but the three Fates were actually on vacation in San Francisco in 1959. The old de Young in the background was the museum I grew up with in Golden Gate Park, back when it mixed up fine oil painting with suits of armor and my whole class from Star of the Sea had to line up to see King Tut’s gold.
Babyland’s Dark History
Thanks to everyone who came out for my talk on Playland-at-the-Beach last Sunday. We had a good time and the 4 Star is such a great space for a big-screen history show.
If you missed it, I will try to do an online version of the show before the year is out. Stay tuned for that. Here’s one tidbit from the talk that I don’t think is often shared about Playland’s roots.
San Francisco’s Ocean Beach amusement zone really got going through the joint efforts of two men. The Looff Family had brought a carousel out to corner of today’s Cabrillo and Great Highway. Arthur Looff went into partnership with a neighboring concessionaire named John Friedle to start building larger rides and attractions like “Shoot the Chutes.”
Friedle had a baseball-throwing game called “Babyland,” which can be seen behind the mounted police officer below.
Who would throw baseballs at a baby? You might think Babyland was something like the knock-em-down fuzzy-faces carnival game seen below (which made a later appearance at Playland):
But you’d be wrong.