Mark Twain, during an 18-week stint as a full time reporter for the Morning Call, wrote one of his first articles about visiting the Cliff House. In June 1864 he wrote, “If one tire of the drudgeries and scenes of the city, and would breathe the fresh air of the sea, let him take the cars and omnibuses, or, better still, a buggy and pleasant steed, and, ere the sea breeze sets in, glide out to the Cliff House”.
A very good friend of mine, Tom Direnzo, posed this question to me last week, "What should happen to the Cliff House?" Since the 1980's, I often have wondered and dreamed about the settings of the Cliff House and the ruins of the Sutro Baths. What was it like in earlier 1900's? Was the Cliff House a treat for any and all living and visiting the fair city of San Francisco? What were the baths like?
And now in the later stages of the pandemic where we are trying to return to our former ways of life and work with caution, I think again about what could one do to the Cliff House to bring it forward into a new age and new use? In addition to the fabulous views, and wonderful sea air, what could we consider?
Consider the pandemic as a wake-up call from “Mother Nature“ demanding that we figure out how to: consume less; to clean up our spaces and places and cities; to practice smart manufacture processes; to farm locally and responsibly; to reduce livestock farming; to clean our oceans and remove all plastic; to work with little or no travel by air; to fight and remove toxins; to promote equality; to learn how to respect the earth and recognize that we have to get in synch; to slow down and enjoy life; and to nurture our environment and our delicate ecosystems.
With those new guidelines, and measures we should follow, the Cliff House building and the surrounding site area could be considered as a perfect opportunity, a new total Experience, to transform the set of terraced spaces into a new hybrid mixture of functions to include education, research, nutrition, history, tidal and solar and wind energy, and food supply.
Some of these new spaces and experiences could include:
Once established and running, this Cliff House project can serve as an example where settings for human activity nurtures the ecosystems that we all depend on — a world of sustainable regions; empowered and resilient communities; zero waste and zero toxics and zero regrets; equal access to healthy food; sustainable resource development and use; and a safe and healthy ocean and climate.
What do you think?
What would you propose?
Oh I just love this. I've always been captivated about that entire part of the City--Sutro Baths, Playland, the Gondola, and Clif House. I love how this overview has brought it into the 21st Century, summoning Mother Nature as both inspiration and a hovering mandate. Making it a place for learning, in a city where many kids who live there have never been to the ocean, let alone understand the ecosystems that we all depend on. The opportunity for demonstration areas, so kids can learn about where their food comes from (via soil and the ocean). It is a vision for equitable access, with unlimited teaching moments for educators and parents to seize!
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring thoughts and images! From growing up as a kid in the neighborhood, I remember Sutro Baths as a weekend destination where we strapped on our ice skates and marveled at the exhibits in the Musee Mechanique-- the exotic Tucker car, the working logging camp made out of toothpicks by prison convicts, the statue into which the artist had translated his body hair(!)-- there were many fascinating objects. The mid-century Cliff House was a fancy place to go on special occasions, but even then only a shadow of its original Victorian grandeur. Although the Baths and the Cliff House were popular places of entertainment and recreation, they lacked the environmental awareness and purpose that we can now approach this amazing site with. Doug's vision of the Cliff House as a place of education, nutrition, and energy, all tied to the seaside location, is a vision of a future that is far richer than the places that I grew up with.
ReplyDeleteDoug... how inspiring - to take a historic gem and give it new life. I wonder if this could be an adjunct to the zoo - since they are in close proximity. Then Cliff House could draw from the grants, funding from zoo base, along with cross-marketing. Wishing you well...
ReplyDeleteThank you Doug for always being so generous in sharing your gifts with the world. I love your ideas. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteDoug, you make me want to go there and enjoy the things you're envisioning. I wonder if this is something you can talk to Verda about too with her activism and see if you can band SF architects together. Thank you for sharing!
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