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Long before Disneyland, there was
San Francisco’s Playland at the Beach, a magical and glamorous
amusement park that is still revered by San Franciscans more than 40
years after it closed. A beloved part of old San Francisco, Playland
incorporated rides, dining, sightseeing, and socializing, and its
pioneering rides and attractions inspired the designers of the
amusement parks that followed.
San Francisco historian James R.
Smith completes his magisterial history of Playland in San
Francisco’s Playland at the Beach: The Golden Years, the sequel to
his stunning 2010 book San
Francisco’s Playland at the Beach: The Early Years. While The
Early Years told the story of the beginnings of Playland, The Golden
Years covers the years 1940 to 1972, showcasing both the dazzling
height of Playland’s postwar popularity and its decline, closure,
and destruction during its final years. Together, the two volumes
make a complete history of Playland and San Francisco recreation and
leisure, as well as an amazing collection of beautiful and historic
photographs — a wonderful companion set for any lover of old San
Francisco.
Illustrated by a huge collection of
rare black-and-white and color photographs, San Francisco’s Playland
at the Beach: The Golden Years transports the reader back in time to
experience the rides, attractions, restaurants, and
behind-the-scenes operations of the great amusement park at the
height of its glory. Comprehensively documented and illustrated, San
Francisco’s Playland at the Beach: The Golden Years is the
definitive and authoritative history of one of America’s landmark
amusement parks.
If you like this, you will love...
San Fransisco's Playland at the
Beach: The Early Years by James R Smith
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