The Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods are often seen as sleepy, quiet communities for families, immigrants, surfers and college students. People from outside the area rarely visit for entertainment unless they are attending a concert in Golden Gate Park or spending the day at the beach on a rare warm day. However, this part of the City has changed dramatically since San Francisco’s early days. At one point, it was a hotbed for amusement and leisure.

On the evening of July 15, the SF Public Library hosted a lecture at the Anza Branch about the area’s history. Presenting a slideshow titled “The Outside Lands: A History of Entertainment and Amusement,” Rory O’Connor described an area that had a rich and varied history over the last 150 years.

O’Connor, a former newspaper reporter and current public relations executive, has been researching the history of the Sunset and Richmond districts for years.

“Every time I look deeper, there’s another great story to learn; it’s a lot of fun,” he said.

From the 1880s until the ’70s, people came from all over the region to experience what the neighborhood had to offer. People came to eat, dance, swim, ice skate, enjoy amusement park rides and games, or just spend a day at the beach. O’Connor described this part of the city as different from the rest of San Francisco because much of what happened here was “far removed from the more traditional stories of San Francisco history.”

O’Connor regaled the audience with stories of the rich and famous who visited this pocket of San Francisco. Charlie Chaplin filmed a movie, heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson trained, and Olympian and actor Johnny Weissmuller swam in the western edge of the City. A stunt woman named Velma the Daredevil even strapped herself to one of the blades of the Murphy Windmill as it rotated through the air. Nonetheless, the entertainment was not just for daredevils and movie stars, it appealed to people of all walks of life.

The original attraction was the Cliff House. It was first built in 1863 when miles of sand dunes separated downtown San Francisco from the Pacific Ocean. However, in time, the city and its infrastructure expanded to make the western edge of San Francisco accessible to all. Although the Cliff House has been destroyed multiple times by fire or explosion, the building is currently home to its fourth iteration at the same location as the original.

The lecture also covered the famous Sutro Baths. Despite the fact that only ruins remain today, it was once a thriving swimming pool complex. Built in 1896 by the wealthy businessman and former mayor Adolph Sutro, the baths were a popular place to swim, ice skate and socialize.