This version of the Cliff House shows the
original 1863 structure surrounded by additional wings on both sides. |
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Glass slide (sleeve)
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"Cliff House and Shed" (stables)
by Thomas Houseworth & Co
Reverse is stamped: "HELEN D MOSELEY COLLECTION, NATIONAL STEREOSCOPIC
ASSOCIATION"
John Martini estimates the date as 1868 (post expansion) to 1881 (predates
Sutro's Norman castle addition to SE corner)
(see: full stereoview;
reverse side)
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A second photo presumably taken during the same photo shoot
Courtesy of Frank Mitchell
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Thomas Houseworth
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Courtesy of Bob Schlesinger
Plaque added to wall...
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Muybridge
Image courtesy of Blaisdell Collection
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Courtesy of Frank Mitchell
"L.S" appears on pediment, 1875 or earlier...
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Photo by Carleton E. Watkins
Courtesy of Bob Schlesinger
If you zoom in on the left structure, you will see
what looks like the letters "LS". John Martini contributes the
following... (11/12/2010)
"I came across an 1870s SF newspaper article that
explained that "LS" on the front of the Cliff House was a sort of
pun. The letters stood for two Latin words (that I now can't
remember) that also appeared on the corner of legal documents of the
era that translated to "place for the seal" -- referring to the
embossed legal seal. The pun, of course, was that the Cliff
House was also the 'place for the seal.'"
"New Railroad to
the Cliff" - Daily Alta California - July 2, 1888
Zoe Heimdal: “LS” actually stands for “locus sigilli”, Latin
words meaning. “the place for the seal”.
A google search uncovers the following passage from
Bret Harte's book "Under the Redwoods" (published 1901), in a story
titled "Bohemian Days in San Francisco" (pg 153)...
My Bohemian wanderings were confined to the
limits of the city, for the very good reason that there was little
elsewhere to go. San Francisco was then bounded on one side by the
monotonously restless waters of the bay, and on the other by a
stretch of equally restless and monotonously shifting sand dunes as
far as the Pacific shore. Two roads penetrated this waste: one to
Lone Mountain--the cemetery; the other to the Cliff House--happily
described as "an eight-mile drive with a cocktail at the end of it."
Nor was the humor entirely confined to this felicitous description.
The Cliff House itself, half restaurant, half drinking saloon,
fronting the ocean and the Seal Rock, where disporting seals were
the chief object of interest, had its own peculiar symbol. The
decanters, wine-glasses, and tumblers at the bar were all engraved
in old English script with the legal initials "L. S." (Locus
Sigilli),-- "the place of the seal."
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Daily Alta California - 10 January 1875
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The Record Union - May 19 1882
"locus sigillum - the Place of the Seal, as Charley Webb once
facetiously called the Cliff House"
(full article) (page
pdf)
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Image from PBA Galleries auction, 2024
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"10 - The Cliff House, San Fraincisco"
Continent Stereoscopic Co.
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Watkins
Image courtesy of Dennis O'Rorke
After Adolph Sutro purchased the Cliff
House in 1881, he implemented numerous changes, including the
addition of the "Norman Castle" entry structure at the southeast corner of
the building. This new entry
was constructed at least as early as 1887 based on
this
Harper Weekly illustration.
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"B 1273 Cliff House from Beach Drive, Taber Photo, San
Francisco"
Image courtesy of Bob Holloway
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"B 1274 Cliff House from Beach Drive, Taber Photo, San
Francisco"
ebay image
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"B 1701 Cliff House, Taber Photo, San
Francisco"
Note cables between shore and outcrops. Click
here for close-up. ca1882
Courtesy of Dennis O'Rorke
Collection
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Image courtesy of Dennis O'Rorke
Additional siding added to the mid floor...
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A.J. McDonald
Image courtesy of Glenn Koch
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A.J. McDonald
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Photographer: Perkins
Image courtesy of Dennis O'Rorke
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A.J. McDonald
Additional planks are added to the lower
floor, along with a "piano" billboard...
Adolph Sutro in group shot on heights, Cliff House in
background
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Cliff House, crowd of people including Adolph Sutro in foreground
Photographer: A.J. McDonald
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close-up of crowd, arrow on Adolph Sutro
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close-up of signage, porch
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Magic lantern slide, showing cliff
signage
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"BYRON MAUZY" "SOHMER PIANOS"
close-up
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Cliff House ca1890,
A.J. McDonald
Courtesy of the John Martini Collection
Note the individual on the horse. Based on other images of Adolph Sutro on
horseback this is very likely him in this photo.
Piano billboard change...
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"3 Cliff House and Seal Rocks from Parapet, Sutro Heights"
Source: OAC (link)
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Courtesy of Dennis O'Rorke
Collection
Photo likely taken sometime after March 9 1888, due to "S.F. Collateral Loan
Bank" sign, far
right.
According to
this ad the business was "Incorporated, March 9th, 1888"