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REMEMBERING PLAYLAND AT THE BEACH
Returning Friday, August 13th! Shows daily at 12:30pm!
Sneak Preview excitement at the Balboa.
Official Website.
After sold out sneak preview screenings of Tom Wyrsch’s film, REMEMBERING PLAYLAND AT THE BEACH, the fascinating documentary about one of San Francisco’s favorites destinations opened at the Balboa Theatre on Friday, April 23. The theater is a dozen blocks from the site of the beloved amusement park. Now, after high demand, it returns once again on Friday, August 13. It will show daily at 12:30pm.
The full length documentary tells the history of San Francisco's famous 10-acre seaside amusement park, Playland at the Beach. Located next to Ocean Beach, it was torn down in 1972 to make way for a condominium development. Gone now for more than 3 decades, it remains one of the city's lost treasures. Go back in time to see Laffing Sal, the Fun House, the Carousel, the Big Dipper, the Diving Bell, Dark Mystery, Limbo, Fun-tier Town, and much, much more, all through the eyes of the people who were there. The first and only documentary ever made about Playland, it features 12 interviews, 20 minutes of archival footage, 187 photographs and original music. The film was written and directed by Tom Wyrsch.
A large lobby display of Playland at the Beach photographs, posters, articles, and other memorabilia will be on exhibit during the engagement. Also on display will be original Playland items, like a “Dark Mystery" ride car, Playland tickets, signs, and a few surprises. The perfect addition for seeing the movie and going back to Playland again!
The famous ice cream sandwiches created at Playland, IT’S IT, will be for sale at the Balboa snack bar.
Take a look at the first sneak preview’s crowd.
Hockey Haven across the street from the Balboa will be serving Playland drink specials after the show where fans will gather to remember their own experiences at Playland.
Read an interview with George K. Whitney about his family’s operation of Playland.
Other articles and home movies on the Western Neighborhoods Site
Playland-Not-At-The-Beach is a wonderful museum of fun dedicated to the real thing.
“Laffing Sal’s place in local pop-culture history is assured, even if the mechanical harridan did traumatize at least some of the young visitors to San Francisco’s long-gone and much-missed amusement park Playland at the Beach. Several of the subjects interviewed in Tom Wyrsch’s wonderful documentary recall how terrifying her banshee howl could be. Not as terrifying, however, as the Diving Bell ride, which plunged thrill seekers into a tank of water and then shot them up a hydraulic shaft. Seems that in its later years, the diving chamber leaked copiously and its windows were covered with a sinister layer of algae. Whitney’s Playland, located at the farthest western verge of San Francisco by Ocean Beach and just below the Sutro Baths, opened in 1928 and lasted until 1972. Wyrsch’s film lovingly re-creates some of the spectacle of this 365-day-a-year carnival with old pictures and film footage plus lots of interviews, many of them with members of a group dedicated to maintaining a museum of Playland relics. Among many bits of fascinating trivia is the revelation that some of Playland’s best minds were whisked away by a guy named Disney to build an even bigger and better place called Disneyland. The only oversight is the failure to mention that at the end of The Lady From Shanghai, Orson Welles’ character is seen walking past the Funhouse at Playland.” - Michael S. Gant of Movie & Television Arts
"The Playland documentary was better than one could have hoped for. Thank you and to all that helped make those memory's live forever. A full house at the Balboa Theater was a real treat to be a part of on opening night. If not for you I would have missed it. My Mom and countless family and friends, I know will enjoy it as much as I did. I would love to buy your DVD to share with my family, a part of my childhood that they will never know. Thank you sooooo much." - Dan Zelinsky, Musee Mecanique
"Get over to the Balboa Theater in San Francisco without delay to see the exclusive screenings of REMEMBERING PLAYLAND, Tom Wyrsch's one-hour documentary about the San Francisco amusement park that entertained countless generations with its thrill rides and oddball attractions (remember Laffin' Sal?) at the foot of Ocean Beach. Wyrsch has turned Playland at the Beach into a twilight zone all its own by unearthing historic film footage and photos that vividly re-create the unique look and feel of the seaside attraction. A dozen interviewees describe the park's most unusual features and pieces of history, turning this into a fascinating time-travel journey. You relive the joys and anomalies of a carnival-like world now lost. But now, thanks to Wyrsch, they will never be forgotten." - John Stanley, former "Creature Features" Host
"Remembering Playland is a wonderful trip down memory lane. For those of us who loved Playland this superb film brings to life again an unforgettable part of our lives. If you never experienced Playland this wonder filled look at a vanished part of San Francisco will give you a taste of what was and what must never be forgotten. Three cheers for Remembering Playland!" - John F. Rothmann, Talk Show Host KGO News
