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This vintage photo of Sunset Cliffs must be over a 100 years old (I’ll let Kathy Blavatt decide) as you can see that large pink mansion at the corner of Osprey.
But check out those huge sink holes between the street and the cliffs. They prove that the cliffs just keep changing.
Photo sent the Rag by Larry OB, a former OBcean and expert of the Cliffs.
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The Thursday Club was built in 1921, is on the triangular block at the top of the hill. The Mills Manor (Pink House) was built in 1926. Mill’s and his partner’s housing development mostly came after that. They started to build Spanish Mission-style homes on every block where they could be seen. There were covenants on the homes. Then the depression hit. Many of the homes went into default and sat empty for years.
Mills restored the Spaldings’ park (along the North end of Sunset Cliffs). Decades later, the sinkhole and linking caves were filled in. The photo was taken circa 1929 or early 1930s.
Thanks so much; you are OB’s designated historian.
Actually, The Thursday Club was founded in 1921 but the clubhouse wasn’t built until 1927.
Do I remember correctly? Larry is a historical treasure himself – he used to have a webpage, and photographed the INSIDE of the caves along Sunset Cliffs, probably the only photographs ever! Thank you, Larry (if I do indeed have the right person).
Yes, guilty as charged. About twenty five years ago, I discovered a failing seawall South of Adair Street. One of the large hexagonal pieces was tilting outward. I went down to the beach level, and discovered a sea cave had formed in the soft fill dirt behind the wall. A lot of metal reinforcing straps were hanging down in the void. I alerted the park advisory group. This was an urgent problem. I knew the ceiling had to be thin. A rain storm opened up a hole about the size of baseball. That got the city motivated to do an emergency repair. I think it took two days to fill it with a sand slurry. They also added some rip rap. The wall was only twenty years when it nearly failed.
Larry OB, this is amazing! I am surprised to find that you posted your experience with the seawall at the same time I was sorting out my reasons for opposing a new $32+ million seawall at this very location. I hope you’ll be willing to share your dramatic first hand account with the powers that be before they vote on this project.
Can you believe this? I have a copy of your old website, dated 2004. I downloaded it when you said you were leaving town. (This was not such a big legal thing in those days). THANK YOU for all you did then, and for still being around now!
Was it a website with bellyboards and lamaroos?
Getting back to that vintage photo of Sunset Cliffs…those sinkholes are sometimes called keyhole caves, because they have a narrow passage that leads to a rounded cave that has a beachy floor. The waves lose energy in the narrow passage, and then slosh around while eroding in a circular pattern. So the floor plan of the cave resembles a keyhole when it is mapped. The circular portion of the cave can lose its ceiling and become a sinkhole. These types of caves should be considered important habitat for a lot of different creatures. Somebody (maybe Mr. Spaulding) signed the death warrant for those two keyhole caves when he built his jaunty, adventurous road way too close, stupidly close, to the edge of the cliff. The city has lied to us over the years. They like to say that the rate of erosion caught them by surprise. The vintage photo speaks the truth….the road was built way too close to the edge of the cliff in numerous places. Then utilities were placed into the road that was too close to the edge. Dumb an dumber.
Wonderful to see your comments again! For those of you who don’t know Larry, he is a true expert. He not only knows those caves, he’s been inside them!