Cliff House, San Francisco

Cliff House
Cliff House from Ocean Beach, 2010
Map
Cliff House, San Francisco is located in San Francisco County
Cliff House, San Francisco
Location within San Francisco County
Cliff House, San Francisco is located in California
Cliff House, San Francisco
Cliff House, San Francisco (California)
Cliff House, San Francisco is located in the United States
Cliff House, San Francisco
Cliff House, San Francisco (the United States)
Restaurant information
Established1863; 161 years ago (1863)
Street address1090 Point Lobos Ave
CitySan Francisco
StateCalifornia
Postal/ZIP Code94121
Coordinates37°46′42″N 122°30′50″W / 37.778394°N 122.513935°W / 37.778394; -122.513935
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

The Cliff House is a neo-classical style building perched on the headland above the cliffs just north of Ocean Beach, in the Outer Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The building overlooks the site of the Sutro Baths ruins, Seal Rocks, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The Cliff House is owned by the NPS; the building's terrace hosts a room-sized camera obscura.

For most of the Cliff House's history, since 1863, the building's main draw has been restaurants and bars where patrons could enjoy the Pacific Ocean views. Since 1977, these restaurants and bars have been run by a private operator under contract with the National Park Service. In December 2020, the 47-year operator of these amenities announced that it was closing, and it criticized the NPS for not having signed a new long-term lease with any operator since its own prior 20-year lease had expired in June 2018.[1][2][3]

Dozens of ships have run aground on the southern shore of the Golden Gate below the Cliff House.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Closure of iconic Cliff House ends a remarkable era of San Francisco's history". The Guardian. December 20, 2020.
  4. ^ Delgado, James (1 July 2009). Adventures of a Sea Hunter: In Search of Famous Shipwrecks. Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Limited. pp. 129–. ISBN 978-1-926685-60-1.