San Francisco’s Cliff House began as a modest coastal resort in 1863, but its history is a succession of new buildings, fires and near-disasters. The famous 1887 explosion involved the schooner Parallel, which carried black powder—not a cargo the National Park Service identifies as dynamite. The grand Victorian Cliff House later survived the 1906 earthquake, only to burn the following year.
A remote resort on San Francisco’s coast
The first Cliff House opened at Lands End in 1863, overlooking Seal Rocks and the Pacific. It was a modest, one-story wood-frame resort, reached by a long journey on horseback. It was not the ornate Victorian landmark seen in many historic images; that building came decades later.
After the resort fell into decline, Adolph Sutro acquired it in the 1880s. He set out to restore it as a family destination and promoted easier access to the coast.
The 1887 explosion of the schooner Parallel
In January 1887, the schooner Parallel left the Golden Gate carrying cargo that included 42 tons of black powder. Headwinds and a strong tide made progress difficult, and the crew abandoned the vessel near Point Lobos. It grounded close to the Cliff House.
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After midnight on January 16, the explosives detonated, destroying the schooner and damaging the resort. The National Park Service says debris traveled more than a mile. Its account also reports that more than 50,000 spectators came to view the damage the next morning; that figure is a historical estimate, not a verified census.
The explosion did not end the Cliff House. The Park Service recounts that Sutro told reporters, “So long as nobody was killed it was all right.” This is a reported historical quotation reproduced in the agency’s account.
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Three buildings, three different fates
| Building | Construction and opening | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| First Cliff House | One-story wood frame; opened in 1863 | Destroyed by fire on Christmas Day 1894 |
| Victorian replacement | Eight-story wood-frame building; opened in 1896 | Survived the 1906 earthquake, then burned in September 1907 |
| Third Cliff House | Reinforced concrete and steel; opened in 1909 | The National Park Service acquired the property in 1977 |
The 1894 fire destroyed the original resort. Adolph Sutro then built a far grander, eight-story Victorian replacement, which opened in 1896.
The earthquake survivor that burned in 1907
The Victorian Cliff House survived San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake. Its survival was temporary: a fire destroyed it in September 1907. These were separate events, and the earthquake did not cause the fire described in the Park Service’s history.
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Sutro had died by the time of the 1907 fire. His daughter, Emma Sutro Merritt, arranged for a third building, less ornate than its predecessor and made of reinforced concrete and steel. It opened in 1909.
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The succession of buildings reflects the Cliff House’s changing fortunes: a modest wood-frame resort, a lavish Victorian replacement and then a more restrained structure built with reinforced concrete and steel. The National Park Service acquired the property in 1977 as part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
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For the Park Service’s histories of the buildings and the Parallel explosion, see Cliff House History, Vestiges of Shipwrecks and Vestiges of the Cliff House.
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