Ocean Beach Pavilion / Topsy's / Family Dog / Friends and Relations Theatre

 660 Great Highway | map |

Opened: The building had been constructed as the Ocean Beach Pavilion in 1884 at a location just north of Balboa St. This c.1890 photo shows the Seal Rock Hotel on the left and an early version of the Annex on the right. It's from the Martin Behrman Negative Collection of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and appears on the Outside Lands website. See many more Ocean Beach Pavilion photos on their site.

Jack Tillmany comments:

"The site had a long history as part of San Francisco's beloved Playland at the Beach, first as Hotaling Pavilion, later as the Ocean Pavilion, then the most fondly remembered Topsy's Roost. Afterwards it soldiered on as the Edgewater Pavilion, the Surf Club, among other identities."

 

After several years as a slotcar racing venue, the building reopened as a performance hall called Family Dog on The Great Highway on June 13, 1969 with a show by Jefferson Airplane. The organization, headed by Chet Helms, had been doing shows at the Avalon Ballroom (the later Regency II Theatre) but had lost their lease.

 

 

A Family Dog flyer located by Harry Angus for "Family Dog on the Great Highway," the page about the building on his Jerry's Brokendown Palaces site. 

 

In 1970 it was renamed Poor Richard's. It became Friends and Relations Hall in 1971. Harry comments:  

 

"It was reopened as the Friends and Relations Hall by Jim Gravainis, Steve Bowen, Vince Nunno, and Gerry Weiner on March 12, 1971 with Big Brother and the Holding Company. They also performed on April 19 with Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. Friends and Relations Hall's major success was a long run with the rock opera 'Tommy.'"

 

The production of "Tommy" was directed and choreographed by John Pasqualetti and originated at Lone Mountain College's theatre called The Wabe, 2800 Turk St. Lee Brenkman discussed the show in a post on the San Francisco Remembered Facebook page: 

 

"At the beginning of the 1970s a student production of The Who's rock opera 'Tommy' at USF/Lone Mountain College was so successful that they 'went pro' and moved the show to the former Family Dog on the Great Highway... That production ran there for several months but a planned tour was scuttled when the Robert Stigwood Organisation, who owned the theatrical rights to the show withdrew those rights. They were both surprised that a student production was doing so well, probably annoyed that they had 'gone pro' and didn't want it to interfere with the movie version of 'Tommy' that was then in pre-production."

 

An August 3, 1971 ad for "Tommy" that was located by Jack Tillmany.

 

Harry Angus adds: 

 

"In 1971 the building was also used as headquarters for an oil spill cleanup on Ocean Beach. Doc Watson performed at Friends and Relations Hall on January 22, 1972."

 

The building was re-branded as the Friends and Relations Theatre for the show "Robin." Thanks to Jack Tillmany for locating this March 31, 1972 pre-opening ad from the Examiner. The gala opening was April 5. Jack notes: 

"The only later theatrical presentation seems to have been something called 'Even Adam,' a 'modern miracle play,' which followed 'Robin' and closed 30 July 1972." 

John A. Martini notes that the last tenant to use the space was the Blue Bear Waltzes School of Music and that they offered a number of concerts later that summer.

Closing: Summer 1972 was the end. 

 

Status: The building was demolished late in 1972. The rest of the Playland at the Beach site had been cleared in September and October of that year. The site is now the Balboa Natural Area with, as Google Maps says, "restored dune vegetation and a boardwalk." The area south of Balboa St. has been redeveloped with condos. 

 

A tentative timeline of the building with data from Harry Angus, Drew Barrington, John A. Martini and other sources: 

1883 - Mooneysville by the Sea -- a squatter's resort
June 14-15, 1884 - 1906 - Ocean Beach Pavilion and Casino 

1910 - Jack Johnson Training Camp

1914 - Beach Pavilion - dance hall and beer garden

c.1922 - Bagdad Ballroom [the name resurfaced in 1930 at the Ellis St. Orpheum]

c.1925 - Sahara Club
1927 - 1928 - Hawai’Land

late 1928 - 1945 - Topsy’s Roost restaurant

1946 - 1951 Edgewater Ballroom  

1952 - 1953 - Great Barnum's at the Beach

1953 - 1966 - Surf Club 
1966 - 1968 - Slotcar Raceway 

June 13, 1969 - December 1970 - Family Dog on The Great Highway

1970 - 1971 -  Poor Richard's
March 12, 1971 - January 22, 1972 - Friends and Relations Hall 

March 31, 1972 - Summer 1972 - Friends and Relations Theatre

late 1972 - demolition
 

The structure on the south end of the building, known as the Annex, had a number of uses over the years including as a sideshow exhibiting freaks. After its demolition Skateland was built on the site, opening in 1947.

 

 

Interior views: 

 

A postcard view toward the back of the room when the building was used as Topsy's Roost restaurant. The card is one appearing on the the Wikipedia Playland page. Their comments about the building:

 

"In 1929, George Whitney relocated Topsy's Roost, a popular restaurant specializing in chicken, which had been established two years previously at the south end of the esplanade. He moved the business into the former Ocean Beach Pavilion just north of Playland at the foot of Sutro Heights. The ballroom had been constructed in 1884–85. Driving south along the beach on the Great Highway from the Cliff House, the first building you came to was Topsy’s Roost, which became more than just a chicken dinner house—it was also a popular nightclub. It had a live orchestra and dance floor and was decorated so it looked like the patrons were sitting in ramshackle chicken coops. There was seating on the main floor around the dance floor as well as the balcony. Patrons sitting on the balcony level could slide from their coops down to the dance floor if they wanted to dance. 

 

"The restaurant was named for Topsy, a character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and its decor depicted Negro stereotypes. All workers were African American, except for management. By the mid-1930s, Whitney decided to close Topsy’s Roost, focusing instead on the Cliff House restaurant. The Topsy's Roost building later became the site of the Edgewater Ballroom, a slot car raceway, the second home of Chet Helm's Family Dog Productions, and lastly, the Friends and Relations Hall. In 1947, Skateland, a roller rink, was built on an empty lot where an annex of the Ocean Beach Pavilion once stood."

A closer view of the rear of the room. Card source: Harry Angus - "Family Dog on the Great Highway" 

 

 

The front of the room. Card source: Harry Angus

 

 

A closer look at the bandstand. Card source: Harry Angus

 

A 1969 view when the venue was operated as Chet Helms' Family Dog on the Great Highway. It's a photo by an unknown photographer that appears on the Outside Lands site courtesy of John A. Martini. 

 

A look into the house from onstage in 1970 during a class held by Stephen Gaskin. It's a photo appearing on the Outside Lands site courtesy of Peter Pratt.

 

 

More exterior views: 

 

The building as the Bagdad Club c.1922. It's a photo on the Outside Lands site by an unknown photographer from the Laurie Hollings Photo Album of the James R. Smith Collection. The caption: "View south towards Ocean Beach, the Great Highway, and Chutes at the Beach. Bagdad club, Foo-Chow Cafe, Chutes, Big Dipper rides, Beach Chalet, windmills, Lurline pump station. Esplanade construction in progress."

 

 

The Pavilion re-branded as the Sahara Club c.1925. It's a photo from the Glenn Koch collection appearing on "Family Dog on the Great Highway," the page about the building on the Jerry's Brokendown Palaces site written by Harry Angus.

 

 

A c.1928 view appearing on the Outside Lands site. Also see their page "Playland at the Beach." It's by an an unknown photographer and appears in the Laurie Hollings Photo Album of the James R. Smith Collection. The caption: "Ocean Beach Pavilion building remodeled as Hawai-land dance hall at 660 Great Highway. Autos in the street. Real estate broker Gustave Moeller's home on hill above."

 

A 1935 look at the building as Topsy's Roost. It's a photo appearing on the Outside Lands site.

 

 

Looking down on Topsy's and Playland beyond. Thanks to Christopher Arellano for sharing the photo on the Facebook page San Francisco Remembered. 

 

 

A c.1952 view of The Great Barnum's at the Beach. Thanks to Harry Angus for locating the photo. He calls our attention to the "Little Topsy's for Eats" signage. 

 

 

 A 1950s look at the Surf Club. Skateland, just beyond, was on the site of the Annex, once housing a freak exhibition. Thanks to John A. Martini for the photo. It's one that appears with "Ocean Beach Pavilion," his article in the July-September 2018 issue of the Outside Lands magazine. The issue is available as a PDF.  

 

 

Another Surf Club view. Thanks to Harry Angus for locating it for "Family Dog on the Great Highway," the page about the building on his Jerry's Brokendown Palaces site. 

 

A 1967 view of the building as a slotcar racing venue. Thanks to Dave Valenti for sharing this one on the San Francisco Remembered Facebook page. He notes that Modelcar Raceways opened in 1965 and closed in 1969. Harry Angus also has a version of this on his "Family Dog on the Great Highway" page.

 

 

The building as Family Dog on the Great Highway in 1969 or 1970. Thanks to Harry Angus for the photo. 

 

 

A Family Dog photo from the collection of Dennis O'Rorke. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing it. 

 

 

"Tommy" at the theatre in 1971. Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing the photo. It's from the collection of Dennis O'Rorke. 

 

 

 

Thanks to Jack Tillmany for sharing this 1972 photo by Tom Gray that's in his collection. At the time the venue had been re-branded as the Friends and Relations Theatre for a production of "Robin" that previewed beginning March 31, 1972. 

Thanks to Harry Angus for this 1972 photo. It appears on his "Family Dog on the Great Highway" page. On the left, the side of the Friends and Relations Theatre is advertising "Even Adam," a show Jack Tillmany notes closed July 30.

 

 

A 1972 demolition view by Greg Gaar that appears on the Outside Lands site.

 

 

A 2017 view across the site, now the Balboa Natural Area, toward the Cliff House. The photo by MH appears on Google Maps.

 

 

A 2020 photo of the site that was taken by Adam Baron. The building was once in the natural area this side of the first cross street, Balboa. The photo is on Google Maps.

 

More information: See "Family Dog on the Great Highway," the page about the building that Harry Angus has exhaustively researched for his Jerry's Brokendown Palaces site.

 

For more about Playland at the Beach there's the "Whitney's Playland-At-The-Beach" page on the site PDXHistory.com, Jim Smith's "San Francisco's Playland at the Beach - The Early Years" and "Playland at the Beach - The Golden Years." 

 

There's a "Playland at the Beach" page on the Outside Lands site as well as an Outside Lands PDF of their July-September 2018 issue with articles by John A. Martini on "Ocean Beach Pavilion" and one on "Slot Car Racing at the Beach": https://www.outsidelands.org/publications/outsidelands14.3.pdf.  

 

See the SF Gate article "San Francisco's rowdy and racist chicken-themed restaurant Topsy's Roost." There's an Ocean Beach Pavilion page from the Western Neighborhoods project.

 

Wikipedia has a Playland page and there's also "Playland at the Beach - Relive the Memories" and "Playland Not At The Beach."

The Ensemble Theatre was nearby, located in a building that had been Playland's Dark Mystery ride.

 

Jack Tillmany's Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres of San Francisco" can be previewed on Google Books. It's available from Amazon or your local bookseller.  

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