Looking south from the Cliff House

The northern end of the Great Highway becomes Point Lobos Avenue

When I was in San Francisco last August, one destination firmly on my itinerary was Ocean Beach, the Cliff House, and the Great Highway. I was drawn there after reexamining my family slides from 1956 — which I shared back in Memory Monday weeks 8 and 9 — including images of my grandfather and my aunt walking along Ocean Beach with my mom and sister.

This corner of San Francisco has changed a lot over the past 62 years, although the Great Highway is still there, along with Ocean Beach and a more modern version of the Cliff House.

Cliff House and Seal Rocks are visible in the background

Stone retaining wall near the top of the hill

I was really hoping to re-create this photo from 1957, but as you can see in the photo below, I missed the mark. Should have walked just a little bit further down the road to the intersection with Balboa Street! Maybe next year I’ll go back and make it right…