Local historian Woody LaBounty will appear at the 4 Star Theatre to give an illustrated talk on Playland at the Beach, an amusement park which operated at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach from the 1910s to 1972. Using historical photos, maps, and ephemera, the big-screen presentation will show how an early railroad line to the beach gave rise to saloons, waffle houses, shooting galleries, and eventually a zone of children’s rides, roller coasters, and dance halls. Playland’s rise and fall reflected popular and public debates on race, recreation, land use, and public enjoyment of San Francisco’s coastline— conversations still with us today.

LaBounty is a researcher, writer, and President & CEO of San Francisco Heritage. He was a co-founder of the Western Neighborhoods Project, a nonprofit focused on the history of western San Francisco, and writes weekly on city history at SanFranciscoStory.com.