I came across two interesting finds today, both related to a beautiful object that has been salvaged.

The first object is a song played on an antique guitar, which is also our musical accompaniment for this post. The musician is an Italian guitarist named Simone Ielardi and he’s playing a 1900 German parlor acoustic guitar. I don’t know if the song has a name, but in the description he writes, “Impossibile to tune with 120 years old tuners but has a great sound.”  I’ll put a link to his page at the end of the post.

The other object is related to San Francisco’s Cliff House.

The Cliff House has an interesting history. From its windows, you can see an unending expanse of the Pacific Ocean or look down the 3.5 mile Ocean Beach. As far as beaches go, Ocean Beach is dramatically beautiful but not hospitable. It’s often foggy and the water is very cold (average temperature: 55°), with strong undertows and rip currents that have carried many people out to sea, never to be seen again. There are no lifeguards and the city has put up signs discouraging anyone from entering the water. Even so, people do get in. It’s very popular with surfers. On average, Ocean Beach typically has one or two drowning deaths each year–sometimes surfers and sometimes people who were just wading.

The first iteration of Cliff House was built in 1863, and its restaurants and bars were very popular. The building suffered some damage from an explosion in the 1880s (a topic for another post!) but it remained in operation until it was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day in 1894.

The second Cliff House was completed in 1896 on the same site. The new building was much grander than the first; a 7-story chateau perched precariously on the rocky cliffs. Like its predecessor, this Cliff House featured popular restaurants and bars. People came from all over the world to see and photograph the Cliff House, including William Jennings Bryan, John D. Rockefeller, President McKinley, and President Theodore Roosevelt. The second Cliff House withstood the catastrophic 1906 earthquake but burned to the ground on September 7, 1907.

From RareHistoricalPhotos.com

The third Cliff House was built on the same site in 1909 and is still there today. I’ve visited this Cliff House. They have a beautiful view! The building is described as neoclassical but I’m not sure that’s correct.

From alchetron.com

Anyway, most of the photographs of the second Cliff House were taken outside to showcase its dramatic appearance. The salvaged object is a tintype of a couple in the courtyard. Perhaps they had dined there or had a cocktail, but they appear to be leaving. I really like this picture. There’s something so appealing about its imperfections, and I love their hats. The lines over their heads are probably telephone wires.

From cliffhouseproject.com

Did you like the song? Visit Simone Ielardi’s YouTube channel.

Happy Friday!