James. R. Smith is a historian who has published 4 books about San Francisco, including 2 about Playland At The Beach.
I have ordered both of his Playland books, and the pair is currently available for $35 on his web site.
I approached James about photographs from his collection which depict Skeeball and Fascination parlors at Playland circa the 1920s and 1930s, and he agreed to let me share the original scans of his photographs with the world. I use his photos in the "Beyond Japanese Rolling Ball" section of my Tamakorogashi post.
These are incredibly valuable photos for arcade research and I want to thank James again for what he is doing. All of the photos are available in their full resolution through a downloadable ZIP file. Below are the photos, just resized. (The originals are 5-17 MB each)
To help add one extra layer of barrier for the bots that scrape photos (an inevitability that will never deter me from sharing whatever I can when I can,) the password on the ZIP file is 'jamesrsmith'.
Download the photos archive (password: jamesrsmith) (If your browser doesn't like HTTP links, try copying the ZIP file's url and pasting it into a new window)
You can find James over on his website, HistorySmith. He also has two other books, The California Snatch Racket, and San Francisco's Lost Landmarks.
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| HistorySmith: Tales of California and San Francisco by James R. Smith |
On with the pictures! We have shooting gallery ranges, Spill The Milk, Skee Ball, Whirl O Ball, Fascination, Keeno, The Cony Race, and my favourite: The Monkey Pinball Race. Most of these photos seem to be from the 1930s. Some might be earlier, but hard to verify. If you spot any tell-tale clues that help discern dates in any of the photos, please comment below.
"The Arcades proved to be the big money makers at the Chutes and later at Playland. A patron standing in line to pay a dime for a ride might pay fifty cents an hour if they were serious riders. A person standing at an arcade could pay that dime every few minutes, placing up to a buck or more an hour on the mark with multiple people playing concurrently. It was all done in fun but it was serious business as well." - James R. Smith
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| Whitney's Shooting Gallery - The skunk and Bob Cat above were taxidermy specimens I am told this gallery is made by W.F. Mangels |
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| The Whitney Brothers took over Chutes At The Beach circa 1929, so all the Whitney signage points to 1929 or later. The Whitney Bros. renamed it Playland, and it was called Playland At The Beach. |
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| dapper |
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| Skee-Ball Scoring tables and Prizes I love being able to read the wall signs and examine the redemption prizes |
