Open Shutter to the Past: San Francisco in Pictures – Ocean Beach Cleanup (1948)

 

Welcome back to Photo Friday – my little way of taking a break from San Francisco Real Estate and instead blogging about our great City’s past instead. All photos are published with permission from the San Francisco History Center and San Francisco Public Library.

The word around the weather channels is that this weekend is going to be NICE in the City!  Today, the weather is supposed to hit the mid 80’s in parts of SF.

And when the weather heats up around SF,  people in flock to Ocean Beach to cool down.  Unfortunately, these same beachgoers bring with them trash, bottles, cigarette butts and general filth.  A photo I took with my cameraphone on a hot April day gives you an idea of the aftermath. 

And apparently, people have been trashing the beach since long before I was born. 

Today’s Photo Friday shows the “Sand Cleanup Machine!”  The newscopy that went with the photo in 1948:

“BEACH CLEANUP STARTS-There shouldn’t be any broken glass, cigaret [sic] butts or other annoying refuse in the sands of Ocean Beach any more, now that the city’s new sifting and cleaning machine is in action. The device, which cost $9433, went to work yesterday afternoon. It will take a month to go through all the sand from the zoo to the Cliff House.”

Hmmm… I’m not sure how well the machine really worked, but if people trashed the beach then like they do now, I’m guessing that machine wore out after just a few days of cleaning. 

Anyhow – it’s too nice outside to be writing long blog posts, so this about wraps things up for the day.  Get out there and enjoy the nice weather!

Oh, and please, if you do come to the beach to escape from the heat in the rest of the City, please – be coureous and take your trash with you when you leave. 

Thanks and Happy Friday!