Playland at the Beach Lives On

Playland at the Beach Lives On, a set on Flickr.

Remember San Francisco's Playland at the Beach? You don't? Oh well, you're probably a lot younger than I and can be forgiven.

While Playland no longer exists, having gone seedy and even scary in the 60's and then got itself replaced with condos and a supermarket when no one thought it worth the face lift, some of it lives on. Like at the Musee Mechanique at San Francisco's Pier 43.5 and Playland Not at the Beach in El Cerrito on the east side of the bay.

Both are worth a visit. The Musee Mechanique is free and fun though you might just drop a few quarters into a machine or two to see how they work and take you to a yesterday when fun was a much simpler and cheaper endeavor.