On the bluff above the Cliff House, a pair of stone lions guards the gate to a quiet, windblown park. Sutro Heights Park is what remains of the estate of Adolph Sutro, the Comstock silver millionaire who later became mayor of San Francisco.
A Victorian pleasure garden
The National Park Service says Sutro bought more than 22 acres on a headland overlooking the Cliff House and Seal Rocks in 1881. There he built his home and an elaborate garden with flower beds, hedge mazes, a parapet overlook, a conservatory, an observatory and a water tower. He imported more than 200 concrete copies of Greek and Roman statues from Belgium. Sutro opened the grounds to the public in 1885. Visitors included President Benjamin Harrison, Oscar Wilde and Andrew Carnegie, and an 1895 production of 'As You Like It' drew 5,000 people.
Below the heights, a 250-foot balcony called Dolce Far Niente, or 'sweet to do nothing,' hung off the cliff over Ocean Beach. Next to the parapet, a photo gallery built in 1894 sold tintypes and rented 'marine glasses' for watching the sea lions on Seal Rocks.
Decline and rescue
After Sutro died in 1898, his daughter Emma Sutro Merritt kept the grounds open with a much smaller staff, and the gardens fell into neglect. The family gave the property to the city on the condition that it be kept as a free public park. In 1938 and 1939, the Works Progress Administration demolished the run-down buildings, including the house, the photo gallery and the balcony, which had been damaged by landslides. Emma died in 1938, still living in the family home. In 1976 the park became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The Park Service has since restored historic features and cleared overgrown areas.
What to see now
Climb the parapet for the view Sutro designed the garden around: Ocean Beach, Seal Rocks and the coastline. The entrance lions and a statue of Diana the Huntress survived the 1939 cleanup. The park makes an easy add-on to a Lands End walk.