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Great Highway at the Beach, San Francisco, 1938

Subjects
Aerial Views & PanoramasAmusement ParksAutomobilesBathing & Beach ResortsBeaches & Coastlines
Card type
Real photo
Date
c. 1938 (Linen)
Front of Great Highway at the Beach, San Francisco, 1938, Helen Feeney, PA, USA, c. 1938 real photo postcard
Front
Back of Great Highway at the Beach, San Francisco, 1938, Helen Feeney, PA, USA, c. 1938 real photo postcard
Back

About this postcard

An elevated view along the Great Highway at Ocean Beach, with rows of parked cars on the inland side and a wide promenade and sandy beach stretching to the right. Bathhouses, storefronts, and beach crowds fill the shore under a hazy sky. Anne and Red, evidently visitors, call the place a "grand amusement park" and admit they were "too busy eating hamburgers, pop-corn + candy" to ride anything. By the late 1930s the Great Highway led past Playland at the Beach, the amusement park and bathing spot that drew crowds to this stretch of the San Francisco coast.

Postcard Details

Message · English, in pen

Dear Sis, This is a grand amusement park but we didn't have time to ride on anything - we were too busy eating hamburgers, pop- corn + candy. The surf looked fun but I'll bet it was cold. Love, Anne + Red.

PublisherJ. C. Bardell
GREAT HIGHWAY AT THE BEACH SAN FRANCISCO --- GREAT HIGHWAY AT THE BEACH, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
PostmarkedSan Francisco, CA, April 15, 1938, 17:00
Stamp
Addressed to
Helen Feeney

1515 Derry St. Harrisburg, PA

Postcard record

Postmarked, San Francisco, CA
PublisherJ. C. Bardell
SeriesNo. 431
ConditionGood
Place addressedHelen Feeney, 1515 Derry St., Harrisburg, PA
PublisherSan Francisco, CA
Stamp1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1930, perforated on all sides
Stamp1c Benjamin Franklin, Scott #300, green, issued 1903
Stamp1c Benjamin Franklin, green, perforated on all sides
NotesBlack-and-white image with a white border; light staining and edge wear at bottom and top margins. Postmark: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. APR 15 5-PM 1938. The card also bears the printed heading "BUY U.S. SAVINGS BONDS / ASK YOUR PO[illegible]" (not part of the cancel). Divided-back card, white border, glossy real-photo style print; light edge wear and a few stains.

Cite this card

Great Highway at the Beach, San Francisco, 1938, postcard, c. 1938. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/great-highway-at-the-beach-san-francisco-1938. Accessed November 2, 2026.