by Joyce Slaton posted in Products & Prizes

Cities all used to look different from each other. But then chains ate up the mom & pop restaurants, stores, gas stations, and markets. Soon, Chicago started looking like Cleveland, Tampa began strongly resembling San Diego, and Philadelphia and Portland became twinsies.
But not every distinctive spot has died out. In every city, old-school joints hang on, delighting kids and adults alike with odd remnants of a quirkier past. Since many parents enjoy sharing the stuff from their childhoods with their own kids, they're one of the most enthusiastic fan bases for vintage spots.
So, since San Francisco is BabyCenter's home and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, we thought we'd point out some of the most interesting vintage restaurants and recreation spots in our own backyard. If readers like this post, we'll go on to find kid-friendly retro spots in other tourist-laden cities like Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, for help with San Francisco, I enlisted author Laura Smith Borrman of 2015's Discovering Vintage San Francisco: A Guide to the City?s Timeless Eateries, Bars, Shops & More, a lovingly reported book about S.F. spots with vintage charm.
1. Cliff House
The Cliff House in the 1960s

This beautiful restaurant has stood on the cliffs north of Ocean Beach since 1896, built first from lumber salvaged from a shipwreck, and given its neoclassical curren...