More than a few people, as
the song goes, left their hearts in
San Francisco. Folks in the area still pine
for Playland-At-The-Beach, the park operated
by brothers George and Leo Whitney. Even though
the place closed in 1972, the nostalgic sentiment lives on.
Whether you recall the Big Dipper coaster, the "It's-It" ice cream

sandwiches or the Diving Bell, there's one thing that everyone who ever visited Playland will never forget: Laffing Sal in her place of honor outside the funhouse. How many throngs strolled
by over the years, giggling along with her or perhaps looking away to avoid her rather freakish countenance and the endless cacaphony of her mirthful wail? Either way, Sal didn't care. She laughed with you or at you; the choice was yours. But today, Playland is no more, having been replaced by a large residential development over 30 years ago. And yet somehow, Sal, who symbolized Playland more than any other ride, attraction or memory, escaped...with her "laff".