San Francisco Cable Cars
San Francisco Cable Cars were built by Andrew Hallidie because he saw the difficulty that horse-drawn streetcars had in climbing Nob Hill. Hallidie's background included developing cable mechanisms to pull heavy ore cars out of mines during the gold rush. He applied this background and his knowledge of cables (a patent owned by his father) to develop San Francisco Cable Car lines. In their prime, 53 miles of cable car tracks crisscrossed the city in 21 routes. Now only three routes remain: California and Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason. Cable cars operate by latching onto a cable inside the street that moves at a constant 9.5 miles per hour.
No trip to San Francisco would be complete without a ride on the only moving National Historic Landmark in the United States. Most tourists ride the Powell-Hyde line which goes from Powell and Market over Nob Hill past Lombard Street to Hyde and Beach (near Hyde Street Pier and Ghirardelli Square). Powell and Mason is the other popular line; it begins at Powell and Market goes over Nob Hill, through North Beach and ends at Taylor and Bay (near Fishermans Wharf). The turnarounds for these lines can have extremely long lines and often you will wait for hours to board. The third line begins at California and Davis in the Financial District, cuts through Chinatown, goes over Nob Hill and ends at California and Van Ness. If you want to avoid long lines and a long wait, take your ride on the California line. Begin at California and Market, then get off either on Nob Hill (near the Fairmont Hotel) or ride all the way to Van Ness depending on what other sights you want to see. You can also board the cable car lines at many stops along their routes. However, if the car is full, drivers may not let you on (more waiting).
For more of a historical perspective on San Francisco Cable Cars, visit the Cable Car Museum at 1201 Mason Street (at Washington). Both the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines stop at the museum. Admission to the museum is free.
For more information about San Francisco Cable Cars, visit the Cable Car Website. For information about fares, schedules and routes, go to the San Francisco Municipal Railway website.
