San Francisco's cable cars are an internationally recognized symbol of the city, but they also have a long and fractious history. There are actually three cable lines in operation today: the California Street line and the two Powell Street lines the Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde. The Powell Street lines have been the subject of much controversy through the years, due to a complex lineage of private and public ownership. Cable cars on Powell Street began in 1888, operating under the Ferries and Cliff House Railway Company and utilizing the same basic design pioneered by Andrew Hallidie in 1873. Among the story's twists and turns are the line's actual routes following the 1906 earthquake, which caused heavy damage and forced major repairs. Post-quake, United Railroads was able to replace many of the cable car lines with streetcars, including a part of the Powell Street system. San Francisco at one time had eight separate cable car operators. Gradually most were replaced by streetcars, buses, and trolley buses, given the complexities and expense of cable systems. The Powell lines were taken over by the city in 1944, but the mayor tried to abandon them in 1947. The public disapproved of this move, and since then the Powell Street line has only grown in stature and its importance to San Francisco.
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In this volume, cable car historians Emiliano Echeverria and Walter Rice, authors of San Francisco's California Street Cable Car: Celebrating a Century and a Quarter of Service, illustrate the detailed history of this important transit line with more than 200 vintage images. Both residents and visitors alike are sure to enjoy learning more about this prominent San Francisco icon.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If You Left Your Heart on a Cablecar,
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This review is from: San Francisco's Powell Street Cable Cars (Images of Rail) (Paperback)
This collection of 200 or so photographs cover San Francisco's famous cable cars as they have run with fairly minor changes since the 1890's. Pictures show the cars, the operating system, the growth, the 1906 earthquake and fire and the rebuilding of the system. They show the major reconstruction of the system in the early 1980's when it was discovered (among other things) that the cablecar barn had been assembled incorrectly when it was built after the fire in 1907.
The cable cars are a symbol of San Francisco right up there with the Golden Gate Bridge and Tony Bennett's song. They are one of the things that no politician (the system is now owned by the city) would dare propose ending. These pictures show the love that the two collecters have put into their labor of colleting them. The book is probably not going to appeal to the general public, but to the cablecar affectionado there's no alternative.
5.0 out of 5 stars
San Francisco's Powell Street Cable Cars,
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This review is from: San Francisco's Powell Street Cable Cars (Images of Rail) (Paperback)
A great book by a great Author. I personally knew Walter Rice and he was just the best when it came to San Francisco's Cable Car history.
Plenty of info & photographs in this publication. A must have for a Cable Car Fan!
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First Sentence:
San Francisco of the mid-1880s had spread out beyond the South-of-Market Street and North Beach districts into the Mission District, andwest into the Western Addition to the cemeteries (today's Presidio Avenue), halfway to the Pacific Ocean. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
car storage area, cable car service, new turntable, cable car system, cable car lines, extensive rebuilding, combination cars, street railway Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Powell Street, Market Street Railway, John Mentz, Walt Vielbaum, San Francisco, Jackson Street, Richard Schlaich, Cliff House Railway, Carter Bros, Washington Street, United Railroads, Courtesy Walter Rice, Mason Street, Hyde Street, California Street, Central Avenue, Sacramento Street, Bay Street, Steiner Street, Friedel Klussmann, Samuel Kahn, Courtesy Emiliano Echeverria, Union Square, Mahoney Bros, Courtesy Randolph Brant Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
San Francisco of the mid-1880s had spread out beyond the South-of-Market Street and North Beach districts into the Mission District, andwest into the Western Addition to the cemeteries (today's Presidio Avenue), halfway to the Pacific Ocean. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
car storage area, cable car service, new turntable, cable car system, cable car lines, extensive rebuilding, combination cars, street railway Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Powell Street, Market Street Railway, John Mentz, Walt Vielbaum, San Francisco, Jackson Street, Richard Schlaich, Cliff House Railway, Carter Bros, Washington Street, United Railroads, Courtesy Walter Rice, Mason Street, Hyde Street, California Street, Central Avenue, Sacramento Street, Bay Street, Steiner Street, Friedel Klussmann, Samuel Kahn, Courtesy Emiliano Echeverria, Union Square, Mahoney Bros, Courtesy Randolph Brant Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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