Streetcars and cable cars have stirred the imaginations of countless young San Franciscans for 150 years. Here, lightly edited, are childhood memories of three of our members. Market Street Railway continues to work to interest today’s young San Franciscans in the importance of clean, safe, efficient public transit.
May 15, 1932 was perhaps the peak of San Francisco’s streetcar era. True, a few unimportant lines had been abandoned in the previous few years, but on this day, San Francisco celebrated a brand-new streetcar line: Market Street Railway’s 31-Balboa. It would be the last new line with substantial new trackage until the F-line opened along the Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf 68 years later.
…that the F-Market streetcar line became the F-Market & Wharves streetcar line, with the opening of the extension from First and Market Streets to Jones and Beach, connecting Downtown to the Ferry Building, The Embarcadero, and Fisherman’s Wharf. On March 4, 2000, the extension created what we call the “Steel Triangle” of rail: the two Powell cable lines and the F-line.
By Rick Laubscher, Market Street Railway President
San Francisco didn’t always have a reputation for openness and inclusion. The city’s past has been marred by discrimination in many forms. For example, before World War II, all but a small number of city employees were white.
SAVE THE F-LINE AND OUR HISTORIC STREETCARS!
Keep the Past Present in San Francisco in 2025
Our slogan “THE PAST IS PRESENT IN SAN FRANCISCO” adorns this limited edition tee featuring San Francisco’s own PCC Streetcar #1040 in its glorious Green & Cream with wings livery. Join us in advocating for the continuation of the F-line historic streetcar service with our own celebratory design. Adult sizes in Black.
This 100% cotton tee is available exclusively from Market Street Railway and the San Francisco Railway Museum. Quantities are limited.
What? Some of us are still hung over from New Year’s Eve, and you’re already thinking of 2026?
Yep.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of our popular “Museums in Motion” wall calendar. To celebrate, we’ve included a page showing thumbnails of all 20 calendars. It’s quite a tour of Muni’s historic rail fleet in and of itself. Shout out to our dedicated and most talented designer, David Dugan! (We like that collage of 20 calendar covers so much that we made a 300-piece puzzle out of it.
