San Francisco Cable Car Museum

The Cable Car Museum is a free museum in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 1201 Mason Street, it contains historical and explanatory exhibits on the San Francisco cable car system, which can itself be regarded as a working museum.[1]

Cable Car Museum
Exterior of the Ferries and Cliff House Railway Co. building which was constructed in 1887 and houses the cable car winding station, motors, and museum. The smoke stack in the rear was damaged in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, restored then soon decommissioned when steam power was replaced with electrical power at the winding station.
San Francisco Cable Car Museum is located in San Francisco
San Francisco Cable Car Museum
Location within San Francisco
San Francisco Cable Car Museum is located in California
San Francisco Cable Car Museum
San Francisco Cable Car Museum (California)
San Francisco Cable Car Museum is located in the United States
San Francisco Cable Car Museum
San Francisco Cable Car Museum (the United States)
Established1853
Location1201 Mason Street
San Francisco, California, United States
Coordinates37.794675°N 122.411396°W / 37.794675; -122.411396
TypeRailway museum
Websitecablecarmuseum.org

Exhibits
  • Reconstruction of powerhouse (July 1907)
    Reconstruction of powerhouse (July 1907)
  • Layout of Cable Car Museum; primary exhibit space is on the northwest mezzanine level
    Layout of Cable Car Museum; primary exhibit space is on the northwest mezzanine level
  • Preserved Clay Street Hill Railroad No. 8
    Preserved Clay Street Hill Railroad No. 8
  • Motors and winding wheels; the signs above each cable ("Hyde", "California", "Mason", and "Powell") show which line it is driving.
    Motors and winding wheels; the signs above each cable ("Hyde", "California", "Mason", and "Powell") show which line it is driving.
  • Preserved Sutter Street Railway No. 46 and 54
    Preserved Sutter Street Railway No. 46 and 54
  • Car depot (car barn)
    Car depot (car barn)

The museum contains several preserved cable cars, together with smaller exhibits and a gift shop. The cable cars displayed include:[2]

The museum is part of the complex that also houses the cable car power house, which drives the cables, and the car depot ("barn"). The car depot is not open to the public, but two galleries allow visitors to view the power house from above, and to descend below the junction of Washington and Mason streets to view the large cavern where the haulage cables are routed via large sheaves out to the street.[2]

The museum was established in 1974, and is run by the Friends of the Cable Car Museum. The entrance is at Washington and Mason and the museum is open from 10 AM to 6 PM between April 1 and September 30 and from 10 AM to 5 PM between October 1 and March 31, apart from some public holidays.[1][2] The museum main level is wheelchair accessible via a separate entrance.

References
  1. "Cable Car Museum Review". Fodors Travel. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
  2. "About the San Francisco Cable Car Museum". Friends of the Cable Car Museum. Retrieved 2008-07-01.


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