cable-car.visit-san-francisco.comCable Cars in San Francisco

Visit San Francisco Menu Visit San Francisco San Francisco Hotels San Francisco Sites ▶ Featured San Francisco Hotels ▶ Hotels A-G ▶ Argonaut Hotel Axiom Hotel Best Western Plus The Tuscan Clift, A Morgans Original Club Quarters San Francisco Courtyard By Marriott San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf The Fairmont Heritage Place Ghirardelli Square The Fairmont San Francisco Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco Galleria Park Hotel Grand Hyatt San Francisco Hotels H-I ▶ Hilton San Francisco Hilton San Francisco Financial District Hotel Bijou Hotel G San Francisco Hotel Mark Twain Hotel Nikko San Francisco Hotel Union Square San Francisco Hotel Vitale, a Joie de Vivre Hotel Hotel Zeppelin San Francisco Hotel Zetta San Francisco Hyatt Centric Fishermans Wharf San Francisco Hyatt Regency San Francisco Intercontinental San Francisco Hotels J-P ▶ JW Marriott SanFrancisco Union Square The Kimpton Buchanan Le Meridien San Francisco Loews Regency San Francisco Hotel Mark Hopkins Intercontinental San Francisco The Marker San Francisco Marriott San Francisco Marquis Omni San Francisco Hotel Orchard Garden Hotel Orchard Hotel Palace Hotel, San Francisco Parc 55 San Francisco, a Hilton Hotel Park Central San Francisco Union Square Hotels R-Z ▶ The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco San Francisco Marriott Union Square The Scarlet Huntington Serrano Hotel Sheraton Fishermans Wharf Sir Francis Drake, a Kimpton Hotel Sofitel San Francisco Bay St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco Stanford Court San Francisco Taj Campton Place W San Francisco The Westin St. Francis San Francisco On Union Square Featured San Francisco Neighborhoods ▶ Neighborhoods A-H ▶ Chinatown Hotels Embarcadero Hotels Fillmore District Hotels Financial District Hotels Fisherman's Wharf Hotels Fort Mason Hotels Haight-Ashbury Hotels Hunters Point Hotels Neighborhoods I-P ▶ Japantown Hotels Lower Pacific Heights Hotels Marina District Hotels Mission District Hotels Nob Hill Hotels North Beach Hotels Pacific Heights Hotels Neighborhoods R-Z ▶ Richmond District Hotels Russian Hill Hotels Sea Cliff Hotels South Beach Hotels South of Market Hotels Sunset District Hotels Treasure Island Hotels Union Square Hotels Western Addition Hotels Featured San Francisco Area Cities and Towns ▶ Cities A-D ▶ Alameda Hotels Belmont Hotels Berkeley Hotels Brisbane Hotels Burlingame Hotels Cupertino Hotels Daly City Hotels Cities E-L ▶ Half Moon Bay Hotels Lafayette Hotels Larkspur Hotels Los Altos Hotels Los Gatos Hotels Cities M-R ▶ Menlo Park Hotels Mill Valley Hotels Millbrae Hotels Milpitas Hotels Mountain View Hotels Newark Hotels Oakland Hotels Pacifica Hotels Palo Alto Hotels Pleasanton Hotels Redwood City Hotels Richmond Hotels Cities S-Z ▶ San Francisco Hotels San Jose Hotels San Leandro Hotels San Mateo Hotels San Pablo Hotels San Rafael Hotels San Ramon Hotels Santa Clara Hotels Sausalito Hotels South San Francisco Hotels Sunnyvale Hotels Union City Hotels Walnut Creek Hotels San Francisco Area Attractions ▶ Attractions A-E ▶ Alcatraz Island Angel Island Bay Cruises Cable Cars California Academy of Sciences The Cannery The Exploratorium Attractions F-N ▶ Fisherman's Wharf Ghirardelli Square Golden Gate Bridge Golden Gate Park Green Tortoise Adventure Travel Liberty Ship Muir Woods Attractions O-Z ▶ Palace of Fine Arts Pier 39 The Presidio San Francisco Colleges and Universities San Francisco Hang Gliding Center USS Hornet USS Pampanito San Francisco Area Cruises ▶ Acapulco Cruises Alaska Cruises Australian and New Zealand Cruises Ensenada Cruises Hawaii Cruises Hong Kong Cruises Los Angeles Cruises San Diego Cruises San Francisco Cruises Seattle Cruises Sydney Cruises Tahiti Cruises Vancouver Cruises Make Travel Arrangements Hotels Flights Vacations Rental Cars Check in Day Month Check out Day Month Search Hotels Check in Day Month Check out Day Month Search Vacations Return at a different location? Pick up Day Month Drop off Day Month Search Rentals Round Trip One Way Multi City Depart Day Month Return Day Month Cabin Class Economy/Coach Premium Economy Business First Search Flights Depart Day Month Cabin Class Economy/Coach Premium Economy Business First Search Flights Flight 1 Depart Day Month Flight 2 Depart Day Month + Add Flight Flight 3 Depart Day Month - Remove Flight + Add Flight Flight 4 Depart Day Month - Remove Flight + Add Flight Flight 5 Check-in Day Month - Remove Flight Cabin Class Economy/Coach Premium Economy Business First Search Flights San Francisco Weather San Francisco Area Map Hotel Display Count 37.7749 -122.4194 San Francisco's Famous Cable Cars Written by Scott Messmore It's hard to think of San Francisco without conjuring an image of a clanking cable car crawling its way up a steep city street. One of the city's most popular tourist attractions, cable cars are still used as a functioning part of the San Francisco transit system, if even on a small scale. Cable cars were the brainchild of Andrew Hallidie, who came to America in 1852 from Great Britain. One damp and cold day in 1869, Hallidie was watching a five-horse team pull a heavy street car up one of San Francisco's steep hills. One horse lost its footing on the slick pavement and the weight of the street car dragged the horse team down the hill, killing them all. Hallidie's father had earned a patent in Great Britain for manufacturing wire rope. Hallidie had applied the technology to gold mining after he arrived in California. Hallidie designed systems to haul rock ore in mining camps and quickly made the connection between the death of the street car horse teams and the power of metal cable. Hallidie's Pride By 1873, the first cable car began service with the Clay Street line. The cable cars were an immediate hit and eventually 600 cars were ferrying San Franciscans around 120 miles of city streets. The Great Quake of 1906 nearly destroyed the entire city and many lines were never rebuilt. Tourists can still hitch a ride with nearly 40 cars that travel on 10 miles of railway. Cable cars are individually created works that are maintained by skilled carpenters and repairman. San Francisco citizens have fought several battles to make sure cable cars weren't totally replaced with modern transportation. Visitors can board the cars at stops or jump on and hold onto a railing while the cars bump along up and down San Francisco's famous hills. San Francisco's Treat The present cable car system underwent a complete overhaul that took two years in the early 1980s. Now, the Powell-Hyde line runs from Powell and Market Streets to the Hyde Street Pier at Fisherman's Wharf. The Powell Mason line travels over Nob Hill to Bay Street and also stops at the Fisherman's Wharf. The California line starts at California Street and makes its way through the financial district and Chinatown to Van Ness Avenue. For a historic look at cable car history and an up-close look at how the cable systems actually work, a visit to the Cable Car Barn & Powerhouse is in order. The great steel wheels and cables that pull cable cars from underneath the street are in plain view at the 1201 Mason Street museum. The Cable Car Museum is open every day except for Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Cable Car Fares Fares are collected by cable car conductors or tickets can be bought at turn around spots. One way trips for adults and children cost $2. Three different passes are also available: one for $6; three days for $10 and seven day passes for $15. Cable cars run every day from 6 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Check Hotel Availability nearby San Francisco Other Destinations Visit Seattle Visit Cozumel Visit Los Angeles Visit Puerto Rico Visit Barbados Visit San Diego Visit South Beach Visit Hawaiian Islands Copyright © 2002-2016 Last Updated: September 24, 2016 Analytical Software Packages, Inc....