Cable Car Museum

What you need to know

The Cable Car Museum is the working powerhouse and car barn for San Francisco’s cable car system. From a mezzanine inside the building, visitors can look down at the electric motors and the 14-foot sheaves (grooved wheels) that continuously haul every cable that runs under the city streets. The machinery operates whenever cable cars are running.

History

The building at Washington and Mason has been part of the cable car system since 1887. Andrew Hallidie patented the cable car in 1873 after watching horses struggle on San Francisco’s steep streets. The Powell Street lines that the museum powers still use his original gripping principle. Cables run under the streets at about 9.5 miles per hour, and the operator’s grip pulls or releases the cable to move or stop the car.

What’s on Display

The mezzanine looks directly down on the winding sheaves. You can trace where each cable enters the building from the street, loops around its sheave, and exits back to the street.

The main museum floor holds three antique cable cars, including the Sutter Street Railway car #46 (1873) and an early Clay Street Hill Railroad car. Display cases contain photographs from the system’s early years, mechanical models that show the grip-and-release mechanism, and original tools.

Most visits run 30 to 45 minutes.

Visiting

Address: 1201 Mason Street, Nob Hill

Hours: Tue-Thu 10am to 4pm. Fri-Sun 10am to 5pm. Closed Mondays. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Cost: Free

Best time: Weekday mornings. Afternoons get busier, especially when cruise ships are in port.

A small gift shop near the entrance sells cable car memorabilia.

Getting There

The Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde cable car lines stop at Washington and Mason, directly outside the museum. The California Street line stops at California and Mason, two blocks south. The 1 California bus runs on California Street, two blocks south. From Union Square, the walk is about 15 minutes uphill.