The Cable Car Museum at Mason and Washington is the powerhouse that runs San Francisco’s cable car system, and it is free to enter. Inside, the electric motors and winding wheels that pull the underground cables are working machinery, not a display. You can watch the cables, each more than a mile long, run over the sheaves and feel the building hum.
The system dates to 1873, when Andrew Hallidie built the first line after seeing horses struggle on the city’s steep hills. Downstairs are antique cars, including the oldest surviving cable car from 1873. The museum explains how the grip mechanism works, which makes the rides that follow easier to understand.
Part of a self-guided walking tour
