“A place where 
little cable cars 
climb halfway 
to the stars…”
George Cory

The acclaimed San Francisco cable cars have been serving The City by the Bay for the past 150 years. In my childhood, they were a viable means of transportation from downtown to Fisherman’s Wharf or Ghirardelli Square. A less popular route moved transit riders along California Street from Market Street to Van Ness Avenue, passing such sites as Grace Cathedral, the Fairmont Hotel, and the Mark Hopkins Hotel. Much has changed, however,  since my formative years in the 1960s.  

During my elementary school years, in the days before underground tunnels were constructed to accommodate BART and Muni, multiple streetcar lines rolled down Market Street. I often took the “L” streetcar from Taraval & Sunset Boulevard, through the Twin Peaks Tunnel, to the heart of downtown at 5th and Market. Some days I would walk around the corner to Station 1 of the San Francisco Fire Department, where my Dad worked at the time. On other occasions, I’d walk across Market Street to the foot of Powell Street where I would board a cable car to the northern edge of The City. The Taylor Street cable car would take me to Fisherman’s Wharf, and to shopping venues such as Akron and Cost Plus. The Hyde Street cable car would drop me off just one block from Ghirardelli Square. Rarely, if ever, did I take the California Street line. 

Not only were these convenient ways to get from downtown to the Fisherman’s Wharf area, but they were cost-effective, as well. I would ask the driver of the “L” car for a “transfer” when I boarded in the Sunset District. The transfer would allow me to ride the cable cars at no additional cost. 

The famous cable cars are quite different today. It seems that they have morphed from public transportation for locals to pricey tourist experiences for visitors to The City. The lines to board a cable car, at either end of the lines, can be excruciatingly long. Similar to the long lines for some of the more popular attractions at Disneyland, these might not dissuade tourists from waiting up to an hour to board the vehicle and pay the $8.00 one-way fare, but most locals now seek more effective ways to move across The City.

Still, the cable cars are truly a San Francisco experience. I’m grateful to have had access to them for transportation purposes in my younger days, and I appreciate that they are still available as a point of interest for visitors to The City.