The Streetcars of San Francisco

It wasn't long ago that the word "Embarcadero" conjured up images of a two-deck highway separating downtown San Francisco from the Bay. Though plans were in place for a street car extension to Fisherman's Wharf when the highway still existed, the original intention was to put the streetcars under the highway. But in a strange turn of historical events, San Franciscans, tourists, and spectators from all walks of life came out March 4 to ride the street cars that replaced the highway.

There wasn't any fanfare when I met one of the first cars to leave 17th Street at about 7 a.m. A rider asked the driver if the orange car, painted as similar cars had been when they ran the streets of Los Angeles, would be the first travel on the Embarcadero and reach Fisherman's Wharf. No, that was a car painted in Brooklyn colors which headed down Market Street at 5:30 a.m. Transit buffs called it fitting since Brooklyn ran the first street car of that type in 1936. Later that day, on a second run, I found out that about 40 passengers had been there early enough to ride the first car to reach the Ferry Building in more than 50 years.

But not everyone who rode that day came to travel on the new Embarcadero tracks. Making the turn from the foot of Market Street, in front of the Ferry Building towards Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, a few onlookers looked surprised to see the Street cars turning on to the still uncompleted Embarcadero. In a city famed for its cable cars, the street cars are returning as quietly as they left and slowly gaining the admiration and favor of tourists and residents.

The colorful cars have been collected from cities and countries around the world, including Philadelphia, Milan, Italy and Melbourne, Australia. Many are painted in the color schemes they would have worn when similar cars ran on the streets of Louisville, Kansas City and Boston. They travel up and down Market Street, and on the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, crawling past attractions that include San Francisco City Hall, Union Square, the Powell Street cable car turnaround, and the Ferry Building.

The Embarcadero runs perpendicular to Market Street and has been built on the site of the now demolished Embarcadero Freeway, which was badly damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Running along the waterfront, past piers on the palm-lined granite boulevard, the street cars provide many visitors with their first and most lasting impressions of the city.

Once a dark area in the shadow of the concrete freeway, the piers on the bay are now visible and connected with the rest of the city. With frequent stops, the street cars make walking practical for shoppers and sightseers. And advocates insist they are critical to the health of a city, serve to improve the livability of neighborhoods and use nostalgia to attract those who would not normally consider using public transit.

"The street car solution is like a marriage," says Dr. Dave Fritze, a member of a group trying to bring street cars back to Cincinnati. "When you put down rails through a neighborhood you indicate you intend to stay there. A bus can be on one route today and leave the neighborhood behind tomorrow.. The difference is commitment."

Signs indicating the origin and history of each car have been placed inside. Pamphlets describe the entire fleet and encourage riders to join the Market Street Railway, a group of volunteers who restore and maintain the cars. Volunteers were on hand opening day to answer questions and refamiliarize many with the street cars which were once the primary mode of urban transportation in the nation, but had since vanished from the streets.

"Street cars provide an experience unique to San Francisco," says Jay Wong, a native to the city who grew up riding some of the same cars operating today. "We used to take them for granted. What others discarded, San Francisco held on to, and soon the city will be as known for its street cars as it is for cable cars."

New plans are constantly in the works to find more cars and expand the system. The street cars not only bring more tourists to Market Street, but connect most of the city's tourist attractions including Fisherman's Wharf, the cable cars and Giants Stadium. If a proposed plan is adopted, the cars may also extend into Golden Gate Park and other locations. "From the city's origins along the wharf, up Market Street through the financial district, past some of the offices of the early industrialists, to the great department stores and hotels in Union Square to the recently restored beaux arts City Hall," Wong says, "the street cars are a perfect way to see the city,"

Other commercial and entertainment developments are expected to make the area along the Embarcadero a premier destination for the city. Currently new hotels and an organ pavilion will accessible from the new line.

The idea to connect the street cars to one of the best urban parks in the country was suggested as an alternative to building a parking garage for a rebuilt De Young museum, which sits in the park. Advocates say the plan would help preserve one of urban America's great retreats by keeping as much automobile traffic as possible out of Golden Gate Park. But for now, the Embarcadero line is expected to relieve the burden of the Wharf cable car lines by allowing tourists to take a cable car one way and return via street car.

The street cars are attracting their own crowds as well. Later that day, as more people heard that street cars were now running on the Embarcadero, larger crowds filed onto the now crowded cars. To make things worse, a downpour discouraged them from getting off. Motorists unaccustomed to the street car tracks sometimes blocked the rails, and several mechanical difficulties kept the first day of operation from being flawless. But riders are and drivers are becoming accustomed to the streetcars. They may not be the fastest way to travel, but riders seem to be enthusiastic about not having to go underground, and the ever-expanding Market Street Railway provides a great way to see this vibrant city the way visitors saw it long ago. In fact, today the new line improves on that. While streetcar lines of the past had reached the Ferry building, none have ever had the pleasure of traveling the Embarcadero.

For more information on the Market Street Railway call 415-956-0472 or visit www.streetcar.org.

Fare on the cars is $1, which includes a transfer pass good for two hours.

Photos in the animation are ©1998 the archive of light.