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Cable Car Museum Frommer's Highly Recommended

1201 Mason St, San Francisco, CA CA 94123

Frommer's ReviewMap It
Hours Apr-Sept daily 10am-6pm; Oct-Mar daily 10am-5pm
Location At Washington St,
Transportation Cable car: Both Powell St. lines
Phone 415/474-1887
Web site www.cablecarmuseum.org
Prices Free admission
Closed Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day

Review of Cable Car Museum

If you've ever wondered how cable cars work, this nifty museum explains (and demonstrates) it all. The Cable Car Museum is no stuffed shirt; it's the living powerhouse, repair shop, and storage place of the cable car system and is in full operation. Built for the Ferries and Cliff House Railway in 1887, the building underwent an $18-million reconstruction to restore its original gaslight-era look, install an amazing spectators' gallery, and add a museum of San Francisco transit history.

The exposed machinery, which pulls the cables under San Francisco's streets, looks like a Rube Goldberg invention. Stand in the mezzanine gallery and become mesmerized by the massive groaning and vibrating winches as they thread the cable that hauls the cars through a huge figure-eight and back into the system using slack-absorbing tension wheels. For a better view, move to the lower-level viewing room, where you can see the massive pulleys and gears operating underground.

Also on display here is one of the first grip cars developed by Andrew S. Hallidie, operated for the first time on Clay Street on August 2, 1873. Other displays include an antique grip car and trailer that operated on Pacific Avenue until 1929, and dozens of exact-scale models of cars used on the various city lines. There's also a shop where you can buy a variety of cable car gifts. You can see the whole museum in about 45 minutes, and the best part -- it's free.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.


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Frommer's ranks every hotel, restaurant, attraction, shop, and nightlife establishment it reviews for quality, value, service, amenities, and special features using a star-rating scale, an expression of the strong compare-and-contrast opinions that are a brand hallmark.

Other ratings provide stars based primarily on price and amenities; the Frommer's star rating is meant to quantify the kind of intangible, experiential elements that help travelers make informed decisions.

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