San Francisco Cable Car System Rehabilitation Project

Title: San Francisco Cable Car System Rehabilitation Project

Dates: 1978-1989

Collection Number: MS 736

Creator/Collector: San Francisco Municipal Railway San Francisco Cable Car Museum

Extent: 2 linear feet.

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Abstract: This collection contains material on two separate but related projects in San Francisco: the S.F. Cable Car System Rehabilitation Project of the late 1970s to early 1980s, and the redesign of the S.F. Cable Car Museum in the late 1980s. While these projects are related they did not occur at the same time.

Language of Material: English

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permissions of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

San Francisco Cable Car System Rehabilitation Project. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

On August 2, 1974, the San Francisco Cable Car Museum was officially opened to the public. Located at the historic Cable Car Barn & Powerhouse on Washington & Mason Streets, the museum was the result of collaboration between the S.F. Municipal Railway and the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. Following a period of consultation (1978-1982) on the condition and proposed future maintenance of the cable car system, a technical breakdown in the system prompted the beginning of a rehabilitation project on September 22, 1982. This project included the Cable Car Barn & Powerhouse, meaning that the Cable Car Museum had to be temporarily closed. The rehabilitation project lasted for two years, and involved a number of agencies including the State Office of Historic Preservation, S.F. Public Utilities Commission, S.F. Municipal Railway, and various companies contracted to carry out the rehabilitation work. Upon completion of the rehabilitation project, the Cable Car Museum reopened on July 16, 1984. Five years later, in 1989, the Pacific Coast Chapter decided to redesign the Cable Car Museum to improve the experience for visitors.

Material includes incoming correspondence (1979-1982) for Dr. Knox Mellon, State Historic Preservation Officer, concerning the proposed rehabilitation of the cable car system in San Francisco; corporate records, reports, and technical drawings and specifications, the majority of which relate to the S.F. Cable Car System Rehabilitation Project; and reports relating to the later redesign of the S.F. Cable Car Museum.