The Ferries and Cliff House Railway Company was created by the merger of two planned cable car lines within San Francisco.

• The Park & Cliff House Railway was to run from downtown San Francisco out to the Cliff House Resort. At the time, travel to the Cliff House Resort took several hours by horse; and in 1887 the Sutro Baths were under construction and needed faster transportation to lure people to the attractions.
• The Powell Street Railway

The investor in the Park & Cliff House Railway sold his interest to the Powell Street Railway, the combined company was called the Ferries and Cliff House Railway.  Today this building houses the Cable Car Museum which is a free museum that provides more details on the operation of the San Francisco cable cars, houses the engines and wheels that pull the cables, and houses antique cable cars.

On a recent family outing to San Francisco, we found ourselves outside of the Cable Car Museum. I was excited to finally get to visit the museum (something I never had the chance to when I lived about 2 miles west of there), but I got veto’d by my four year old son who was more interested in the play ground across the street.  Someday…

You can find more horizontal panoramas in the Archive where art prints can be purchased.