San Francisco Cable Car Museum Museum

Address: 1201 Mason St, San Francisco, CA 94108 (near Washington-Mason Cable Car Barn & Museum)

Website: https://www.cablecarmuseum.org/

Hours: Daily 10:00am-6:00pm (check seasonally)

Admission: Free

The San Francisco Cable Car Museum is a public museum and working power house in the Nob Hill neighborhood that preserves and interprets the city’s historic cable car system. It houses historic cable cars, artifacts and the actual winding machinery that drives the cable lines.

Exhibits include preserved cable cars on display, archival photos and models, and the operating winding wheels, motors and sheaves that keep the city’s cables moving. Visitors can watch the cables running through the mill room and see the mechanical components that power the system.

The museum documents the origins and operation of San Francisco’s 19th-century cable car network and preserves retired cars and equipment for public education. It also serves as the functional engine room for parts of the system.

Located at the Washington-Mason cable car barn and powerhouse in Nob Hill, the museum sits near the Powell cable car turnarounds and is within walking distance of downtown tourist areas.

• Admission: Admission is free and the museum is open daily; it displays historic cars and operating winding machinery that drive the city’s cable system.

What to See#

• Powerhouse: The museum gallery overlooks the mill room and drive sheaves so visitors can watch the motors and cable drums that power San Francisco’s operating cable car lines.

Located at Washington-Mason Cable Car Barn & Museum in the Fisherman’s Wharf/Telegraph Hill area. Walk from the Powell Street cable car turnaround or take MUNI lines that stop nearby.

• Visit in the early morning to see the historic cable car machinery before crowds arrive.
• Combine a stop here with a ride on a cable car line to experience the system in action (cable car rides have a fare).
• Photography buffs should watch for the giant winding wheels and the cable cars stacked in the barn - the museum is an industrial tableau.