Public spaces change fast here in San Francisco, and for better or worse, it can be pretty crazy when you see what the City used to look like. Every week, we'll bring you Then & Now, a comparison of historic photos of the Bay Area with current views from the same perspective. Have a suggestion for a photo comparison that looks totally different (or shockingly the same)? Drop us a tip in the Curbed Inbox or leave a comment after the jump.
Quick note: See that vertical green bar in the middle of the then and now photos? You can move it horizontally to see the photos side by side.
[Then photo: SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY/ Now photo: Google Maps Now home to local grocery chain Andronicos and an apartment complex, the block between Funston, 14th Ave, Lincoln Way, and Irving Street was once a Muni graveyard. Officially called the Funston Yard but known as the Boneyard, the site held over 90 derelict streetcars.
The Market Street Railway (aka United Railroads of San Francisco) was San Francisco's first large-scale cable railway system, and served downtown along Market Street, eventually expanding west and south. The Market-Haight cable car line connected with the Park and Ocean Railway, a steam line that operated on Lincoln Way (then known as H Street) along the park and all the way out to the ocean. The block operated as a street car yard as early as 1907, housing the H Street Car barn.
H Street Car House between 13th and 14th Avenue, 1907 [Photo: SAN FRANCISCO HISTORY CENTER, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY]
Eventually the cable and steam lines were replaced with street cars. The car barn lot soon became home to street cars that were no longer in service, and they often deteriorated quickly in the foggy damp elements. As Muni began converting to buses and trolleys, the boneyard became the final storage yard for street cars until they were sent away for scraps.
The building where Andronicos is located (originally home to a Park and Shop Market), and the Park West apartment building behind it, were both built in 1959.
· Streetcars: The Boneyard [Outside Lands]
· Market Street Cable Railway [Cable Car Guy]