Ride the time travel machine at Muni Heritage Weekend
Photo by Octoferret
Muni is celebrating its rich history with the 4th annual Muni Heritage Weekend, kicking off at Market Street Railway Museum at 870 Market St. at 10 a.m. this Saturday. You’ll get to ride some very historic vintage cars, like street car No. 1, as seen above in the 1980s.
Muni will run three historic buses during the heritage weekend, including a 1950 trolley coach and buses from 1969 and 1975. The SFMTA says that this year the vintage buses will perform double duty as “galleries on wheels.” When you board one of these vintage buses, you’ll see historic photos from the SFMTA archives, some of which have never been seen publicly before. The SFMTA photo archive is really a rare gem and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves history, San Francisco, and great photography. They’re on Instagram too (@sfmtaphoto).
Five historic streetcars rarely in operation will run between the Ferry Building and Pier 39. Ride Streetcars No. 1, 130, 228, 496 and 578 for free along the short Embarcadero route. For some trips, Streetcars No. 1 and 130 may run the full F Market & Wharves route.
The heritage weekend is a part of Muni Forward, which will bring new vehicles and increased frequency to Muni services.
More historic nuggets for you to get in the mood for history:
1920-1930 Muni maps: there’s even an instance of “Muny” as an actual acronym!
Transfers tell Muni history – a look at transfers through the decades
The first ever Muni crash, documented
The museum is at 77 Steuart Street (near The Embarcadero & Mission Street). the other address (870 Market St.) is just the office, and probably hard to get into the Floood Bldg. on a Saturday.