This isn't just a museum; it's the San Francisco Municipal Railway Washington-Mason Barn, the actual powerhouse that operates the city's famous cable cars and the only operating one in the world. After seeing some of the original cars, take a seat in one of them to watch a video explaining how the cable car system works.

Operated by Friends of the Cable Car Museum, the Museum provides not only an historical perspective of the importance of the cable car to San Francisco with hundreds of photographs and documents, but an insight into the daily operations of today's system. Started in San Francisco in 1873, cable car lines were often converted from unprofitable horsecar lines and, after some initial difficulties, they quickly proved successful and opened up many areas of San Francisco to development in the late 19 century.

The museum features old photographs and memorabilia, including an actual cable car bell. Visitors to the museum can also listen to Glen Hurlburt's "Cable Car Concerto," written to protest Mayor Roger Lapham's choice in 1947 to substitute buses for some of the cable cars. Today cable cars are still an important part of San Francisco's transit system, covering 494,650 revenue miles annually, and understanding the history of the cable car is necessary to understanding the history of San Francisco.