We’re not sure what these guys were celebrating, but we know what WE’RE celebrating today! On September 15, 1894, the first electric streetcars ran on Mission Street. At first they only went as far as China Avenue. Where? Oh, yeah, they call it Excelsior Avenue now. Not much reason to go farther; it was mostly farmland then.
Within a few years, the line was extended to Daly’s Hill (now “Top of the Hill, Daly City”), just across the county line. In 1908, the Mission line (and all the streetcar lines in the City) got a number. Ever since, whether streetcar, motor bus, or electric trolley bus, it’s been the 14-Mission, still one of Muni’s busiest lines, and a lifeline for what has always been a working class corridor of San Francisco (though looks like that’s over, at least north of 30th Street).
The next issue of our members-only newsletter, Inside Track, out in a few weeks, will feature a detailed history of the 14-Mission, with more than a dozen rare photos. If you’re not a Market Street Railway member, supporting our advocacy and positive projects for San Francisco’s historic streetcars and cable cars, this is a great time to join!
Oh, the photo? It comes from the collection of Grant Ute, the noted transit historian and head of the San Francisco Railway Archive, who says it *might* be New Year’s Eve, 1900. We know Car No. 1001 was built by Hammond, the San Francisco firm that later built most of the California Street cable cars still in use today, and we know that nighttime photos in this era were pretty rare. We also know this photo definitely falls into the “don’t try this at home” category.
Happy 120th Birthday, 14-Mission!
