This Thanksgiving we’re grateful for all the workers at SFMTA (Muni) who operate the historic streetcars and cable cars and keep them on the streets and looking good.
We’re grateful to the SFMTA Board of Directors and Director of Transportation Ed Reiskin for their strong support of historic transit in San Francisco, and to those on their staff who share their commitment.
We’re especially grateful to our members and donors who make our advocacy possible.
And we’re grateful to be part of a dynamic evolving city that protects its past and integrates much of it into the present and the future.
One current example: this photo was taken at lunchtime the other day from the main dining room of the newly (and wonderfully) renovated Fisherman’s Grotto No. 9 on Taylor Street’s Restaurant Row at the Wharf. What was a tired (albeit historic) restaurant is fresh and new, but still displaying old-time Wharf tradition (along with a fabulous Crab Louis, by the way).
And the views! Golden Gate Bridge to the west and, oh yes, streetcars to the south, with the fishing fleet as a foreground object. The shot above was snapped with an iPhone, but we expect the ace volunteer photographers among our members to get some much better shots soon. Importantly to us, this shot symbolizes how vintage streetcars have become so integrated into the fabric of our city. Even as a detail in a photo, they just fit in — as they have done for 125 years in San Francisco.
And since food’s on our mind today, we’re grateful for many other traditional San Francisco restaurants that still deliver the goods: Sam’s Grill on Bush near Kearny, John’s Grill on Ellis (which Dashiell Hammett took the 20-line streetcar to reach), and Scoma’s at the Wharf. And don’t forget bars like the Buena Vista Cafe at the end of the Hyde cable.
Happy Thanksgiving, San Francisco!
