From 1918 to 1944, San Francisco’s ‘main stem’, Market Street, boasted four streetcar tracks, two for the Municipal Railway, two for its competitor, our namesake, Market Street Railway Company.
This fantasy-meets-reality image by San Francisco artist John Mattos, brings together four preserved San Francisco streetcars on the most historic block of Market Street, at the foot of Powell, where the cable cars turn around in the shadow of the historic 1904 Flood Building (left) and the department store that was The Emporium for decades (now Westfield Center).
You can almost hear the echo of what was called “The Roar of the Four” coming from this quartet of historic streetcars, still with us today, bridging more than a century of Market Street service. From left to right: Muni No. 1 in its 1912 gray & maroon; streamlined PCC cars No. 1051 in 1950s/60s green & cream and No. 1010 in 1940s blue & gold; and Market Street Railway Co. No. 798 in the famed “White Front” livery used from 1927-1944.
This image is available as a 22″x28″ poster or a 5″x7″ matted print, a 2″x3″ magnet, and on the products shown below.
