Ding! Ding! Riding San Francisco's Moving National Historic Landmark

Ride a moving landmark! This short video captures the clank and clang of San Francisco's historic cable cars—the only one of their kind left in the world. Hop aboard for a timeless slice of SF life! The Brief History of San Francisco's Cable Cars San Francisco's cable cars are the world's last manually-operated cable car system and were named a National Historic Landmark. The Birth (1873): The system was invented by Scottish-born engineer Andrew Smith Hallidie. He was reportedly inspired after witnessing horses struggling—and sometimes dying—while trying to pull railcars up the city's notoriously steep, wet hills. His solution was an ingenious steam-powered system where a car "grips" a continually moving steel cable running beneath the street. The first line successfully launched on Clay Street in 1873. The Peak: By 1890, the city had a vast network of 23 cable car lines. The Decline & Rescue: The 1906 Earthquake and the rise of cheap...