San Francisco Cable Car Museum
Free museum inside San Francisco's working cable car powerhouse and barn, with historic cars, mechanical displays and a view of the machinery that pulls the cables.
Ways to visit
Museum, powerhouse and cable car collection (self-guided) Open
- What you see
- Exhibitscablecarmuseum.org, 2026-10-26
- How
- Walk incablecarmuseum.org, 2026-10-26
- When
- MonTueWedThuFriSatSun10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 1 to September 30 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. October 1 to March 31 (hours shown are the winter ones, in effect now). The home page says closed Mondays; the info page says open every day except three holidays. Winter work may close areas without notice.Closed: Mondays (per home page), Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year's Daycablecarmuseum.org, 2026-10-26 · cablecarmuseum.org, 2026-10-26
- Booking
- Not statedBooking is not mentioned.cablecarmuseum.org, 2026-10-26
- Cost
- FreeAdmission free.cablecarmuseum.org, 2026-10-26
- Requirements
- Photography: Yes. Personal hand-held photography only; commercial use must be arranged.
About
The museum occupies the Washington-Mason powerhouse and carbarn on Nob Hill, run by the nonprofit Friends of the Cable Car Museum. Admission is free. The Ferries and Cliff House Railway power house, part of the cable car system, is an ASME Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. The museum's own pages disagree on whether it is closed Mondays, so check before going.
Run by: Friends of the Cable Car Museum (nonprofit).
Where official pages disagree
- days open: Home page says Closed Mondays; the info page (last modified Feb 2023) says open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Both pages look old (2023). Listing follows the home page. cablecarmuseum.org · cablecarmuseum.org/archive/info.htm
Getting there
1201 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA, 94108
At Washington and Mason Streets on Nob Hill, in the working cable car barn and powerhouse.
The pin marks the site itself, not necessarily the entrance (37.79470, -122.41100). Apple Maps directions go to the street address instead. Show on our map · Google Maps · Apple Maps
Museum: (415) 474-1887
Last checked 2026-10-26. Sources are listed below.
Sources
- cablecarmuseum.org · official page · read 2026-10-26For: name; who runs it; Museum, powerhouse and cable car collection (self-guided): open or closed; Museum, powerhouse and cable car collection (self-guided): days and hours
- wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityData/Q5496… · Wikidata · read 2026-10-26For: location
- cablecarmuseum.org/archive/info.htm · official page · read 2026-10-26For: street address; phone and email; Museum, powerhouse and cable car collection (self-guided): what you see; Museum, powerhouse and cable car collection (self-guided): kind of visit; Museum, powerhouse and cable car collection (self-guided): days and hours; Museum, powerhouse and cable car collection (self-guided): booking; Museum, powerhouse and cable car collection (self-guided): cost; Museum, powerhouse and cable car collection (self-guided): requirements
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