First photo author unknown · Second photo courtesy Christopher Cirrincione

The best laid tracks

Stories of San Francisco’s ghost stations

Part I. Eureka (Valley) Station, 1918–1972

At the turn of last century, we treated Twin Peaks, one of the city’s most famous hills, as a billboard. In 1901, someone adorned it with an ad for Cook’s Water (not a proto LaCroix, as I assumed, but rather a popular resort)…

Source
Source
Detail from 1904 San Francisco map via David Rumsey Map Collection
Details from 1904, 1915, and 1929 maps via David Rumsey Map Collection
First photo via OpenSFHistory · Second photo courtesy SFMTA
First photo via OpenSFHistory · Second photo via SFMTA
Photo taken January 13, 1959
Photo taken January 13, 1959 · Photo courtesy SFMTA · Photo from May 9, 1958, Call-Bulletin Library
Photo courtesy SFMTA
Scan from Source
Source
Source
Scan from Source
Scan from Source
Scan from Source
Station under construction, facing both directions
The whole 1917 video can be seen on Internet Archive.
A scene of an accident in 1950s (source). The classic rainbow flag wouldn’t be there until 1997.
Photo courtesy SFMTA · Photo by San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Photo courtesy SFMTA
September 5, 1974; views in both directions taken by a police helicopter
Unknown photographer · Source · Source
Photo courtesy SFMTA. Today, the area on the right became Pink Triangle Park, a memorial to homosexuals persecuted during Holocaust (see on Street View)
Photo by Doug Grotjahn from July 1, 1980
Two PCCs lined up for the 1983 Trolley Festival (courtesy Peter Ehrlich) and a car pulling out of “Eureka Carhouse” on July 1982 (courtesy Peter Ehrlich).
Boeing LRV during 1983 Trolley Festival (courtesy Peter Ehrlich) and cars stored at Eureka Portal in July 1982 (courtesy Peter Ehrlich).
Unknown photographer · Source
One of the kiosks before being vandalized and eventually dismantled
Aerial photo of the area from 1938 (David Rumsey Map Collection) and a satellite photo in 2018 (see on Street View)
Eureka Station in late August 1964. Photo by Alan J. Canterbury

Part II. 19th Street Dolores Park stop, 1917–1981+

Mission Dolores Park in 1915 · Source/Source/Source
Source
Unknown photographer · Photo by Alan J. Canterbury, August 12, 1964
Source
Source
Unknown photographer · Source
Scan courtesy Eric Fischer. You can also see the original photo taken by Ken Snodgrass on the SFMTA website.
A sensational article in S.F. Chronicle from November 13, 1930
First photo 1938 (David Rumsey Map Collection), second photo 2018 (Apple Maps)
19th Street Dolores Park stop in June 1971. (Photo courtesy Christopher Cirrincione)

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Designer/typographer · Writing a book on the history of keyboards: https://aresluna.org/shift-happens

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