Van Ness Avenue is a north–south thoroughfare in San Francisco , California . Originally named Marlette Street , the street was renamed in honor of the city's sixth mayor , James Van Ness .
31-596: Geary Boulevard (designated as Geary Street east of Van Ness Avenue ) is a major east–west 5.8-mile-long (9 km) thoroughfare in San Francisco , California , United States, beginning downtown at Market Street near Market Street's intersection with Kearny Street , and running westbound through downtown, the Civic Center area, the Western Addition , and running for most of its length through
62-654: A common terminus at the Ferry Building ; during rush hours a cable car left that terminus every 15 seconds. The main line, which began operation from the Ferry Building down Market to Valencia and Twenty-Ninth in August 1883, was joined by four lines that branched off Market by the end of 1888: McAllister, Hayes, Haight, and Castro. However transit technology was still moving on, and the new electric streetcar quickly proved to be cheaper to build and operate than
93-478: A growing fleet of buses. But relations were not good with the city, who controlled their franchises, and on May 16, 1944, after defeating the proposal six times previously, voters elected to purchase the operative properties of the Market Street Railway for $ 7.5 million ($ 130 million in 2023 adjusted for inflation) and the company sold all its assets and operations to Muni. These are
124-645: A hybrid of counterbalance funicular and electric traction. In 1902, the Southern Pacific Railroad sold their San Francisco railways to a group of eastern investors: Patrick Calhoun 's Baltimore Syndicate . It consolidated them with other San Francisco lines into a new company called the United Railroads of San Francisco (URR). Conversion to electricity was resisted by opponents like Rudolph Spreckels and other property owners who objected to what they saw as ugly overhead lines on
155-590: A major overhaul," according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Streetcar service started on Van Ness in 1915 for the opening of the Panama–Pacific International Exposition . The rail lines were removed in the 1950s and replaced with a tree-lined median . Planning for a new rail line on the corridor began in 1989 with the passage of a ballot measure. By 1995, it was to be the last of four major rail corridors constructed in
186-504: A short curved street, Starr King Way, onto O'Farrell Street, which runs parallel to Geary until it reaches Market Street. The roadway was originally called Point Lobos Avenue , a name which survives as a branch and extension of the current street. The modern name pays tribute to John W. Geary , the first mayor of San Francisco after California became a U.S. state. (Later, he also had the unique distinction of serving as governor of both Kansas and Pennsylvania .) Geary Boulevard also has
217-459: Is being planned on Geary Boulevard between Van Ness and 33rd Avenue. with a target completion date of 2022. This bus rapid transit corridor will have dedicated bus lanes which are planned to be "rail ready," meaning the corridor will be designed so as not to preclude future conversion to a streetcar line , including a subway section in downtown . Van Ness Avenue (San Francisco) The main part of Van Ness Avenue runs from Market Street near
248-470: Is in San Francisco . Notable buildings on Van Ness Avenue include (listed from north to south): Market Street Railway (transit operator) The Market Street Railway Company was a commercial streetcar and bus operator in San Francisco . The company was named after the famous Market Street of that city, which formed the core of its transportation network. Over the years, the company
279-411: Is lined with stores and restaurants, many of them catering to the various immigrant groups (Chinese, Russian, and Irish, among many others) who live in the area. The boulevard borders Japantown between Fillmore and Laguna Streets. Geary Boulevard carries two-way traffic for most of its route, but the segment east of Gough Street carries only westbound traffic; at Gough, eastbound traffic is diverted by
310-603: The Examiner accused United Railroads of exploiting the disaster to push through its overhead trolley franchise but they proceeded to install overhead power on all of its lines. The San Francisco graft trials were a series of attempts from 1905 to 1908 to prosecute both government officials accused of receiving bribes. These included members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors , San Francisco Mayor Eugene Schmitz , attorneys Abe Ruef and Tirey L. Ford , and
341-520: The A Geary-10th Avenue , B Geary , C Geary-California , and D Geary-Van Ness lines all ran along Geary from Market Street to 10th Avenue, 33rd Avenue, 2nd Avenue, and Van Ness Avenue , respectively. The B Geary line eventually reached Playland and Ocean Beach after turning south at 33rd Avenue and then west on Balboa Avenue. At 33rd Avenue, streetcars of the Market Street Railway came down from Clement Street and continued along to
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#1732780096699372-665: The Central Freeway at the convergence of South Van Ness, Howard Street, and 13th Street, north to Lombard Street . Landmarks along the route include the San Francisco City Hall , the War Memorial Opera House , and Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall . Before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , Van Ness Avenue was known as "the city’s grandest boulevard, lined with Victorian mansions and impressive churches" (San Francisco Chronicle). After
403-478: The Civic Center north to Bay Street at Fort Mason . South Van Ness Avenue is the portion of Van Ness south of Market Street, continuing through the city's South of Market and Mission districts to end at Cesar Chavez Street . This southern segment was formerly a continuation of Howard Street, having been renamed by resolution of the Board of Supervisors on August 22, 1932. The route is designated US 101 from
434-483: The standard-gauge railway extension from Valencia Street to Castro Street until 1888. Horses began to replace steam as traction in 1867. In 1895 the company placed a newspaper advertisement in The San Francisco Examiner offering horse cars for $ 20 ($ 10 without seats). Many of these became the basis for the impromptu community built from streetcars called Carville-by-the-Sea . Following
465-597: The 'roar of the four'. The two Market Street Railway tracks were on the inside and the two San Francisco Municipal Railway tracks were on the outside. Competition, labor troubles and a bad accident in 1918 led to the reorganisation of the URR, to re-emerge again as the Market Street Railway Company. This continued to operate electric streetcars throughout the city, the Powell St. cable car lines, and
496-480: The boulevard between Franklin Street and Masonic Avenue was upgraded to a signalized expressway in 1961. It features between four and eight through lanes and two grade separations at Masonic and Fillmore, complete with frontage lanes . There have been feasibility studies by Muni that have investigated the possibility of creating a light rail line on Geary, but no plans have been adopted. A bus rapid transit line
527-636: The business owners who were paying the bribes. Over the years many independent lines had been absorbed, including the Clay Street Hill Railroad , the San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway , the Presidio & Ferries Railway , and the Ferries and Cliff House Railway . Ironically the earthquake that brought so many benefits to the company also sowed the seeds of its demise, as the independent Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railway
558-565: The cable car, and capable of climbing all but San Francisco's steepest hills. In 1893, Stanford died and the company was taken over by the Southern Pacific Railroad . The company was again renamed to the Market Street Railway Company, and began converting its lines to electric traction. In 1895, MSRy inaugurated service on the Fillmore Counterbalance , which was the steepest rail line to date, operating as
589-644: The city. The planned mode was replaced with bus rapid transit in 2003, with studies and environmental analysis lasting the next decade. Construction began in June 2016; the planned completion in 2019 was delayed several times along with cost increases. Service on the Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit corridor began on April 1, 2022. The bus corridor was half the cost of the $ 346 million Van Ness Improvement Project, which also included utility replacement and pedestrian safety features. The entire route
620-577: The current Market Street Railway , which is named after its predecessor but is actually a legally unconnected non-profit support group for San Francisco's heritage streetcar lines. The franchise for what would become the Market Street Railway was granted in 1857 to Thomas Hayes . The line was the first railway to open in San Francisco, commencing service on July 4, 1860 as the Market Street Railroad Company. Traction
651-531: The earthquake, the street was used as a firebreak by the US Army , dynamiting almost all buildings on its eastern side in an ultimately successful attempt to prevent the firestorm from spreading west to the entire city. During the 1920s, Van Ness Avenue became known as San Francisco's "Auto Row" as many car dealerships and showrooms opened on the street north of Civic Center. By 2021, Van Ness Avenue had become "an important street without much character, due for
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#1732780096699682-517: The end of Geary at 48th Avenue where they turned north and entered a private right of way at Point Lobos Avenue to reach a car barn at Sutro Baths . This made the entire length of Geary from Market Street to 48th served by streetcars. Muni bus service along Geary Boulevard is provided by the 38 Geary bus line, which is the most heavily used bus line in the city with over 50,000 passengers per day, and over 100,000 passengers per day in adjacent lines (1 California, 2 Clement, 31 Balboa). The section of
713-468: The highest address and block numbers in San Francisco, with the highest address being 8344. In addition, although it is unsigned and contains no habitable structures, the city's GIS database records the underpass of Masonic Avenue as the 8400 block. The right-of-way began as a dirt carriage track to the Cliff House and Ocean Beach , two popular local attractions. For a time, a flat track paralleled
744-408: The major thoroughfares of the city center. At 5:12 am on April 18, 1906, those objections were swept away as the great San Francisco earthquake struck. The race to rebuild the city allowed the company to replace all but the steepest of its cable car lines with electric streetcar lines. On May 14, 1906, Supervisors permitted United Railroads to string overhead trolley wires on Market St. The next day
775-627: The opening of the cable hauled Clay Street Hill Railroad in 1873, pressure grew to convert the city's horsecar lines to the new form of traction. In 1882, Leland Stanford and associates bought the Market Street Railroad Company and converted its lines to cable haulage. In the process, the company's name was changed to the Market Street Cable Railway Company (MSCRy). This company was to grow to become San Francisco's largest cable car operator. At its peak, it operated five lines all of which converged into Market Street to
806-651: The predominantly residential Richmond District . Geary Boulevard terminates near Sutro Heights Park at 48th Avenue, close to the Cliff House above Ocean Beach at the Pacific Ocean . At 42nd Avenue, Geary intersects with Point Lobos Avenue, which takes through traffic to the Cliff House, Ocean Beach and the Great Highway . It is a major commercial artery through the Richmond District ; it
837-473: The road where horsemen raced their mounts on Sundays. Cable cars were operated on the street from 1880 to 1912 by the Geary Street, Park and Ocean Railway . They initially ran from Market Street to Central (now Presidio), connecting to an extension running steam-powered cars along Geary to 1st Avenue (now Arguello), whereupon they turned south to approach Golden Gate Park . In 1892, the cable car line
868-541: Was acquired by the city and became in 1912 the beginning of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). Horsecars were finally withdrawn from city streets on June 3, 1914. By 1918, and assisted by the construction of several tunnels under the city's hills, Muni was in direct competition with the URR down the length of Market Street. The two operators each operated their own pair of rail tracks down that thoroughfare, which came to be known as
899-674: Was also known as the Market Street Railroad Company , the Market Street Cable Railway Company and the United Railroads of San Francisco . Once the largest transit operator in the city, the company folded in 1944 and its assets and services were acquired by the city-owned San Francisco Municipal Railway . Many of the former routes continue to exist into the 2020s, but served by buses. The company should not be mistaken for
930-621: Was extended to 5th Avenue, where it turned south to reach Golden Gate Park directly. Despite its name, the Geary Street Park & Ocean Railway never actually reached the ocean. From 1912, when the San Francisco Municipal Railway began service, until 1956, when redevelopment projects led by Justin Herman (of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency ) included their removal and replacement with buses,
961-658: Was provided by steam power as steam dummy locomotives pulling a trailer car. Four Portland gauge tank locomotives were built by San Francisco's Albion Foundry. Locomotives #1 and #4 were 24 feet (7.3 m) long with engine, baggage and passenger compartments driven by the front wheel only 0-2-2 T. Locomotives #2 and #3 were 18-foot (5.5 m) 0-4-0 Ts with a baggage compartment. Both types pulled 40-foot (12 m) double-truck trailers with seating for 64 passengers. Baldwin Locomotive Works built two 0-4-0T steam dummies (C/N 5004 & 5009) in 1880 to operate over