Aside from wanting to check into one of the five star hotels in San Francisco , travelers who arrive in this city for the first time are eager to take a ride on a cable car. What draws people to this old fashioned form of transportation? Perhaps it’s something about the open air, the camaraderie of a riding community, heading up and down the steep hills. Perhaps its the joy of riding in a vehicle that began its life in the city one hundred and seventy-three years ago.

In 1873, on August 2nd, a man named Andrew Smith Hallidie tested the first cable on Clay Street at four in the morning. His idea for a steam engine powered and cable driven rail system came about in 1869 after he witnessed an act of cruelty, horses whipped as they fought against wet streets to pull a horsecar up Jackson Street. Cable cars, then, began their life as a humane act for animals.

Hallidie’s father held a patent on “wire rope” cable in England, and his son used the cable system to haul ore out of mines and as a means to build suspension bridges. The first public service run of the cars began on September 1st of 1873 as the Clay Street Hill Railroad. Four years later, other cable car companies popped up: The Sutter Street Railroad, California Street Cable Railroad, Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railroad, Market Street Cable Railroad, Ferries & Cliff House Railway, and Omnibus Railroad & Cable Company. All of these companies appeared on the scene from 1877 to 1889.

By the time of the great earthquake and fire of 1906, electric streetcars were well in use, ever since 1888. While cable cars were the main vehicle of choice for city transportation, some of the damage to the lines by the quake caused the city government to wonder if the streetcars usefulness had come to an end. By 1947, the mayor of San Francisco suggested that the city should get rid of the cable car lines in favor of buses. Thankfully, though, the citizens of San Francisco recognized the value of the cable car to the local economy and to tourism, and founded the citizens’ Committee to Save the Cable Cars.

Today, it’s possible for tourists to jump onto a cable car and take it to the Cable Car Museum at 1201 Mason Street. It’s located in the historic Washington/Mason cable car barn and powerhouse, overlooking the immense engines and winding wheels that actually pull the cables. From downstairs, visitors will be able to see the cable lines entering the building through channels beneath the street. The museum displays a large collection of grips, track, cable, brake mechanisms, and historic photographs, as well as three antique cable cars from the 1870s, including the only surviving car from the original cable car company, the Clay Street Hill Railroad No. 8 grip car.

Cable Car Museum in San Francisco is a post from: Turn Five

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The dream is always the same.  I am standing on a corner of a street that I don’t recognize.  There are no people, and no cars, but there is a strange sound from far off, a kind of muffled roar, the kind of stereotypical sound you hear in a dream sequence right before you hear a louder sound.  The louder sound is the roar, only louder because it is not muffled.  This is a crowd, crowd sounds in the street, in the empty street, and I understand that I am having a dream, but it doesn’t seem to matter too much to anyone else.  The street is suddenly populated, and I can see that I’m in a parade.

The dream doesn’t return, and there isn’t any kind of hint about a Chinese restaurant at the beginning of an evening in Singapore.  It would be a perfect place, however, to be right before Chingay, the big New Year’s festival in town.  This is one of those big street parties that everyone always talks about.  There are lots of floats, because that was really at the origins of the festival at the turn of the 20th century, with paper dragons, and lots of fireworks.  The fireworks have been an on-again off-again part of the week, with concerns about the crowds.

Today, this celebration of Chinese New Year has all the makings of a waking dream.  There are spectacular things to see, and some of them are as colorful as anything that animation can do.  These are the big moments when people come together to make a metaphorical celebration of life, and the cycles of time, paying honor to the way the big wheel turns.  We prepare for another year, shedding the skin of the last year and wondering about the future.  Our metaphorical celebrations would have to be similar to dreams, because they come from the same place.

Chingay in Singapore is a post from: Turn Five

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With all the attitude that someone can muster, walking in New York City can feel like chasing an elusive dream, one that constantly runs away.  Those that find it here are usually so distracted or so jaded that they convince themselves they must have the wrong dream, and start chasing something else.  It’s sort of a built-in side effect of the city, and it’s something that keeps people working, creating, and discovering new ways to make interesting things happen in the world.

Coming to New York to visit can be a different thing altogether.  If there’s no intention to stay, then there’s nothing elusive to chase, it’s all right here on display.  You can find anything in New York, and it all begins from the comfort of New York’s four star hotels where luxury and hospitality meet with practical amenities.  It all adds up to a very exciting time, and there’s always something new to explore here.  Those that follow the local music scene as it unfolds no doubt understand that punk started in three cities, London, Melbourne, and here.  The local group Interpol has helped it move forward another notch.

They hit it big with Our Love to Admire in 2007, but have been playing together since 1997.  This is very dark and broody stuff, but it’s also extremely catchy.  The sound is extremely distinctive, as it lingers and echoes, there is also a menacing humor than underlies everything.  They’ve had radio hits, and they’ve been developing a strong core of fans since their origins, and the next year looks promising for the next album.  They’re already talking about returning to their earlier sound, marking an era where invention meets remixing, and the promise sounds splendid.  This is where punk left off, and this is where it picks up, where we can all go roaming in the night.

Interpol in NYC is a post from: Turn Five

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Take your pick of one of the elegant hotels located in Duluth Minnesoda. The best time to visit this city is in the summer. If you go in the late summer you may have a chance to see some of the trees changing color. It is a beautiful sight with combination of the green hills and the grey ocean waters. If you are looking for something to do that may capture your imagination then you may be interested in the Glensheen, the Historic Congdon Estate. It is right along the shores of the great Lake Superior and it was built in 1908. It is a beautiful historical house mansion and it is taking visitors in to tell its stories of the building and the people who lived and worked there.

This mansion was the home of the Congdon family. Chester became a prominent lawyer and investor and he eventually got involved with politics. Clare Congdon, wife, mother and apparently designer. She was the one who worked with all the architects and designers to give this home all of its stately charm. Together they had seven children and that home did become the home of generations of the Congdon family. The last member to live in the home was daughter Elisabeth who lived there until she died in 1977.

Elizabeth’s death is added a final thrill to the home. It looks like her ghost is not at rest. The story is that her adoptive daughter’ Marjorie Congdon’s husband killed Elizabeth and her nurse. Apparently he wanted the money that was left so he took the elderly lady to her death. The nurse was killed for being a witness to the murder. He was convicted of the crimes and put away. Margorie Congdon as of 2007, was still evading the charges. People will drive by at night and see lights going on and off and sometimes there is the figure of a woman standing in the window.

Glensheen Duluth is a post from: Turn Five

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Philadelphia is a must visit city if your interested in the early history of the United States. This was one of the cities that had housed some of the most important people and their decisions that shaped the country to become as great as it is today. So find a fabulous hotel, Philadelphia has many to choose from, and head over to the Independence Visitor Center. This is the ultimate concierge of history for the city. It is smack in the heart of downtown Historical Philadelphia. It is a great place to get information on what happened in the city and were to see the landmarks and museums to check it all out. It is really close to the Liberty Bell Center, the National Constitution Center and of course the not to be missed Independence Hall. You can get tickets for all the main attractions and get a reminder history lesson so you can really make the most of what you see by what you know.

The Liberty Bell Center is the new home of the Liberty Bell. There you will find a wonderful display of historic documents, images and facts about the Bell. You will get to see if any Myths you know of are true or not. Independence Hall is a great view into the place were the lawyers battled out the separation from the King. The Assembly Room is set up the way it was during the Constitutional Convention. The original ink stand used to sign the Declaration sits along the side of the original draft. If you need a patriotic boost continue on to the National Constitution Center. This is were a very influential four page document, the Declaration of Independence is presented and explored with artifacts, interactive displays, high-tech exhibits, music, and acting all to drive the truth and message that We the People stands for. So find a great hotel, Philadelphia has plenty of them, and set out to be inspired by the founding of this country.

History Center is a post from: Turn Five

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