1950s San Francisco Cable Car Turntable

Step into the bustling streets of mid-century San Francisco and picture a cable car being manually rotated on the famous turntable at Powell and Market Streets. This vintage postcard captures Cable Car No. 501 on the Powell & Mason line, as passengers and tourists gather to watch the iconic 180-degree turnaround, a spectacle unique to the City by the Golden Gate.

The scene shows pedestrians in 1950s–1960s attire and classic automobiles in the background, with the Woolworth’s/Emporium building anchoring the historic downtown setting. The cable car’s wooden construction and signage highlight the enduring charm of San Francisco’s cable car system, one of the few manually operated lines still in use today.

Published as a Mirro-Krome card by H. S. Crocker Co., Inc., San Francisco, and distributed by Smith News Co., this postcard is a collectible reminder of the city’s vibrant transit history and a quintessential souvenir of mid-century San Francisco.

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