old_gold_mountain

old_gold_mountain OP t1_j3jsdem wrote

Reply to Western terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, 100 years ago vs. today by old_gold_mountain

This is from a little snippet of a YouTube documentary I made about the history of ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duKJ8eNFklI&t=95s

The Western Pacific terminal was one of several railroad terminals that different companies used on the West end of the Transcontinental Railroad. Today, two of them remain as they did originally: This one, which is now offices, and the 16th Street station, which sits abandoned today: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_station_%28Oakland%29

Most travelers on the transcontinental railroad who were headed into San Francisco used ferryboats to finish their trip, as there was no rail crossing at the time connecting the rail line directly into San Francisco. The railroads operated their own large passenger and vehicle ferries (kind of like what they have in Seattle today). And the transfer stations were pretty huge and impressive:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Long_Wharf

Today, there is only one subway line connecting the East Bay to San Francisco, and San Francisco still has no Amtrak station. Passengers still have to transfer in the East Bay, but they can either transfer to BART at Richmond or connect to an Amtrak thruway bus at Emeryville to cross the bridge.

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old_gold_mountain OP t1_iys2u16 wrote

Reply to comment by diablodeldragoon in Park gutters built from 1800s gravestones in San Francisco by old_gold_mountain

San Francisco relocated large cemeteries from Western neighborhoods down to the city of Colma in the early 1900s. Living relatives of the deceased were given the opportunity to claim a gravestone and request its relocation, but the ones that went unclaimed were claimed by the city and used as construction materials.

More info here: https://hoodline.com/2013/10/the-secret-tombstones-of-buena-vista-park/

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old_gold_mountain OP t1_iyrunqd wrote

Reply to comment by NuttyMcCrunch in Park gutters built from 1800s gravestones in San Francisco by old_gold_mountain

These gravestones were unclaimed during the mass relocation of San Francisco's cemeteries to the town of Colma in the early 1900s and repurposed for construction materials. They were actual gravestones for actual graves before that.

https://hoodline.com/2013/10/the-secret-tombstones-of-buena-vista-park/

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