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On Tuesday, April 13, 1852, Frank W. Woolworth, created the five and dime store, the F. W. Woolworth & Co., a nation-wide chain store; there was one in San Francisco as well.
photographer unknown
Many people have posed at he corner of Market and Powell where the cable car turntable is located in front of the 5 & 10¢ store, some of them famous in local history (link below).
Marian and Vivian Brown
posing at Powell and Market
next to the cable car turntable, 1975.
Greg Gaar Street Photography 1970s-90s
© Greg Gaar Photography
The San Francisco cable cars are turned around by hand at the end of their lines, a tradition since the late 1800s, often at the Powell & Market or Fisherman's Wharf turnarounds. Operators and sometimes passengers manually pushed the car 180 degrees on a turntable to start its return trip. Passenger assistance with this was banned sometime in the 80's.
The Grant and Market turntable was a great place to hold protests and pickets and there were many of them in front of Woolworth's.
photographer unknown
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
SF Chronicle ~ Cable cars’ ding goes for your wallet, too
YouTube links:
Styrous® ~ Monday, April 13, 2026
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