San Francisco's Embarcadero Plaza turns into a rolling museum this weekend, as Muni Heritage Weekend brings free rides on rare historic streetcars and buses back to the waterfront on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19-20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. The free event, staged near the San Francisco Railway Museum, includes activities for all ages and celebrates a transit system that has connected the city for more than a century.
According to SFMTA
, the agency is hosting the weekend in collaboration with Market Street Railway, a company involved in preserving the city's historic streetcars.
Market Street Railway
Market Street Railway established the San Francisco Railway Museum on Steuart Street in 2006, the organization notes.
The weekend officially opens at 10 a.m. Saturday. Visitors can also use a newly debuted digital tool, the Muni Heritage Weekend Fun Map, which lets attendees view routes and track event vehicles in real time.
A Streetcar Fleet Spanning 130 Years
Among the vehicles running this year is Muni Car No. 1, built in 1912 and recognized as the first publicly owned streetcar operated in a major U.S. city, according to SFMTA. The car launched Muni's inaugural Geary Street route on December 28, 1912, and the system earned the nickname “The People's Railway” upon its public debut.
Even older is Streetcar No. 578, nicknamed the “Dinky,” which was built in 1896 and is one of the world’s oldest operating streetcars, per the San Francisco Railway Museum.
Also expected to draw long lines is the open-top 1934 Blackpool “Boat Tram.” SFMTA operates two of them, including Boat Tram No. 233, which was acquired from England and donated to Muni by Market Street Railway, the transit agency says in a blog post.
Photo Walks and a Historic Bus Promenade
The exhibit Moving San Francisco: Views From the SFMTA Photo Archive, 1903-Now, draws on an archive containing thousands of vintage transportation photographs dating back to 1903, according to the agency's own materials.
Historic buses have featured at prior Heritage Weekend events. Muni's first bus service dates to 1917.
From Trolley Festival to Permanent Line
The event's roots trace back to San Francisco's Historic Trolley Festival. Regular heritage-equipment service began in 1995.
Muni's own history stretches back further still: the Municipal Railway was created following a 1909 voter bond measure, eventually growing into a system that carried more than 167 million passenger trips in 2025, according to a Wikipedia account of the agency's history. Muni absorbed its commercial competitor, the Market Street Railway Company, in 1944.
Council Action and a Region-Wide Celebration
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is expected to consider a resolution declaring September as Muni Heritage Month, recognizing Muni's role in connecting the city's past, present and future, per the SFMTA account of the weekend.
Transit Month spotlights the people who operate, maintain and love public transportation systems. This September marks the sixth year of Bay Area Transit Month, a celebration organized by San Francisco Transit Riders and Seamless Bay Area featuring more than 80 public transit events across the region, according to Seamless Bay Area. The month-long push includes a region-wide Ride Contest and Transit Hero awards.
Full details on Muni Heritage Weekend, including schedules and vehicle information, are posted at sfmta.com/heritage, the agency notes. A 2015 source documents an earlier edition of the festival, when free vintage streetcar rides similarly drew crowds to the waterfront.
