Blue sky portrait, from Lombard Street, Hyde Street descending steep incline to San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz, San Francisco
Portrait shot from Lombard Street down th steep incline of Hyde Street towards San Francisco bay and Alcatraz Island. The Powell-Hyde Cable Car Line (Line 60) seen in the shot runs south, towards the steep incline of Hyde Street, from the terminal at Hyde Street at the foot of the slope. Originally horse-drawn, the San Francisco Cable Cars were electrified in 1892. Cable cars, in contrast to street cars (trams), are pulled by a cable running below the street. The cable, cm in diameter, is held by a grip that extends from the cable car through a slit in the street surface between the rails. Each cable runs at a constant speed of mph ( kph) and is driven by a 510 HP (380 kw) engine in a central power house. San Francisco Municipal Railway's Cable Car System is the last manually operated cable car system in the world. Alcatraz, in the background of the shot, derives its name from the Spanish word for 'pelicans' (alcatraces), seen by the first Spanish exploration of San Francisco Bay in 1775. In response to the acquisition of California in 1848 and the rapid rise in San Francisco's population during the 1849 Gold Rush, the US Army established a fort on the island, Alacatraz having 85 cannons in1861, increasing to 105 in 1866. After the Civil War, the island, isolated by the cold waters and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, switched its role to one of detention. The island became the Western US Military Prison in 1907. construction of the huge concrete Main Cell Block, the island's dominant feature, being completed in 1912. The US Department of Justice acquired the island in 1933 and Alcatraz became a Federal Prison in August 1934. The penitentiary closed in 1963. With all food and supplies shipped in, the prison has become too expensive to run. Salt water had also severely corroded the Main Prison concrete. Alcatraz was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Size: 2663px × 4022px
Location: Hyde Street at Lombard Street, north to San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, USA
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: alcatraz, apartments, bay, blue, buildings, cable, california, car, cars, day, francisco, green, hill, houses, hyde, incline, island, line, lombard, portrait, rails, rodaside, san, sea, sky, steel, steep, street, sunny, trees, urban, usa, vehicles, water
