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Trove Of Rad Vintage Muni Photos From 60s, 70s, And 80s Released Online

Updated: Aug 31, 2023 09:39
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Image: SFMTA

Some people are history buffs, some people are transit nerds, and then there’s that rare kind of person who is strangely fascinated by both local history and public transportation. That is the kind of person who will spend hours clicking and scrolling through a just released set of more than 1,700 vintage Muni photos that were just released online, not unlike the mid-1970s image of Market and Powell Streets above. The N-Judah used to not go underground! 

Image: SFMTA

“These photos, both color and black and white, give a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of Muni and the streets of San Francisco,” the SFMTA says in their announcement of the photo archive, called History in Motion. “Altogether, there are over 1,700 photos now online that show Muni and San Francisco during an era of transition for the city and our transit system.”

Image: SFMTA

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The underground stations opened in February 1980, and we clearly have not redone the floors since. But check out those sweet 70s-fugly original light rail cars!

Who remembers the old “Candlestick Express” bus lines? This image is from the late 1970s, a very stage era when O.J. Simpson played for the 49ers.

Above we see the August 1979 christening of the new 83-Pacific Muni line. It was discontinued in 2001, when it merged into the 12-Folsom. Muni routes and vehicles come and go, but it’s cool to have the History in Motion photo archive available from the SFMTA.

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Joe Kukura- Millionaire in Training

Joe Kukura is a two-bit marketing writer who excels at the homoerotic double-entendre. He is training to run a full marathon completely drunk and high, and his work has appeared in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal on days when their editors made particularly curious decisions.