Nostalgia & History > Notional BART Map: 1956 Proposal

I was perusing sfgate.com (the San Francisco Chronicle's free version of its website, as opposed to sfchronicle.com which has a paywall) and saw a short article on the plan for BART in 1956 which includes San Mateo and Marin Counties: https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/This-is-what-BART-would-look-like-if-we-built-the-13542772.php

This article featured a map of the 1956 proposed BART system in the style of the current map. Both that and the original 1956 era planning map with zones, which was published in the San Francisco Chronicle on January 6, 1956, are attached to this post.

The updated map was created by Jake Berman: https://fiftythree.studio/products/san-francisco-bart-proposal-map-print-1956

The "Zone Map" was noted in a 2016 San Francisco Chronicle BART Timeline Feature: https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2016/bart-timeline/

Other than the obvious Marin County stuff, I thought it was interesting that at this time they were planning to turn west at the Mayfield Wye (California Ave, Palo Alto) and head out the SP Los Altos Branch to Arastradero Rd, i.e., Gunn High School would have its own BART Station. I didn't know that was once part of the plan.

This post is about BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) the Heavy Rail Subway / Commuter Rail system in the San Francisco Bay Area (info for the non-west-coasters).

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Why was Marin County dropped?  Too expensive?  Projected ridership too low?  Or?

Steve

San Mateo County Board of Supervisors chose not to participate due to the cost and the existing Southern Pacific service. Without San Mateo, there was not enough money to build to Marin.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/19 23:23 by clem.

Marin county also fought it as they didn't want the people coming in.

Posted from Android

Lived in northern CA from 1971 -1984 but never did ride frisco area rapid transit.

Jim

SPDRGWfan Wrote:
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> Lived in northern CA from 1971 -1984 but never did
> ride frisco area rapid transit.
>
> Jim

Don't call it "Frisco".   The correct moniker is either "San Francisco" or :"The City by the Bay" 

 (a resident of the Bay Area since 1974)

The proposal came only 15 years after the end of NWP commuter service. That system served some of the same Marin communities in the 1956 BART proposal and connected with the ferries in Sausalito. Now nearly 80 years later, commuter rail has once again come to the North Bay. I understand that the final link to the Larkspur ferries will be in service in the near future. 

chakk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SPDRGWfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Lived in northern CA from 1971 -1984 but never
> did
> > ride frisco area rapid transit.
> >
> > Jim
>
> Don't call it "Frisco".   The correct moniker is
> either "San Francisco" or :"The City by the
> Bay" 
>
>  (a resident of the Bay Area since 1974)

There's actually a law in the City and County of San Francisco that makes it a crime, punishable by citation (ticket), to call San Francisco "Frisco". IIRC it's a $25 ticket.
I've never heard of anybody ever getting a ticket for this. But KCBS was all over this when it was passed by the Supervisors. This was about 30+ years ago.

PHall Wrote:

> There's actually a law in the City and County of
> San Francisco that makes it a crime, punishable by
> citation (ticket), to call San Francisco "Frisco".
> IIRC it's a $25 ticket.
> I've never heard of anybody ever getting a ticket
> for this. But KCBS was all over this when it was
> passed by the Supervisors. This was about 30+
> years ago.

Otis Redding would have received a ticket every time he sang his song...

What stupid law. I am sure that SFPD have better things to do than listening for the locals/tourists pronouncing "Frisco" to write a ticket......

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> There's actually a law in the City and County of
> San Francisco that makes it a crime, punishable by
> citation (ticket), to call San Francisco "Frisco".
> IIRC it's a $25 ticket.
> I've never heard of anybody ever getting a ticket
> for this. But KCBS was all over this when it was
> passed by the Supervisors. This was about 30+
> years ago.

"Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word "Frisco," which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor, and shall pay into the Imperial Treasury as penalty the sum of twenty-five dollars."

This "law" was issued by Emperor Norton I, a colorful San Francisco figure of the 19th century who declared himself to be emperor of the United States. Among his other acts, he ordered General Winfield Scott to dissolve Congress. 

The people of San Francisco took to Norton, and humored him, for example, by standing when he would enter a theater, and honoring "currency" bearing his name. 

 

So one can't be in the City and mention the shortened moniker for the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway?  😂🤣

Dave
 

kilroydiver Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So one can't be in the City and mention the
> shortened moniker for the St. Louis-San Francisco
> Railway?  😂🤣
>
> Dave
>  

Perhaps the SLSF might have actually reached the city by the bay (or at least the bay) had they not adopted Frisco as their shortened name:-)

Actually there is a city named Frisco just north of Dallas, so we will agree to not confuse cities by referring to Baghdad by the Bay (another acceptable name for San Francisco) as Frisco

kilroydiver Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So one can't be in the City and mention the
> shortened moniker for the St. Louis-San Francisco
> Railway?  😂🤣

My post was intended to point out that the "law' was a decree by a somewhat unbalanced 19th century character, not an actual city ordinance.