tour

Transportation

Tour Bus

Early "rubberneck" tour vehicle

Rubberneck wagon on Ocean Beach, postmarked 6-18-1909 (reverse)
This photo is uncommon as tour vehicles were typically photographed in front of the Cliff House, not down near Seal Rock House.
The following graphics help place this photograph: 1911 photo, Sanborn map
The vehicle appears to be a very early Mack Brothers tour bus (per Glenn Koch).
Courtesy of Frank Mitchell

Photo of same vehicle, in front of Seal Rock House, undated (reverse)
Courtesy of Frank Mitchell

1911 Tour Bus
Photo courtesy John Freeman Collection

"CLIFF HOUSE - 8/21/1911 - SAN Francisco. Cal."

Postmarked Jan 22, 1912
Photo courtesy John Freeman Collection

Photo courtesy John Freeman Collection
(note the tour guides seat that faced the passengers)

"Andrew J Gallagher for Supervisor", June 7, 1912

Pacific Sightseeing Co, San Francisco Cal, Taken at the Cliff House, July 6, 1912

"Friday Nov 7th 1913" (rev)

"Taken at Cliff House at San Francisco Friday July 17, 1915 at 3:30 PM" (reverse)

"The Bailey family is in the 3rd row: far side standing is William Henry Bailey, then Charles Bailey (white beard), seated is Mary Dora Bailey and on the end with a white scarf is Mary Bailey. The family is from Lompoc, CA (on Bailey Ave!). Charles and Mary immigrated from Plymouth England (both from a manor house—downstairs, of course) and found land to farm in Lompoc in 1875. By the time Mary died in 1919, the family owned and farmed 195 acres—quite the immigrant story!" -- Image & story courtesy of Bruce Holser (2/13/2023)

Photo courtesy John Freeman Collection
John: "My best guess, based on the number of woman in the bus and the hat styles. was that this was a group of delegates
to the National Teacher's Association in San Francisco in 1911 or for the PPIE in 1915."

Photo courtesy John Freeman Collection

"GOLDEN GATE"
Image courtesy of John Freeman Collection

Photo courtesy Darlene Thorne Collection

"My uncle is one of the soldiers in the front of the car. His name is Jesse Garver of Larned Kansas.
He would be the uncle of my mother (Lucille Marie Garver) which makes him my great uncle.
He is a veteran of the Phillipine Resurrection of 1899, right after the closing of the Spanish American War."
(hover mouse over image)
Robert Joy Of Ellinwood, KS, 9/26/2008

This photo is likely from 1915 when there was large crowds attending the PPIE and seeing the sights, including the tour-bus ride to the Cliff House. The vehicle is less stylish and unmarked, unlike the more prominent Pacific Sightseeing Co. busses. The garages are in the background, and no identification sign was used, which suggests a kind of gypsy operation with less clout to be photographed nearer the main building.

Dated 1915
Photo courtesy John Freeman Collection

1915 (based on PPIE signage in background)
(reverse)

c. 1918

3rd sailor from left is John Lloyd Webber, about 1918-1919
Submitted by S. Louise Norwood

Courtesy of Fred V. Cooper, Louisa, KY

"PACIFIC NO 19"
Image courtesy of Mike Grant

"PACIFIC NO 19"
"PACIFIC SIGHTSEEING CO, SAN FRANCISCO CAL., TAKEN AT THE CLIFF HOUSE"
Image courtesy of Mike Grant

"Picture taken Mar 30 1919 by the Cliff House San Francisco" (Reverse)

"Aug 2 1920" (reverse)
John Freeman (5/23/2022): "The YMCA was very active in SF from 1853, initially with social services in Chinatown. They had a presence on the Waterfront from 1908 providing support for the military, building a 10 story Army & Navy "Hotel” in 1924 (main entrance on Steuart St.), with a swimming pool and gym, billiard tables and reading room, a kind of wholesome multi service “club house” and sleeping accommodations for service personnel on leave in San Francisco. They most likely expanded their social services to tours for service men, as seen here. The Y was never shy about self-promotion, so that might explain why the banner is hung along the side of the tourist vehicle.

One of the missions of the YMCA, was to provide “alcohol-free” activities for the young men. Prohibition became the Law of the Land on January 17, 1920. San Francisco was notorious for skirting the Federal Prohibition Volstead Act. There was lots of liquor, available, and the term “speakeasy” hardly applied in a town without enforcement of the Volstead Act. The YMCA provided numerous “wholesome” forms of recreation for the visiting sailors on shore leave other than drunkenness and debauchery. The picture of a tour of San Francisco in August of 1920 is totally consistent with the “mission” of the YMCA."

c. 1921

Courtesy of Frank Mitchell

John Martini: "You don’t see many views of that line of storefronts between the Cliff House and the Cliff Cafe."
"Acme Ice Cream", "Home Made Cider, Pure & Good", "Sea Lion Arcade", "Cliff Waffle Bakery", "Pacific Sightseeing Co., Parlor Car Tours, San Francisco"
Courtesy of Frank Mitchell

Courtesy of Frank Mitchell

Shirners from Acca Temple, Richmond, Virginia

"The photo is most likely from 1922. The cloche hats on a couple of the ladies is one tip off to early '20s. The convention was from June 10 to 17th that year. The interesting thing was that the parade was a wash-out. The Shriners still paraded, but an unusual June rain drench the poor paraders. The Shriners returned in 1923 to dedicate the new Shrine Hospital on 19th Avenue, so given the sunny photo, maybe this was the delegation the following year." - John Freeman, 9-19-2007

Reverse: "On our honeymoon, Nov 1924, Sightseeing bus from San Francisco"

Photograph courtesy of Teena Burchianti

Pendant: "Northern Life Seattle"
Courtesy of Joan Burton

PACIFIC SIGHTSEEING CO (rev)
"Harry Anderson"

Other than the tour guides you don't normally see the same individuals in multiple tour
photographs, but here's an exception to the rule...

All images courtesy of Frank Mitchell

ca 1921 (based on 1921 auto license plate, left center)

Lincoln Sightseeing Co, San Francisco
"Minnie Goodrich" (reverse)

"9/18/25"

Photo showing tours originating in town, likely 3rd & Market
Date: Fall 1915 (estimate based on political signage in background)
Image & analysis courtesy John Freeman