The 22 Fillmore turned 130 years old earlier this year. This month, we bring you the backstory on Muni’s busiest cross-town bus route.
1895-1898: A disjointed line
The original version of the 22 was built by the Market Street Railway Company. Known as the Fillmore and 16th Line, it opened on July 6,1895. The line was built in three segments. This disjointed construction was due to a railroad crossing on 16th and Harrison streets and a very steep hill in Pacific Heights.
The first two segments from 16th and Folsom to Fillmore and Bay opened in 1895. The last segment over Potrero Hill from 16th and Folsom to 3rd and Palou opened the next year.
In 1898, all three segments were connected from Bay Street to 3rd in a continuous line.
A 22 Fillmore streetcar from 1895 showing the original Market Street Railway Company livery and line designation.
Fillmore Hill Counterbalance
The segment of the line that traveled on Fillmore Street from Broadway to Green Street was steeper than any hill in today’s cable car system. Engineers devised a mechanism combining cable car and streetcar technology to tackle the hill. It was called the Fillmore Hill Counterbalance.
A drawing showing the Fillmore Hill Counterbalance mechanism of cables and pulleys between Broadway and Green streets.
At the top and bottom of the hill, cars traveling in opposite directions hooked up to an underground cable system. On a signal, the two cars would start off and the weight of the uphill car coming down would help pull the downhill car up.
Two streetcars tackle Fillmore Hill in 1903.
After climbing the hill, the cars would continue on under their own power along the rest of their trip. In 1903, larger streetcars were introduced on the southern portion of the line. Passengers would transfer to smaller counterbalance cars to travel over the hill.
1906-1925: Earthquake, World’s Fair and extension
The 22 was the first streetcar line to restart service after the 1906 earthquake and fires. With much of downtown destroyed, Fillmore Street became a major commercial corridor. The line was crucial to connect people to shopping, services and work during reconstruction. Two years later in 1908, the line was renamed the 22 Fillmore as numbers were assigned to lines across the system.
This 1920 shot shows Fillmore Street full of activity. The decorative metal arches and lights were scrapped during WWII.
In 1915, San Francisco hosted the Panama Pacific International Exposition. This world’s fair brought hundreds of thousands of people to the city. The 22 was one line to serve the fair, which was built in today’s Marina District. To handle increased riders, cars were coupled together in unique two-car trains on the Fillmore Hill Counterbalance.
This 1915 photo shows a 22 Line streetcar train stopped at Broadway en route to the Panama Pacific International Exposition.
In 1925, the line was extended across the former fairgrounds from Bay Street to Marina Boulevard. This extension helped develop what would become the Marina District.
Workers laying streetcar tracks for the 22 Fillmore extension through the 1915 fairgrounds.
1940s-2020s: Revisions and bus conversion
The 1940s brought three major changes to the 22. First, buses replaced the Fillmore Hill Counterbalance in April 1941. They routed around the steep hill via Steiner Street like they do today. In September that year, the eastern terminal was moved from Palou to 3rd and 20th streets.
Streetcar tracks being removed from Fillmore and Post streets during conversion to trolley bus operation on October 22, 1948.
After 54 years of streetcar service, trolley buses took over operation of the 22 on January 16, 1949.
22 Fillmore buses outside the former Seals Stadium on 16th and Bryant streets during a Giants vs. Philadelphia baseball game in April 1958.
2021-Now: Route shift and post-pandemic recovery
In January 2021, the 22 changed its route another time. With the rerouting of the 55 over Potrero Hill, the 22 moved to serve Mission Bay.
A 22 bus passes the Chase Center arena near 3rd and 16th, heading for its new terminal on 4th and Mission Bay.
Today, the 22 remains one of the most important crosstown routes in the city. Connecting Bay to Bay, it travels through some of San Francisco’s oldest and newest neighborhoods. Current ridership exceeds pre-pandemic levels, showing that at 130, there’s no sign of the 22 slowing down.
The route also is the subject of the first episode of our Taken with Transportation podcast. “Welcome Aboard” explores some of the history covered in this blog, as well as the impact the 22 Fillmore continues to have on the city it serves. You can find it and all our Taken with Transportation episodes on our podcast webpage (SFMTA.com/Podcast). We’re also Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Yet another chapter is about to begin with the Fillmore Street Transit and Safety Project, which has just entered the planning phase.