up next on a second look, getting around san francisco for more than a century. the history of the city's cable cars and the project that shut them down for nearly two years in order to save them. plus, carville, a san francisco community where hundreds of people lived in retired cable cars and trollies. all those stories straight ahead tonight on a second look. hello everyone i'm frank somerville and welcome to a second look. next month marks the historic

30th anniversary in san francisco. it was in june of 1984 that the city's cable car system reopened after being shut down for nearly two years. during that time, munni rebuilt 69 city blocks of tracks and restored, repaired or rebuilt 38 cable cars. in 2000, ktvu's ross mcgowen gave us this brief history of cable cars in the city by the bay. >> in the city where tony bennett left his car the cable car is part of the legend. but the lines are but a mere shadow of the cable car system that once connected the city's neighborhoods. the cable car was the way to go. there were virtually no electric streetcars but after the earthquake that changed. only eight cable cars remainedded. over the next 30 years three of those would stop operating the castro line, and the sacramento

play line. in 1987, mayor lapa tried to shut down the cable cars all over. the city's committee saved the remaining five lines. over the next decade more lines would disappear. major dianne feinstein saw the rebuilding of the remaining cable lines. so they still climb half way to the stars. the city held a celebration to mark the return of the cable cars. mayor feinstein oversaw the four day celebration just as she had spear headed the rehabilitation process. the commemoration began with a ribbon cutting in union square. >> the city threw a three day party for all those who loved the trolly. >> let's all sing it together okay. let's do it. >> i left my heart in san francisco.

♪ ♪ a parade of cable cars up powell street follow and the cable cars have been back ever since. in 2000, george watson brought us more on the history of san francisco's cable cars. >> the principals behind the operation of the cable car haven't changed for 125 years. they have changed from scene to electricity but the basic principal is still the cables has poured through the city streets at 105 miles per hour. the cable cars grab on and therefor pull on.

the cable car system is not an excentric. with a tremendous push from the community, city politics came to realize that the cable car was part of the city's history. an efficient part of transportation and bona fide tourist attraction. >> people think of this as a ride out at disneyland. at the same time they're bumping elbows with a grandmother or asian lady going downtown to do their shopping. it's a community transportation system, always has been. >> san francisco not only had the first now it has the only cable car system in the world. there's a compelling modern reason behind its longevity. >> very simple cars and providing a good transportation

service in san francisco. we're carrying in the order of 26,000 riders today just on the cable ride system which is more than caltrain for example carries into san francisco. >> reporter: most of today's fleet is about 100 years old. in 1982 the system was shut down for two years so it could be completely rebuilt. new tracks were layed, and the old power house of washington and masa street were rebuilt. the only parts standing are the long stack car. the cable cars themselves were rebuilt and the municipal rail way everyone began building new ones. >> we build them, use the same building techniques in the last 200 years. >> it takes 3,000 hours or two months to rebuild the car at the cost of $25,000. the cable car has survived earthquakes, fires, progress, different and even old age.

what is the secret? it could be something far less tangible than traditional nuts and bolts, ridership and revenues. could be something as old fashioned as the cable cars themselves. >> i have 22 years and i feel this is my watch and i want to leave this a proud heritage for the people who follow me and also for the people of san francisco. you find pride runs very deep in this place. imagine living in a converted cable car. hundreds of people did it and a few still do it today. plus a bit later, are all of those cash fares on cable cars making it into munni's treasury? you got this, right? i do got this. from the shelf, and to your home. starting at $99.

sofa... desk... you know what? why don't you go get some frozen yogurt. i got this. you're so sweet. you got this, right? i do got this. from the shelf, and to your home. starting at $99. every year millions of people ride cable cars in san francisco but it's a probability most of them wouldn't want to live in them. but that's exactly what some people did in the early 1900s

and a few actually still do it today. >> reporter: it was part of san francisco's little cable cars that climbed half way up to the stars but their legends ride beyond the rails. there was a time that cable cars not only brought people home they were home. in the early 1800s, troves of people lived in cable cars. just before the turn of the century, they began to phase out. >> it started when the cable cars were being replaced by horse cars but more so by when horse cars were being replaced by the early electric cars. >> reporter: authorities needed a place to get rid of those

cars so they offered at the end of ocean beach. >> 100 years ago when carville was here it wasn't like that. it was more like this. miles and miles of sand dunes everywhere, miles and miles from any where. kerrville was so remote from san francisco's downtown, that most of the people who came here made the trip by train. and this place so far outside the mainstream, drew a lot of people outside the mainstream. >> it was quite an artist colony. people like jack london. and ambross, and a lot of people used it as a resort area and they actually lived out there full time. >> reporter: a certain romance determined about this bohemian place called car hill. >> in an audit speaking about

this retired cable car conductor who eventually retired the old car he once operated out on the dunes. >> reporter: but the real never really lived up to the romance. >> they were really very lightly constructed and designed to carry people not for people to live in. i would suspect they got grassy and windy. and you're continuingly caulking windows. following the 1906 earthquake some moved here in a desperate search for housing in a devastated city. in 1808, kerrville's population had grown to 1800. but in 1900, they called them miserable living conditions. and carville cleared out. most of the converted cable cars were burned down to make way for development of what would become the sunset district. still a very few of the carville homes have survived within houses that have grown up around them. this house on the great highway

looks like nothing special from the outside, but inside it shows the gorgeous handy work of the original cable car that composes its second story. ornate light fixtures, wood walls a lasting look at a life gone by when carville covered the land. >> cable cars are so quentisentially san francisco that more than one director has worked its into their films. >> reporter: hollywood film makers feel the same. >> from the silent era in greed, to the rock.

current tv series nash bridges and jack, the fan and a smile like yours locations in and around san francisco have proved irresistible to film makers, television producers and virtually anyone with access to a camera. >> when i became interested in san francisco, it immediately appealed to me because a. it was close to los angeles by plane. you could get there in an hour. b. that once you had done that that you were far from los angeles and we could be more independent. >> even though most of the stories filmed here are if i can take -- filmed here are fictitious, coming down the hill in a cable car, you can just see my office. >> reporter: not anymore. and my favorite burnett would have a tough time paying the rent today because the entire block is now occupied by the

ritz carlton hotel. in vertigo, the character lived down a few blocks. the location is the bronco bank. the same spot visited 10 years earlier in lady from shanghai. much like children fighting over a brand new toy, historically, movie makers have fought over the landscape in an effort to be the hippest possible. amazingly, traffic was so light then, you could stop dead in your lane and not annoy anyone. >> when we come back on a second look, a controversial plan from the former mayor of san francisco that not all

cable car fares fares went where they were supposed to. and a preview of a bigone era. [doorbell rings]

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tonight on a second look, san francisco's cable cars. newsom accused cable car conductors of pocketing some of the cash that riders handed over to pay for fares. sarah sidner looked at the antiquated system that munni used to track millions of the dollars in cable car fares paid in cash. it's been a little more than a year since san francisco's mayor created a storm of controversy by saying some cable car conductors pocketed fares. >> it's something that's occurred because it's occurred to me. it's something i'm concerned

about because it's not right. >> reporter: cable car conductors demanded an apology. eventually the mayor and munni agreed changes needed to be made. one was to put more inspectors. a program that used students as undercover observers. >> you go in as tourists to make sure they're doing their job. >> reporter: she observe add couple of conductors failing to give receipts. >> there was one time one said you didn't get a receipt. if they don't give you a receipt they're going to pocket the money. >> how often conductors fail to hand out receipts is unclear. ktvu obtained reports filled

out by two undercover observers as they road cable cars in two different cars. operator id visible no, receipt given, no. the operator failed to give receipts to at least two customers. this is a copy from january, which says the ticket collector simply stuck the money in his pocket and did not offer any tickets. the man said he had about eight children to buy christmas gifts for. conductors should place cash in the vest not in a pocket. we asked munni the same thing. >> shouldn't be going to a pocket but if they don't have their vest or something. it's supposed to be all kept together. >> in light of the complaints by the mayor we asked munni and

the mayor if any conductors were terminated for theft. >> any time we have accusations, certainly the conductors may be terminated. >> in the end the two accused conductors retired with full benefits. the mayor's office says there's still a problem and it's working on solutions. >> we would like for the cable cars to be completely cash free by the end of the decade. >> reporter: for now ticket kioskses are being kept longer. >> the cable cars are national landmarks. there's changes we can't, we can't al -- alter those cable

cars at all. >> any cash business that has people handling cash, you might have a problem with theft. >> reporter: despite what the mayor, cable car riders -- how folks more than a century ago got to the beach and what they found there. the sutro baths.

[♪]

welcome back to a second look, these days it's unlikely that many people know there was a day in the 1800s when five steam railroads railroads criss crossed the city. thomas edison's film crew shot this film from the front of one of them. in this film it's heading east from the cliff house through

the sand dunes of what is now the richmond trick. one of the popular stops at the west end of that line was sutro baths. bob mackenzie took us to what are now remnants of sutro baths and recounted the glory of what they once were. >> reporter: it's a haunting sight this collosal ruins. people wonder what they are, those who do not work hard to find out are missing a great story. the industrial age was roaring full tilt and there was a sense that progress was inevitable. adolph suttro an engineer who had found a way to ventilate the coal mine decided he wanted

to provide entertainment and recreation for his fellow citizens. when the ed son shot this film san franciscans could ride this train to the land's ends to the huge stretch of shore that now belong to adolph suttro. there they could stroll on the beach properly attired of course and breathe in the sea air that was considered a health treatment. on the cliff above the elegant cliff house. a grand hotel, restaurant and club where the wealthy plays. suttro had built his masterpiece. a feat of engineering. anyone who had 10-cents could walk into the greek temple that were the sutro baths.

not since the baths of ancient rome had there been anything to equal. each a different temperature. the water was drawn directly from the sea, filtered and heated in gigantic borders. thousands could swim at one time. thousands more could sit in the bleachers and watch the fun. adolph suttro had realized the need of creating recreation for the masses. suttro's kingdom is now a federal park. adolph suttro intended to provide values but may have gotten unintended affects. >> he probably created a place where people could come and for a dime without going swimming they could come and enjoy the views of pool. perhaps the -- a little more of women's shoulders and knees than they normally would on their day-to-day lives out on the streets here. >> reporter: the entertainment

at the suttro went into naughtiness too. shamelessly flashing their ankles and finishing with a sassy walk. the era of mass bathing gradually faded. suttro's palace was drawing hundreds of swimmers rather than thousands and the hundreds were finally down to dozens. castro was one of the last san franciscans to swim there. he's never forgotten the slide. >> it was like being in a fun house. being at the top of the slide. i was about 7 years old then. you would be up at the top and slide down. >> that must have been scary. >> it was like a thrill. scary and fun at the same time. >> reporter: a succession of owners tried to revive the place for a while it limped along as an ice skating rink.

the the suttro baths burned down to its foundation. it was made of wood old aáepb -- and dry and there was no saving it. suttro and his era are long gone. >> the structure isn't here but the foundations and all the baths, the bathing pools are still there under the water and the silth. you have the strong feeling of association of this place with suttro, his talent and fortune of engineering and how he applied it to the landscape. >> it is part of the golden gate recreation area. it is open to the public you can come here and walk around and get the sense of the glory that was the suttro baths. >> that's it for this week's second look i'm frank somerville we'll see you again next week. ld me i could go!

i told you you could go if you got a "b" on your history exam, which you didn't. i have a learning disability. the letters jump around on the page and appear backwards. honey, we had you tested like six times. trust me, i was praying for dyslexia. oh, my god, why can't you ever let me have any fun?! [ muffled screaming ] ew. ew. dad, gross. your hand smells like cheese! i didn't want to dirty a knife. sit. now, we all know when nana dede comes to visit, your mom can get a little... psycho? scary. drunk? all true. therefore, i need you guys to be on your best behavior. don't worry. i'll keep to myself. i have to practice for my cello recital. [ groans ] ohh, fine. you know what? if it keeps you out of your mom's hair, yes, do that. luke, if your mom starts to lose it, i need you to lighten the mood by being extra cute. no problem. i've got some stuff prepared.