The “cable car elves” have struck again, and 12 SF cable cars are now resplendent in holiday razzle-dazzle, though it turns out this decoration job is done entirely by a team of volunteers.
As of today, the cable cars you see running on San Francisco hills are now completely decorated for the holidays, on both the outside and on their interiors. (Well, 12 of them are at least). And KTVU was on hand for the decorating party that was on Sunday, and reports on how SF’s cable cars get festooned up for the holidays.
It turns out this is an all-volunteer effort, and the vast majority of the decorating volunteers do not even work for Muni or the SFMTA. The process is overseen by noted longtime cable car gripman Val Lupiz. In fact, in the above video we see that one of the decorating volunteers is dressed head-to-toe as Emperor Norton. That would be famed Emperor Norton impersonator and tour guide Joseph Amster, and his photoset from cable car decorating can be seen below.
Interestingly, when this decorating tradition started 25 years ago, the SFMTA originally only ever decorated one cable car in the whole system. Now they do 12 cable cars, and the decorating is handled by an all-volunteer work force.
“My managers call them the ‘cable cars elves,” Lupiz told KTVU. And of the decorated cars themselves, he said, “Just seeing the peoples’ eyes lit up and they pointed [at the cars], it was so much fun.”
The holiday-decorated cable cars will be out in holiday force through the end of 2025, and into the beginning of 2026.
Image: Joseph Amster via Facebook
