Forest Hill Station
I realize there isn’t a lot of competition here — Muni doesn’t really specialize in interesting trolley stations — but my favorite of its stations, by far, is Forest Hill.
First off, it’s in (and underneath) a building — and a really old, cool building at that. Second, because it’s connected to the also-nifty Twin Peaks Tunnel, it’s really deep underground and the only access to the platforms is down a long elevator ride or several flights of steps, evoking the Tube stations/tunnels in London. Third, and I know this is really peculiar of me, it has that funky smell of something that’s been deep underground a long time. You can tell you’re about to get to the station (after more than a mile of being underground) because you can smell it.
I’ve studied other transit systems and love it when stops/stations are structured like this. Some of London’s Tube stations are in moderately interesting buildings (and they’ve discussed turning the famous Battersea Power Station into another one. Moscow’s metro system — which I’d love to travel one day — has fancy, historic buildings as many of its major stations. I guess San Francisco is more like Paris, where everything’s underground and all you get is a nondescript staircase leading down — except for a few exceptions, such as Forest Hill and West Portal.
Anyone else got a favorite Muni station?
– Beth W.
I’ve always liked those points where subways emerge above-ground, so I’ll throw West Portal into the mix. It also just looks kinda cool if you’re on West Portal Avenue facing into the station, it looks damn cool.
Also, there’s something about that station in particular that spells out the ridiculousness of how long the Muni Metro platforms are in relation to the trains themselves.
I actually like the Ferry Building stop for the F. It’s strangely not super crowded if I happen to be there (probably because it’s usually the middle of the day).
It also just reminds me of what it’s like to see a city and its most famous bits as a tourist, and not as a resident who sees the stuff every day. Something about all the people and their bags and their little maps makes me happy, but only if they’re the quieter, not-annoying sort.
Oh, and everywhere there’s a cable car turnaround. Not exactly Muni, per se, but still good stuff.
I forget if it’s Montgomery or Powell that has the white textured bumps all over the walls, but for some reason I find that entertaining every time I’m there.