The Unveiling of Andrew Smith Hallidie (Part 4 of 5)
Channel: Mechanics' Institute
Date: 19/02/2016

A lecture by Taryn Edwards of the Mechanics' Institute.

You’ve seen his portrait hanging in Mechanics' Institute’s Library, you’ve ridden on a cable car, but what do you really know about Andrew Smith Hallidie? He arrived in California during the Gold Rush and quickly rose to meet the challenges of the frontier by using his gumption and father’s patented wire rope to build bridges, ore transportation systems, and most famously the San Francisco cable car. By the end of his life in 1900, Hallidie was a leader of the state’s industrial endeavors and a champion of the region’s libraries and educational institutions.