page_title: Key System
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: Key System / History / Early years
caption_attribution_description: English: Identifier: architectenginee11534sanf (find matches) Title: Architect and engineer Year: 1905 (1900s) Authors: Subjects: Architecture Architecture Architecture Building Publisher: San Francisco&#160;: Architect and Engineer, Inc Contributing Library: San Francisco Public Library Digitizing Sponsor: San Francisco Public Library View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: &gt; S N Isl ^ N ^ VJ -si s 10 I) 1; &lt; IV&#160;:&amp; ^ V V ^ S v 1 N ^ V THE AK&lt; mitt T AND tNCilNBKK ^ 12 ^ JANUARY, NINETEEN THIRTY-FOUR barking and disembarking of passengers.In addition to the customary runway andlanding apron from the center lower deckof the ferry boats, there are side landingaprons from both upper and lower decks.From these aprons, spacious ramps witheasy inclines lead to the main level con-course. These accommodations have been has been given to night illumination whenevery section of the terminal can be uni-formly illuminated up to a six-foot candleintensity. All of the steel trusses, girdersand columns, as well as the metal parti-tions, walls and roof have been treated witha special paint prepared to meet the cli-matic conditions and withstand the salt air Text Appearing After Image: Photo by Clyde Sunderland Studios AIR PLANE VIEW OF NEW KEY SYSTEM PIER TERMINALKent and Hass. Architects designed to provide the greatest possiblefreedom of movement and it has beendemonstrated that the landing facilities willpermit the loading and unloading of 1000passengers per minute. The entire floor area of the pier terminalproper is laid with a resilient, fire-re-sisting covering. In addition to ample day-light in all roofed areas, special attention and the elements. Surmounting the ter-minal, SO feet above the dock level, is agiant Neon sign, visible for many miles,and which penetrates the winter fogs withremarkable intensity. One interesting phase of the Key Ter-minal interior construction, is the use ofmetal-thermic panels for the partitions,wainscoting and ceiling. These panels con-sist of an insulation core with a smooth THE ARCHITECT AND ENGINEER ^ 13 ► JANUARY. NINETEEN THIRTY-FOUR Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
context_page_description: The Key System was a privately owned company that provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany, and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from 1903 until 1960, when it was sold to a newly formed public agency, AC Transit. The Key System consisted of local streetcar and bus lines in the East Bay, and commuter rail and bus lines connecting the East Bay to San Francisco by a ferry pier on San Francisco Bay, later via the lower deck of the Bay Bridge. At its height during the 1940s, the Key System had over 66 miles of track. The local streetcars were discontinued in 1948 and the commuter trains to San Francisco were discontinued in 1958. The Key System's territory is today served by BART and AC Transit bus service.
context_section_description: The system was a consolidation of several streetcar lines assembled in the late 1890s and early 1900s by Francis Marion "Borax" Smith, an entrepreneur who made a fortune in Borax and earned his nickname, "Borax", and then turned to real estate and electric traction. The Key System began as the San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose Railway (SFOSJR), incorporated in 1902. Service began on October 26, 1903, with a four-car train carrying 250 passengers, departing downtown Berkeley for the ferry pier. Before the end of 1903, the general manager of the SFOSJR devised the idea of using a stylized map on which the system's routes resembled an old-fashioned key, with three "handle loops" that covered the cities of Berkeley, Piedmont (initially, "Claremont" shared the Piedmont loop) and Oakland, and a "shaft" in the form of the Key pier, the "teeth" representing the ferry berths at the end of the pier. The company touted its 'key route', which led to the adoption of the name "Key System".
  In 1908, the SFOSJR changed its name to the San Francisco, Oakland & San Jose Consolidated Railway, changed to the San Francisco-Oakland Terminal Railway in 1912. This went bankrupt in December 1923 and was re-organized as the Key System Transit Co., transforming a marketing buzzword into the name of the company.
  Following the Great Crash of 1929, a holding company called the Railway Equipment & Realty Co. was created, with the subsidiary Key System Ltd running the commuter trains. In 1938, the name became the Key System.
  During World War II, the Key System built and operated the Shipyard Railway between a transfer station in Emeryville and the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond.
caption: The new ferry terminal on the Key System Mole in 1933. The old ferry terminal and the end of the mole had been destroyed by a fire and explosion earlier in the year.
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