Carville-by-the-Sea: San Francisco's Streetcar Suburb

Carville-by-the-Sea: San Francisco’s Streetcar Suburb is a scrapbook history of one of the quirkiest communities ever imagined.

On the empty sand dunes of 1890s San Francisco, bohemians, judges, lady bicyclists, and sand-bath-prescribing physicians transformed old transit cars into beachside cottages and clubhouses. Creative carpenters stacked obsolete horsecars, cable cars, and trolley cars into mansions and churches. Famous capitalists, writers, painters, and journalists visited Carville-by-the-Sea to work, play, and enjoy the “oddest village in the world.”

One of the least-remembered episodes of a great city’s history, Carville’s heyday and the tale of its disappearance has been lushly revived in this book. Photographs and stories unearthed from personal archives and libraries bring a unique and fascinating community back to life.

The special digital version includes a 2022 afterword by the author and a bonus section of Carville photographs and artwork.