Carville, also known Carville-by-the-Sea,[1] was an impromptu neighborhood in what is now the Outer Sunset District of San Francisco, California. It was notable for its reuse of abandoned horsecars (horse-drawn trolleys) and, later, cable cars as or serving as parts of cottage, houses and public buildings.
Many of the cars were arranged along the Great Highway and turned into domiciles and businesses. Some cars were used singly, where other owners assembled two or more cars to make up multi-storied structures and U-shaped buildings with courtyards. These included St. Andrews by the Sea Episcopal Church: apparently made from North Beach and Mission line horse-cars.[5]
Even when the cars were subsumed into more conventional structures, their unique design was often apparent from the inside.
While it is possible that a number of Carville-based structures still exist in the area, only one is widely known.[7]
