The next time that you ride a Muni train between Castro and Forest Hill Station be sure to gaze out the window and look for SF’s one and only ghost station – Eureka Valley.
If you look closely you can still catch a glimpse of a rough station platform and lone passenger bench, one of the only remaining relics of its former life.
Eureka Valley Station was completed in 1918 as part of the Twin Peaks Tunnel project. This ghost station is actually located inside the tunnel with very few aboveground clues that it even exists.
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Eureka Valley Station was closed in 1972 during the construction of the Market Street subway. The closure was largely due to high crime and low ridership. According to Chronicle reporter Carl Nolte, in a 1972 article, hardly anyone was sad to see the station go. The station, whose stairways had a dogleg in them, was frequented by muggers and rapists. It was, Nolte wrote, “a place as dangerous as any in the city.”
After the station’s closure, it became a haven for illicit parties and frequent romantic rendezvous. Muni transit manager John Haley, told the Chronicle that “I’ve heard lots of stories about goings-on in this station, but none of them are fit for a family newspaper.”
According to an SF Chronicle article, Muni demolished the above-ground station entrances and installed substantial doors and fencing to secure the site in 1980.
Despite the station’s closure, it remains a critical part of the Muni Metro system. This station is in near-daily use by Muni crews who inspect and repair subway infrastructure during the graveyard shift.
So the next time that you ride through Twin Peaks Tunnel, keep an eye out for SF’s long-lost station.