The first streetcar ran along Bowery Street in New York, and began service in the year 1832. It was owned John Mason, a wealthy banker, and built by Irishmen, John Stephenson.he largest and busiest fleet of cable cars in America were in Chicago. Most large American cities had one or more cable car lines by the year 1890. Frank Sprague installed a complete system of electric streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, in 1888.