Old North Beach library may withstand razing
By: John Upton
September 3, 2009
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| Protected: The Historic Preservation Commission will start determining whether to save the North Beach Branch Library building. (Mike Koozmin/Special to The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — North Beach could soon be home to two library buildings, although only one would likely be filled with books.
The San Francisco Public Library is forging ahead with plans to begin building a two-story branch next year on a triangular parking lot between Mason and Lombard streets and Columbus Avenue.
The City plans to demolish the old branch and create public parkland on the site, and also on the short stretch of Mason Street that divides the new and old branch sites.
But the recently formed San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission agreed Wednesday to hold a hearing later this month to begin the process of determining whether the existing branch should be designated a historic landmark.
A historic landmark designation would prevent the 50-year-old building from being demolished.
City Librarian Luis Herrera told The Examiner that plans to begin building a new branch in North Beach won’t be affected if the existing branch is protected from demolition.
“The plan is to proceed with a new library in the triangle site,” Herrera said Wednesday.
The triangle was the Library Commission’s preferred site for a North Beach branch in the 1950s, but Mayor George Christopher rejected that plan because it required a partial street closure, according to a report by San Francisco architecture firm Carey & Co.
Christopher governed during an automobile-dominated period and oversaw construction of the now-felled Embarcadero Freeway and the dramatic widening of Geary Boulevard.
The section of Mason Street between the old library and the new branch site was temporarily closed this month by The City, which is testing the impacts of the proposed closure on traffic. It’s expected to reopen before October.
A half-century ago, to avoid a partial street closure, Christopher ordered the branch built on city parkland, according to the report. The library was designed by Appleton & Wolfard and constructed from 1958 to 1959.
Preservationists told commissioners Wednesday that the branch has historical significance because it was built during a revolutionary period in the history of libraries, when books started being placed on shelves for perusal by users.
They also said the work of Appleton & Wolfard, which designed other branches in The City, is historically significant.
“It’s a wonderful building,” architect Howard Wong said. “It fits really well into the neighborhood.”
The preservation commission is scheduled Sept. 16 to begin the historic landmark initiation process related to the old branch.
The Board of Supervisors must ultimately decide whether the building is a historic landmark.
jupton@sfexaminer.com
