From Andrew Carnegie to today: San Francisco’s branch libraries

From SPUR:

San Francisco Public Library is in the midst of the largest capital building campaign in its history. The Branch Library Improvement Program (BLIP) is working toward the renovation or creation of 24 libraries around San Francisco. From historic restorations, to mid-century upgrades, to brand-new civic landmarks, the BLIP program is shaping the future of San Francisco’s remarkable public library system. This bus tour will give visitors a sneak peek of the thoughtful restoration of the Andrew Carnegie-funded, Italian-Renaissance style Presidio Branch Library, originally built in 1921. Then the tour will take visitors to the construction site of the Visitacion Valley Branch Library, slated to open this summer and designed by Andrew Maloney with the Bureau of Architecture for the Department of Public Works. Join us for this special pre-opening tour hosted by City Librarian Luis Herrera andDonna Bero, Executive Director, Friends of San Francisco Public Library.

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This Week in Livable Streets Events

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This week, join a screening and discussion of the film The End of Suburbia, get a sneak peek at work being done on the city’s library branches, and spot some of the city’s avian wildlife on two wheels. Here are the highlights from the Streetsblog calendar: Tuesday: SPUR Lunchtime Forum: Greening Apartment Buildings. Join green […]

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Mason Street triangle will be future home of North Beach Branch Public Library. Photo from corner of Lombard St and Columbus Ave. Courtesy: Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects. San Francisco’s traffic managers last week approved a trial closure of one block of Mason Street in North Beach from August 1st to September 27th to test what […]

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Note: This story has been corrected since it was originally posted. Thank you to sharp-eyed readers. Bay Area Bike Share released a map of proposed sites for bike-share stations in the East Bay today. Proposed sites for expansion into San Francisco and San Jose have already been released, but these are the first ones for […]

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New bicycle racks at Balboa High. Flickr photo: Christopher Pepper The City of San Francisco is still barred from installing any new bike infrastructure because of a three-year-old injunction, but that’s not stopping the San Francisco Unified School District from installing bike racks at the city’s schools. The school district isn’t covered by the injunction, […]