Golden Gate Valley Branch Library
Marina Branch Library
Presidio Branch Library
This is installment three of the pieces of the WPA map that are being displayed as part of the joint program, Take Part, between SFMOMA and the San Francisco Library. You can read the first two installments here.
I apologize for the poor quality of the photographs. Most every model is under plexiglass and reflects not only the lighting from above but the light streaming in through the windows.
Golden Gate Valley Branch Library
Lafayette Park as seen in the Golden Gate Valley Branch
The question in viewing this image of Lafayette Park is how the apartment building, that is shown near the Gough sign ever got built in a public park.
I went to the website Hoodline to find out. According to them:
“The building is a remnant of a pitched 19th-century legal dispute between the City of San Francisco and a former city attorney, Samuel W. Holladay.
Through an act of Congress, the property that eventually became Lafayette Park was conveyed to the city in 1864 by the U.S. Government, but there was a question as to whether the land had been officially designated as a park by the city. Holliday claimed he owned what is now the eastern half of the park and the city claimed it was in public ownership under a city ordinance. Despite the conflict, Holladay constructed a mansion in 1866 at the top of the hill and called it “Holladay Heights.” “The article goes on and you can read it here, and please do, it will tell you about the first astronomical observatory on the West Coast that was once in Lafayette Park.
The Golden Gate Library Branch existed when the map was built and is shown with the red flag.
The Golden Gate Valley Branch Library property was purchased by the City for $7,500. The brick and terra cotta Beaux-Arts structure was designed in the shape of a basilica by local architect Ernest Coxhead. Though Carnegie grant funds paid for the building, City funds were used for the furnishings. The total cost of the building and furnishings came to $43,000. The library branch opened on May 5, 1918.
Marina Branch Library
Fort Mason and the Aquatic Park Pier as seen in the Marina Branch Library
The buildings in the center at the foot of Columbus are The Cannery.
The two long brown buildings in the square that is two over from the left and two up from the bottom are The Southern Pacific Automobile Station.
Presidio Branch Library
The portion of the WPA map that is in the Presidio Library showing the Presidio and its environs
The Presidio Library is marked with the red flag on the WPA map at the Presidio Library Branch
The Presidio Branch Library was established in 1898 and was the sixth branch of the SFPL system. The current building, designed by G. Albert Lansburg was completed in 1921. The building is Italian-Renaissance in style and was built with $83,228 in Carnegie funds.
The Presidio Branch Library – date unknown. Courtesy of the SFPL Photographic collection
I hope you will continue to check back with us as I intend to visit every one of the branch libraries before the exhibit closes on March 25th.