05/15/2014
"Local opposition
There also was the disingenuous posture of the Telegraph Hill Dwellers, a group that likes to call the shots on its perceived turf. Rather than openly oppose the new building, the group's board called on the city "to develop design alternatives for the retrofit and possible expansion of the existing library," while members led the attacks against change.
Opponents persuaded the city's Historic Preservation Commission to give landmark status to the 1959 branch, a foolhardy move overturned by a 10-1 vote of the Board of Supervisors.
The most ardent foes then went to court once the project was approved in 2011, saying it hadn't been adequately reviewed under state environmental laws - and when a judge threw out the lawsuit, they appealed. A final verdict awaits, but the city was confident enough to begin construction of the new building in November 2012.
Among the early criticism was that the new library would extend 19 feet into the former path of Mason Street, giving it undue visual prominence.
Opponents are right that changes like this can disrupt sightlines and a city's sense of order. But the impact here is minor - this is a low structure in a wide-open setting - and when the public is inside this public building, the effect is magical."
http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/How-new-North-Beach-library-rewrites-5467286.php
The exterior is assertive without being flamboyant; the reading room, in its own modest way, is one of the best interior spaces you'll find in a local civic building. A broad prow faces south, wedged between Columbus and Mason; inside it is the main reading room with ceilings as high as 29 feet, nat…
