Happy silver anniversary to the New Main Library building, which opened its doors on April 18, 1996. Paid for by $104.5 million in bond funds and $22 million in private donations, the New Main Library construction project was, at the time of completion, the largest public/private partnership in the history of San Francisco. Its Sierra White granite facade, obtained from the quarry that provided the stone for other Civic Center buildings, is consistent with its Beaux Arts style. The facade on Grove and Hyde streets has a more contemporary feel, compatible with the commercial activity on Market Street. It was designed by James Ingo Freed of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (New York) and Cathy Simon of Simon Martin-Vegue Winkelstein & Moris (San Francisco).
Paracaidista en el día de inauguración de la Biblioteca Central, 1996 13photos
Personajes de cuentos esperando para entrar en la Biblioteca Central, 1996 13photos
Marjorie Stern (a la derecha) y otros invitados observando de cerca el modelo de la nueva Biblioteca Central, 1990 13photos
Alcalde Frank Jordan, Sybil Boutilier, el bibliotecario de la ciudad Kenneth Dowlin y el ex alcalde Art Agnos en la ceremonia de inauguración de la nueva Biblioteca Central en 1992 13photos
Las artistas Ann Hamilton y Ann Chamberlain, que diseñaron la pared del catálogo de tarjetas en 1995 13photos
Trabajando en el atrio de la Biblioteca Central, 1995 13photos
Paracaidista y escritor del aire en el día de la inauguración de la Biblioteca Central, 1996 13photos
Storybook characters waiting to enter Main Library, 1996 13photos
People watching S.F. Mime Troupe outside Main Library, 1996 13photos
Band playing outside Main Library on Fulton St., 1996. 13photos
People in the Main Library atrium, 1996 13photos
Architect Cathy Simon, City Librarian Kenneth Dowlin and Mayor Willie Brown, 1996. 13photos
Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, Mayor Willie Brown, Architects Cathy Simon and James Ingo Freed (far right) in front of the Main Library, 1996. 13photos
Paracaidista en el día de inauguración de la Biblioteca Central, 1996 "Almost magically, a 2-foot-long golden key floated down from the sky via parachutist Thursday to admit Mayor Brown and some 12,000 first-day visitors. The strains of a trumpet sounding the theme from Aaron Copeland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man' accompanied the 10-minute sky drop" (San Francisco Examiner, April 19, 1996).
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Personajes de cuentos esperando para entrar en la Biblioteca Central, 1996 "Costumed people representing storybook characters ranging from the Big Bad Wolf to Alice in Wonderland roamed the grand staircases and hallways."
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Marjorie Stern (a la derecha) y otros invitados observando de cerca el modelo de la nueva Biblioteca Central, 1990 "A model of a new main library that combines classical facades with modern interiors was unveiled yesterday and lauded as the crown jewel that will complete San Francisco's Civic Center complex. The new five-story library will occupy a full block, bounded by Larkin, Fulton, Hyde and Grove streets and will close the gap in the Civic Center complex that planners envisioned when the city was rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake and fire" (S.F. Chronicle, October 3, 1990).
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Alcalde Frank Jordan, Sybil Boutilier, el bibliotecario de la ciudad Kenneth Dowlin y el ex alcalde Art Agnos en la ceremonia de inauguración de la nueva Biblioteca Central en 1992 13photos
Las artistas Ann Hamilton y Ann Chamberlain, que diseñaron la pared del catálogo de tarjetas en 1995 With the move to the new Main Library, items in the card catalog (used to access the collection for more than 100 years) have been supplanted by an online computer system. Obsolete cards embedded in artisans' plaster cover the principal diagonal wall on three levels of the building.
Each card is annotated with a quote from its corresponding book or from another book associated with the title by subject matter. Nearly 200 individuals annotated the cards in a dozen different languages. The cards not only represent a process of research unique to the person who created them but also express the diverse meanings derived from reading.
Moreover, the annotations on the cards expose the interior of books-the text at the heart of a library's holdings. The wall represents a window into a world of books that can be browsed by those who enjoy the library and its collection.
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Trabajando en el atrio de la Biblioteca Central, 1995 13photos
Paracaidista y escritor del aire en el día de la inauguración de la Biblioteca Central, 1996 "Almost magically, a 2-foot-long golden key floated down from the sky via parachutist Thursday to admit Mayor Brown and some 12,000 first-day visitors. The strains of a trumpet sounding the theme from Aaron Copeland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man' accompanied the 10-minute sky drop" (San Francisco Examiner, April 19, 1996).
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Storybook characters waiting to enter Main Library, 1996 "Costumed people representing storybook characters ranging from the Big Bad Wolf to Alice in Wonderland roamed the grand staircases and hallways."
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People watching S.F. Mime Troupe outside Main Library, 1996 13photos
Band playing outside Main Library on Fulton St., 1996. 13photos
People in the Main Library atrium, 1996 13photos
Architect Cathy Simon, City Librarian Kenneth Dowlin and Mayor Willie Brown, 1996. 13photos
Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, Mayor Willie Brown, Architects Cathy Simon and James Ingo Freed (far right) in front of the Main Library, 1996. 13photos
