North Beach Library

With their spacious interiors, ample use of natural light, beamed ceilings, handsome gables and overhangs, walls of windows and comfortable seating, the Appletons reflect the first stirrings of the egalitarian trend to build warm and welcoming libraries whose form embraces their function An overview of the North Beach Library crisis from a supporter of its preservation. "Appletons" refers to Appleton & Wolfgard, the architectural firm which provided designs for a number of San Francisco public libraries in the days of Eisenhower and the Red Scare. Your mileage may very, but an interesting take on mid-century design in a town where many citizens would just as soon torch anything that's not Victorian. [BeyondChron]