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A Bernal Heights “library deposit station” was established in 1920
at 303 Cortland Avenue. It was moved to a number of other locations
as the neighborhood grew. A library was opened in 1936 in a building
at 324 Cortland. When this space proved inadequate, the community
lobbied for a new building.
The present-day Bernal Heights Branch Library at 500 Cortland Avenue
was dedicated on October 21, 1940. Frederick H. Meyer was the architect.
Construction work was funded by the Work Projects Administration, a
federal program to provide jobs during the Great Depression. The cost
of the land was $4,200 and the building cost was $90,400. The interior
of the branch features much original decoration, including high, painted
ceilings and hanging metal lamps.
The mural on the exterior of the building was a community project. Former
Bernal Branch Library Manager Ruth Maginnis, community activist Kate
Esposito and a group of volunteers selected Arch Williams to design the
mural and to secure community input through outreach to youth and seniors.
After approvals by the Art Commission and the Library Commission, the first
group of summer youth workers and volunteers began to paint in July 1980.
By the summer of 1981, Carlos Alcalá, who had helped develop the mural theme,
joined the painters. The mural was unfinished at its dedication on October 16,
1982.
Bernal Heights Branch was the 21st branch established in the San Francisco
Public Library system.
Bernal Heights Branch Library during the 1968 Bernal Heights Fair:
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