This Saturday, November, 2, from noon to 5 p.m., the Park Branch Library is celebrating 110 years in operation with an open house, birthday cake, crafts, live music, neighborhood walking tours, and Dia de los Muertos-themed activities.
Festivities will be held upstairs in the library's central hall, with tours departing at 1 and 3 p.m., with guitar by Josh DiChiacchio at 3 and 4:15 p.m.
Of the 27 San Francisco Public Library branches, Park Branch, in the Upper Haight at 1833 Page Street, is one of the oldest.
The fifth branch built, it was constructed in 1909 on $7,000 worth of land with $27,000 in labor and materials (that's about $197,500 and $762,000, respectively, in 2018 dollars, according to this inflation calculator). It opened on October 29, 1909.
In 2011, the library completed an extensive renovation that was over ten years in the making, adding storage and community space and rendering it LEED certified.
The building has seen a lot in its 110 years — here are some snapshots from its past.