SF Library

I traveled up to visit my friend for dinner in San Francisco, and brought my scooter to jet around quickly for errands before dinner:

Killing 45 minutes before the dinner meetup time, I stepped into the main branch of the San Francisco public library:

There were some awesome skateboarding stunts being captured on a fish-eye lens camcorder, classic:

Stepping inside, the library is large (5-6 stories, 1 being subterranean):

I was confused by a section titled “Urban Fiction”:

The library was pretty well-occupied:

But plenty of open seating:

Exploring the over-sized books section, of local history, it is wild to see how some areas have changed while others have remained in stasis:

There were some interesting notes and photos from the era where different counties in the San Francisco region formed:

Having visited the city of Tiburon in Marin County, I was interested in this book of historical photos about the community:

There is a very recognizable building towards the northside of the Tiburon peninsula, that still stands today:

Before becoming an extremely affluent San Francisco suburb, it was an industrial hub of commerce and heavy rail transportation:

A more recent photo of the same location which now serves as a ferry terminal to San Francisco and Angel Island:

Rail served a hugely important economic development role in northern California:

There were several self-funded photo memoirs as well–one for Belvedere-Tiburon:

And another for Palo Alto:

Palo Alto did not have as much greenery or trees as it does, today:

I find it noteworthy that only through decades of purposeful landscaping has the area become moderately forested.

Interesting streetcar history:

With limited time, I left the library, grabbing dinner with my friend.

And I headed home after dinner: