The Mechanics' Institute is a historic membership library, cultural event center, and chess club at 57 Post Street,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It was founded in 1854, as a mechanics' institute, an educational and cultural institution, to serve the vocational needs of out-of-work gold miners. The institute today serves readers, writers, downtown employees, students, film lovers, chess players, and others.

History

In 1848, the discovery of gold lured people from all over the world to California. By 1853 most surface gold was mined out, pushing the town of San Francisco into economic decline. A flood of former miners had no jobs, skills, or prospects. The Mechanics' Institute began in 1854, with four books, a chess room, and a mission to start a vocational school. At this time, California had no colleges or universities, and no public libraries. (The

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...

did not open until 1879.) In March 1857, Mechanics' Institute at San Francisco, elected the following officers: President, John Sime, Vice President, Gardner Elliot; Secretary, H. F. Williams, Treasurer, J. E. Kinkade. Within a few years, the Mechanics' Institute offered classes in such subjects as woodworking, mechanical drawing, industrial design, electrical science, applied mathematics, and ironwork. The institute's importance in California technical education reached a pinnacle in 1868, when the California legislature granted a charter for the establishment of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

. The institute participated in the fledgling university's first years, hosting technical classes and presenting lectures on many topics. It helped develop the curriculum, and had a seat on the Board of Regents until 1974. Aside from educational endeavors, the institute also promoted industry in the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning in 1857, on land donated by land baron

James Lick James Lick (August 25, 1796 – October 1, 1876) was an American real estate investor, carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. The wealthiest man in California at the time of his death, Lick left the majority of his es ...

, the institute hosted industrial fairs that displayed inventions, art, and products of all kinds to thousands of visitors. Awards were presented to winning exhibitors—many of whom are still in business, including

Levi Strauss Levi Strauss (; born Löb Strauß ; February 26, 1829 – September 26, 1902) was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Francisco ...

, Singer Sewing Machines,

Goodyear Tire The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturing company founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling and based in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, motorcycles, S ...

, Boudin Bakery, Heald Business College,

Gump's Gump's is a luxury American home furnishings and home décor retailer, founded in 1861 in San Francisco, California. The company was acquired by the Chachas family in June 2019 and announced that it would be opening a San Francisco location for th ...

, and Ghirardelli Chocolate. The Mechanics' Institute purchased the site on Post Street, between Montgomery and Kearny in 1866. The Institute erected a three-story building that was designed by William Patton. The new building featured retail spaces on the ground floor; library with open stacks; lecture hall for about six hundred people; chess room; furnished ladies sitting room; and other rooms for rental by committees, lodges, and related scientific organizations. President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

gave an address at the institute on 13 May 1903.

Library

Initially a library dedicated to the

mechanical arts ''Artes mechanicae'' (mechanical arts) are a medieval concept of ordered practices or skills, often juxtaposed to the traditional seven liberal arts (''artes liberales''). Also called "servile" and "vulgar", from antiquity they had been deemed un ...

, in 1906, the institution merged with the Mercantile Library Association, and dropped its technical focus. Its collection today covers all subjects, with special strengths in literature, arts, history, philosophy, business, finance, and hard-to-find periodicals. The Mechanics' Institute also has an audio-book, e-book, and music collection.

Events

The Mechanics' Institute events department presents over fifty author events a year. These offer a broad spectrum of authors and themes, including fiction and non-fiction, with an emphasis on American and world history, arts and architecture, biography, science and technology, social trends, economy, and culinary arts. Special Programs, such as the San Francisco Noir Literary Night, World Poetry Reading,

Bloomsday Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere on 16 June, the day his 1922 novel '' Ulysses'' takes place in 1904, the date of his first sexual encounter with his ...

, and a

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

celebration are popular annual events. The CinemaLit Film Series presents 35 films a year, featuring classic American, retro and foreign films. The evening begins with introductions by prominent film critics, writers, and reviewers, with a discussion after each film. CinemaLit draws an eclectic, diverse audience with many film buffs dedicated to the Friday night film salon. Author events, CinemaLit and Special Programs are open to members and the public. Free attendance at most events and CinemaLit are a benefit of membership.

Conferences

In November 2016, the institute hosted ''Reinvention: Thriving in the 21st Century - Mechanics' Worldwide'', the fourth in a series of international conferences for "independent and subscription libraries, mechanics' institutes, athenaeums, societies, literary institutes, lyceums, mercantile libraries, schools of arts and working men's institutes".

Chess

The Mechanics' Institute building houses the oldest continuously operating

chess club A chess club is a club formed for the purpose of playing the board game of chess. Chess clubs often provide for both informal and tournament games and sometimes offer league play. Traditionally clubs host over the board, face to face chess more t ...

in the United States, the

Mechanics' Institute Chess Club The Mechanics' Institute Chess Club is a chess club in San Francisco, California, United States. Hosted at the Mechanics' Institute, it is the oldest-continuously operating chess club in the United States. History The first meeting of the ...

. Many world champions have visited the chess room, from

Emanuel Lasker Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champ ...

in 1902 to

Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky ( rus, Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский, Borís Vasíl'yevich Spásskiy; born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 ...

in 2006. In 2009 one of the chess club's young students, 12-year-old

Daniel Naroditsky Daniel Naroditsky (born ), also known as Danya, is an American chess grandmaster, author, and commentator. He published his first chess book at age 14. Chess career Born in San Mateo, California, Naroditsky learned chess at age six from ...

, won the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

for his age group. The chess club offers tournaments and other activities for all player levels.

Membership

Membership in the Mechanics' Institute is open to the public, and offers use of the library and chess room, free admittance or discounts to special events, lectures, book discussion groups, classes, and other activities.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Chess clubs in the United States Libraries in San Francisco Mechanics' Institute 1854 establishments in California

Mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...

San Francisco Designated Landmarks Adult education in the United States