90 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {landmark} words by MARGARET KOENIG • photography by ROBB MOST There’s a reason the Burlingame Public Library has been described as “The Jewel of Burlingame.” With its stately Italian Renaissance-style exterior and airy, three-story Arts and Craftsinspired interior that houses study rooms, a tech lab and a cafe, the library is as functional as it is beautiful. This bastion of books also boasts exhibits on local history, including early maps of Burlingame and a bust of lawyer, legislator and city namesake Anson Burlingame. Designed by Colonel E. L. Norberg, the library was initially constructed in 1931. It grew rapidly in subsequent years, and by 1956 contained roughly burlingame library 100,000 volumes, making it one of the largest book collections per capita in California at the time. The library was expanded and renovated repeatedly over the years: in 1960, 1972, 1975 and in the 1990s following damage caused by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Most recently, the library was renovated in 2014, an undertaking that cost roughly $3.5 million and added 15,000 square feet to the structure. In 2016, SFGate pronounced the Burlingame Library one of the most beautiful public libraries in the Bay Area, and in 2021 The Mercury News included it on its own top 10 list. The next time you find yourself in Burlingame, pop by the library to browse its impressive book selection or just appreciate the eye-catching architecture and the chance to discover a charming slice of local history.
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