Julie Zigoris

Downtown San Francisco’s coolest library doubles as a remote work sanctuary

The Mechanics’ Institute is one of the oldest libraries in the West as well as a chess mecca with the most Instagrammable staircase in the country. 

They’re leaving school and arriving in San Francisco in droves. And they’re taking over. 


Erika Gemzer has been in a monthslong ordeal trying to repair her destroyed home in the Mission. Airbnb, she says, has been far from helpful. 

Due to a financial crisis, the SFUSD 
signaled plans to close, relocate, and consolidate schools.. 

Freebies were passed for years to city staffers, and the SF Standard’s reporting shows that is anything but typical.  