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In response to input from Excelsior community members, the Excelsior Action Group (EAG) received Community Challenge Grant funding for a two-part beautification project located at the Excelsior Branch Library, 4400 Mission Street. The project consisted of a landscaping and seating installation in front of the library on Mission Street and a public art installation on the library’s northern wall on Cotter Street. The idea to complete a beautification project at the Excelsior Branch Library first reached EAG on January 24, 2012 when Excelsior resident Colleen contacted our organization about the endemic graffiti issues on the library wall near her home on Cotter Street. At EAG’s Excelsior Community Workshop on February 6, 2012, the idea reemerged, this time also calling for outdoor seating to accommodate eager library users who currently sit on the ground outside while waiting for it to open. Excelsior Branch Library patrons and staff were very excited about the project! Branch Manager, Rebecca Alcala described, "When you walk into our library, you will see that it is alive. People are interacting with computers, other patrons, the staff, and of course, books. We have high ceilings, an amazing digital display that depicts historical images of our library and neighborhood, and a lovely patio and garden. You can hear children laughing and singing during storytime as they engage with our children’s librarians, the soft murmur of tutors helping patrons of all ages with assignments, exchanges between patrons and staff as we try to help them find information, and the constant activity of a very busy branch library. However, when you walk outside the library, the comfortable liveliness that we see and hear indoors does not match our exterior. Instead, what you will often see is graffiti, cigarette butts and ash left by smokers near our walls, and a very drab, unfriendly exterior. Groups of adults, teens, seniors, and families wait for our branch library to open every day. Some bring their own fold-up stools or crates to sit on while they patiently wait for the doors to open. This waiting area is in complete contrast to the interior of the library. |
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We now have the opportunity to transform our exterior into a canvas that will hold a changing gallery of works of art and living art. Imagine children walking by our side street and seeing colorful artwork following the theme of “Greening the Library through Art.” Patrons will be able to sit and read or use their computers in front of the library on our new benches amidst a beautiful living wall of greenery and the smell of live plants and jasmine. The best part of this project is that it came from the community. The residents came together and said we need our neighborhood library building to properly reflect what it gives to us and who we are as a community. Our artists are members of the community and library users. The artists who have children have talked about passing by the branch on their way to and from school and reflect on how wonderful it would be to see the library transformed. We are surrounded by schools, community centers, family-owned businesses, and homes. With this project, we have the opportunity to offer them so much more. Among the number of empty storefronts, vandalized buildings, and litter in the streets, this building will stand out as a destination place for our community, both inside and out."
Project Designers and Artists
(Click on each picture to view it on a larger scale)
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Katherine Kodama, Panel Artist
http://www.khkodama.com 
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Matt Christenson, Panel Artist
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Architecture For Humanity
San Francisco Architecture for Humanity generously donated their services to this project. They developed the design for the Library Greening.
San Francisco Architecture for Humanity generously donated their services to this project. They developed the design for the Library Greening.
