Mechanics' Institute, San Francisco

The nine-story Beaux-Arts building at fifty-seven Post Street is marked by a grand facade and a striking spiral staircase of iron. Inside, the metal grate of that staircase is embedded with a Greek key motif, symbolizing the unlocking of knowledge for everyone. Founded in eighteen fifty-four, the Mechanics' Institute began as a vocational center for out-of-work gold miners, offering them a place to learn skills like ironwork and mechanical drawing when the city lacked colleges or public libraries.