Mechanics' Institute is a historic membership library, cultural event center, and chess club housed at 57 Post Street, San Francisco, California. 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. Today the Institute serves readers, writers, downtown employees, students, film lovers, chess players, and others in search of learning and a community for the exchange of ideas. 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 employment and no skills nor prospects. Mechanics' Institute began in 1854 with four books, a chess and games 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 did not open until 1879.) More information...
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