From 1926 until 2022, this imposing building on one of North Beach’s steepest inclines was home to the San Francisco Art Institute (which changed its name from the California School of Fine Arts in 1961). Its roof terrace has some of the finest views of Coit Tower and northeast San Francisco, and its art gallery was highlighted by Diego Rivera’s The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City. Ansel Adams, Angela Davis, Kathy Acker, and Dorothea Lange are just a few of the noted artists, performers, and authors who taught here. Sadly, the school closed in July 2022, and the facility’s future is currently uncertain, although one hopes its status as San Francisco Designated Landmark #85 helps keep it in responsible hands.