These two striking historic landmarks were originally constructed in 1918, under the Carnegie Library program. In order to comply with the City of Oakland’s Unreinforced Masonry (URM) Ordinance, the buildings required life-safety upgrades. Starting with a previous study that recommended significant alterations to the building’s historical fabric, Noll & Tam initiated an intensive investigation into alternative structural approaches that utilized the CBC and the State Historic Building Code. Our conclusions eliminated most alterations to the historically significant interior and exterior finishes, and cost less. In addition, we added new exterior elevators to both buildings to access the basement meeting rooms and main reading room floor levels.