Lansburgh returned to the Bay Area in May 1906 , one month after the region had been devastated by the San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires . First in partnership with Bernard Julius Joseph for two years , then in his own practice , Lansburgh designed numerous buildings in the recovering city . Among these were four of the seven Carnegie branch libraries for the city Mission ( 1915 ) ; Sunset ( 1918 ) ; North Beach ( 1921 ) ; and Presidio ( 1921 ) and his first theater , for the San Francisco – based Orpheum Theater Circuit . In his long career thereafter , Lansburgh become known primarily as a theater architect , designing more than 50 of them , many for the Orpheum Circuit and its successor firm , RKO . He continued to design other buildings , including Oakland 's Temple Sinai in 1914
San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
G. Albert Lansburgh