{"id":3640,"date":"2025-04-22T09:53:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T13:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philadelphia1.one\/?p=3640"},"modified":"2025-07-31T07:22:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T11:22:32","slug":"the-history-of-the-parkway-central-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/eternal\/the-history-of-the-parkway-central-library-3640","title":{"rendered":"The History of the Parkway Central Library"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Parkway Central Library in Philadelphia opened its doors in 1927. Spanning five floors, it boasts a rich collection of diverse publications to suit any taste. Among the 54 branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Parkway Central is the only one that serves not just as a lending library but also as a research center.<\/strong> Additionally, it houses the administrative headquarters for the entire Free Library system. Discover more about its history and treasures at philadelphia1.one<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founding, Funding, and Construction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Free Library of Philadelphia was chartered in 1891, thanks to the efforts of Dr. William Pepper. He used a $225,000 inheritance from his uncle, George S. Pepper, to establish a public library<\/a> accessible to all city residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first public library opened in 1894, occupying three small rooms in City Hall. The following year, it moved to an old concert hall at 1217-1221 Chestnut Street. Library staff found the building unsuitable and even unsafe for their work. Nevertheless, the library remained there for 15 years before relocating in 1910 to the northeast corner of 13th and Locust Streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning for the construction of the Parkway Central Library as a new, modern branch of the Free Library began in 1911. The process was halted by World War I. Construction at its current address, 1901 Vine Street, began in 1917 and took 10 years to complete. The project was designed by Julian Abele, who created a design similar to the adjacent Philadelphia Family Court building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new library officially opened on June 2, 1927. Since then, it has served as the main library of the network and its administrative building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern Spaces at Parkway Central Library<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Interior<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the 21st century, five floors of the library are open to visitors. Until 2016, the building used a book lift system to retrieve items from the collections. The books from the stacks were later transferred to the Regional Operations Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first floor features Philbrick Hall<\/strong>, the department for fiction and popular literature. This is the central circulation hall for books and other print materials. The Literature Department, with over 100,000 volumes, and the Art Department are located in what is known as Pepper Hall<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2014, the fourth floor has been home to the Culinary Literacy Center<\/strong>, which serves as a demonstration kitchen and dining area. This floor also features the Skyline Terrace with a green roof, event spaces, and meeting rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following extensive renovations, three new sections were opened in the library in 2019:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The Business Resource and Innovation Center<\/strong> on the ground floor provides services for job seekers, grant information for non-profits, and support for small business development. The center also assists with intellectual property matters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Marie and Joseph Field Teen Center<\/strong>, a 4,000-square-foot space also on the ground floor, is an activity hub for teenagers where they can form study groups and browse fiction and non-fiction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Robert and Eileen Kennedy Heim Center for Cultural and Civic Engagement<\/strong> on the first floor is a space designed for public talks and meetings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Unique Collections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In addition to its large collection of fiction, non-fiction, and periodicals, the Parkway Central Library has a Rare Book Department<\/strong>. Here you can find a collection of first editions and personal letters from Charles Dickens, rare editions of works by Edgar Allan Poe, a collection of Pennsylvania German folk art, and the John Frederick Lewis Collection of European and East Asian manuscripts. The latter includes rare editions of the Bible and other religious texts, as well as secular literature. The East Asian manuscripts are not just traditional books but also ancient scrolls and manuscripts written on palm leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The library’s separate Music Department holds the Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music<\/strong>. It is the largest of its kind in the world, with over 21,000 titles. The department also includes the Drinker Collection, with over 900 works of sacred and secular music for chorus. The Music Department also operates a research center where scholars study the lives of composers and conductors from past centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Children’s Literature Research Collection<\/strong> contains a series of publications published after 1836. It also consists of original artwork, manuscripts, and other materials related to children’s literature. The library’s archive holds the largest collection of primary source materials for children’s literature in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Car enthusiasts will be captivated by the Parkway Central Library’s Automobile Reference Collection<\/strong>. Here, you can browse a large catalog of vehicles and dive into the history of their manufacturing in the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, the Parkway Central Library contains over 130,000 maps from around the world, both modern and historical. It is worth noting that items from each of the library’s special collections have been digitized, so you can explore them online on its website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Parkway Central Library in Philadelphia opened its doors in 1927. Spanning five floors, it boasts a rich collection of diverse publications to suit any taste. Among the 54 branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Parkway Central is the only one that serves not just as a lending library but also as a research […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":3372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1168],"tags":[3050,3043,3049,2828,3042,3048,3047,3046,3051,2834,2691,2876,3052,3044,3045],"moimportance":[78,81],"motype":[1158],"moformat":[1612],"class_list":{"0":"post-3640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-automobile-reference-collection","9":"tag-beaux-arts-architecture","10":"tag-charles-dickens-collection","11":"tag-culinary-literacy-center","12":"tag-dr-william-pepper","13":"tag-edgar-allan-poe-philadelphia","14":"tag-fleisher-music-collection","15":"tag-free-library-of-philadelphia","16":"tag-julian-abele-architect","17":"tag-parkway-central-library","18":"tag-philadelphia-history","19":"tag-philadelphia-landmarks","20":"tag-philly-public-libraries","21":"tag-rare-book-collections","22":"tag-things-to-do-in-philly","23":"moimportance-golovna-novina","24":"moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatori","25":"motype-eternal","26":"moformat-c-l"},"modified_by":"Yevheniia Shevchenko","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3640"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3641,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3640\/revisions\/3641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3640"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=3640"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=3640"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philaone.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=3640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}