Item Info
Media Type: Photographic Prints
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:
The George Institute was a neighborhood library, located at the corner of 52nd Street and Bible Way (just south of Lancaster Avenue). It was chartered in 1872 by the George family, a prominent Philadelphia Quaker family of Welsh origin. Dissolved in 1927, the library’s assets were awarded to the Free Library of Philadelphia, and it was reopened on May 1, 1928, as the George Institute Branch.
This ca. 1930 interior view features the circulation desk on the main floor, probably taken after initial renovations—principally, relocating the formal central stairway to a side wall and installing or moving bookcases, to conform to requirements for a Free Library branch.
The building is no longer an active library branch today, but it served the West Philadelphia and Overbrook communities until it closed on June 2, 2001.
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.226558
Geocode Latitude:39.976497