Item Info
Media Type: Albumen Prints
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:
John Wanamaker commissioned the building of the John Wanamaker Branch, designed by architect John T. Windrim, at 2123-27 South Street, in 1903. The branch opened on December 15, 1904. The building was "rented" to the Free Library of Philadelphia for $1.00/year, a sum never collected.
The interior consisted of the main reading room on the first level, the second floor was a gallery, and a third floor had staff rooms and storage. Since any branch of the Free Library was required to include a lecture room, the Bethany Brotherhood House next door (also built by Wanamaker a few years earlier) shared its public meeting room with the library. This ca. 1904 interior view highlights the circulation desk on the main floor.
The Wanamaker Branch closed in 1932, with the termination of the lease, when the Wanamaker estate was settled. It served the Rittenhouse Square/Southwest Center City area.
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.177754
Geocode Latitude:39.945339