Item Info

Historic Street Address: 1700 South Broad Street
Media Type: Photographic Prints
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:

 In 1914, the South Philadelphia Branch opened in an Andrew Carnegie-funded building at Broad and Ritner Streets. In 1965, the branch relocated to Broad & Morris Streets. 

This bronze sculpture is a 4-foot reproduction of the 15th-century Andrea del Verrocchio sculpture titled “David.” It was presented to the City of Philadelphia from Florence, Italy, on October 11, 1964, to celebrate the naming of Philadelphia as its sister city. It was installed in the lobby of the South Philadelphia Branch, ca. 1966.

In 2014, the library building was demolished, and in 2016, in partnership with CHOP, the City of Philadelphia, and the Free Library, a new building that combines health, recreational, and literacy services was opened on the same site at Broad & Morris, becoming the South Philadelphia Health and Literacy Center, incorporating the new South Philadelphia Library branch.  The sculpture of David still resides with the new library building, in the lobby.

The South Philadelphia Branch serves the north central area of South Philadelphia.

Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.169120
Geocode Latitude:39.929156