Item Info
Item No: pdcf00581
Title: Widener Branch
Additional Title: Interior view of a formal hallway in the Widener Branch, ca. 1900
Historic Street Address:
1200 N. Broad Street
Media Type: Photographic Prints
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:
In 1900, the H. Josephine Widener Branch of the Free Library was opened in the Widener Mansion at Broad Street & Girard Avenue, a gift of Peter A. B. Widener, in memory of his wife. This interior view shows an ornate formal hallway, with rooms adapted for library use visible on both sides.
In 1946, the Widener Mansion was sold. The proceeds were used to buy and remodel a former bank building further north, at 2531 W. Lehigh Avenue. In 2005, the branch moved to its present location, a new glass-fronted building, three blocks away at 2808 W. Lehigh Avenue.
The Widener Branch serves the communities of North Central Philadelphia, Strawberry Mansion, and Allegheny West.
Creation Year: ca. 1900
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.159988
Geocode Latitude:39.971732
Creator Name: Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920 - Photographer