Chestnut Hill Library

Wednesday, February 26 – Message from Staff

 

You can now sign-up for the Chestnut Hill Library Newsletter online! Keep up to date on all the events happening at our branch, alongside learning about highlights from our collection! Sign-up HERE to subscribe.

 

8711 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118-2716
Germantown Ave. & Bethlehem Pike
Open today 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, 6/8 Closed
Monday, 6/9 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, 6/10 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, 6/11 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, 6/12 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. *
Friday, 6/13 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, 6/14 Closed
  • * Thursday had hour changes – Due to staff development.
Sunday Closed
Monday 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Friday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday Closed

Upcoming Closures

  • Thu., Jun. 19 : Closed Juneteenth
  • Fri., Jul. 4 : Closed Independence Day
  • Mon., Sep. 1 : Closed Labor Day
  • Thu., Sep. 11 : Opening at 1:00 PM due to staff development
View all holiday closings

Facilities

  • Baby changing station
  • Bicycle rack
  • Book drop box
  • Computers for public use
  • Electrical outlets available
  • Photocopier (black/white)
  • Printing (black/white)
  • Public restrooms
  • Street parking (metered)
  • Water fountain
  • Wireless internet access (wi/fi)

Upcoming Events

Infant and Toddler Playgroup

Fri, June 13, 2025 10:30 A.M.

Play, talk, explore books and toys while listening to music and gaining early social, emotional, fine and gross motor skills. For youngsters along with their parents, grandparents or caregivers.  Come one time, or all the time. Meets most Fridays.  

Live Performance: Kamarády Quintet

Tue, June 17, 2025 5:30 P.M.

Join us as local musicians Ashi Sirin, Kim Dolan, Susan Schiffman, Lynn Major, and Sally Livingston perform an hour of classic musical stylings.  This performance will include works from Max Bruch, Beethoven and Robert Schumann.  5:30 - 6:45 p.m. For all ages.

Yoga for Curious Kids

Wed, June 18, 2025 10:30 A.M.

In this class, children and their favorite adult will experience 30 minutes of fun and inspirational interaction, encouraging the child's natural thirst for knowledge. This class is personalized around children's curiosities as they learn yoga through  social interaction,…

Infant and Toddler Playgroup

Fri, June 20, 2025 10:30 A.M.

Play, talk, explore books and toys while listening to music and gaining early social, emotional, fine and gross motor skills. For youngsters along with their parents, grandparents or caregivers.  Come one time, or all the time. Meets most Fridays.  

About

Located a half-block north of Bethlehem Pike in the middle of a lovely garden, the library is just beyond the end of the 23 route. facebook.com/FLPChestnutHill/

History

The first inhabitants of the Chestnut Hill area were the Delaware Indians. One of their leaders, Chief Tedyuscung, is immortalized in a statue in nearby Fairmount Park overlooking Wissahickon Creek. The Indians sold this section of their territory to William Penn on July 14, 1683.

The area's first white settlers were religious dissenters from Holland who were attracted to Penns Woods by the tolerance of its gentle leader. The name Chestnut Hill first appeared in a deed of 1711. Although there were no more Chestnut trees on the hill than anywhere else, the now almost extinct trees gave the town its name.

To serve the schools and the community, philanthropist Henry Williams built the Christian Hall Library in 1872 at 8711 Germantown Avenue. Williams named the library Christian Hall because he did not wish anything to go on in the two-story building and subsequent annex that would be inconsistent with the word "Christian." Singing, elocution classes, magic lantern shows, art lectures, church fairs and temperance meetings were permitted.

At first the library was only a reading room, and books were issued only to subscribers. But after 1876, Mr. Williams was persuaded to allow anyone to take books without charge. In 1897, the trustees of the Christian Hall Library decided that the library would be of greater benefit to the community as a branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, and so they granted the grounds to the city.

A new library building was built in 1907, funded by Andrew Carnegie and on the same site as the Christian Hall Library. In 1991, a modern meeting room addition was added. The library was renovated in 1999 as part of the "Changing Lives" campaign, which brought Internet service to every branch. Active support is provided by the Friends of the Chestnut Hill Library, founded in the 1970s.