Chestnut Hill Library
8711 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118-2716
(Germantown Ave. & Bethlehem Pike)
Girl Scouts of America: Troop Chestnut Hill Library
Every other Monday, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Did you know there is a Girl Scouts Troop that meets at the Library?! Call Ms. Prather, Children's Librarian, for more information. 215.685.9290
Library is temporarily closed.
Upcoming Events
CANCELLED - English Language Conversation Group
Mon, Apr 6, 7:00 P.M.
Chestnut Hill Library
This group is a great way to practice speaking everyday English. All levels are welcome. For adults. This group meets most Mondays.
CANCELLED - Family Story Play!
Sat, Apr 11, 11:00 A.M.
Chestnut Hill Library
Join us for stories, songs and rhymes followed by a fun, family-friendly activity. Young children msut be accompanied by an adult.
CANCELLED - English Language Conversation Group
Mon, Apr 13, 7:00 P.M.
Chestnut Hill Library
This group is a great way to practice speaking everyday English. All levels are welcome. For adults. This group meets most Mondays.
CANCELLED - Afterschool Yoga
Wed, Apr 15, 4:00 P.M.
Chestnut Hill Library
Join us for yoga inspired games and themes, using our bodies, minds and breath. This program ties in self-awareness, focus, stress release,…
CANCELLED - Spring Toddler and Preschool Storytime
Thu, Apr 16, 10:30 A.M.
Chestnut Hill Library
Join us for stories, songs and guaranteed silliness! Themes are seasonal. For young children along with an adult caregiver. Groups…
CANCELLED - Infant and Toddler Playgroup
Fri, Apr 17, 10:30 A.M.
Chestnut Hill Library
Play, talk, read and listen to music as the kids explore and interact with one another. For youngsters along with their parents, grandparents or…
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.