As early as 1908 there was community interest in having a branch of the Free Library in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia. For the next ten years, the Logan Improvement League worked zealously towards establishing a library location. In 1915, Mrs. Philip Garrett, owner of valuable real estate in Logan, offered to donate a portion of the Garrett Estate for a public library. The Logan Branch was built during 1917-1918 using funds donated by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who committed $1.5 million in 1903 for the purpose of building Free Library of Philadelphia branches.