Lovett Memorial Library
6945 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119-2189
(Germantown Ave. & Sedgwick St.)
Library is temporarily closed.
Upcoming Events
Shut-up and Write!
Mon, Apr 6, 6:30 P.M.
Lovett Memorial Library
Start your week with an hour or two of writing. We've discovered that it's strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See…
Jazz Musicians in Harlem
Wed, Apr 8, 7:00 P.M.
Lovett Memorial Library
Join us to watch a documentary about a black and white photograph of fifty-seven jazz musicians in Harlem, taken by freelance photographer…
Play Dungeons & Dragons With Us!
Sat, Apr 11, 1:30 P.M.
Lovett Memorial Library
Come one, come all! The Dungeon Master requests your presence. Games are open to all players, including newbies who would like to…
Shut-up and Write!
Mon, Apr 13, 6:30 P.M.
Lovett Memorial Library
Start your week with an hour or two of writing. We've discovered that it's strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See…
Play Dungeons & Dragons With Us!
Sat, Apr 18, 1:30 P.M.
Lovett Memorial Library
Come one, come all! The Dungeon Master requests your presence. Games are open to all players, including newbies who would like to…
Shut-up and Write!
Mon, Apr 20, 6:30 P.M.
Lovett Memorial Library
Start your week with an hour or two of writing. We've discovered that it's strikingly helpful to write with other writers. See…
About
Located on Germantown Avenue in Mt. Airy, Lovett serves the communities of East and West Mt. Airy. Check out the garden next to the branch.
We are part of the transformational Building Inspiration: 21st Century Libraries Initiative. Learn more: http://www.21stcenturylibraries.org
History
Germantown Avenue began as an Indian footpath through the woods used as a road by settlers. In 1865, Thomas Lovett purchased more than ten acres along the avenue as a family estate. Mount Airy Free Library was founded twenty years later by a trio (one of whom was Miss Louisa Lovett) in a rented room at a lumberyard, where 7153-55 Germantown Avenue now stands. Another of the trio, Mrs. Sheldon Potter, acted as volunteer librarian. She had a small circulating library at her home for neighborhood boys, hoping to raise their standard of reading materials from the "dime novels" that were all they could afford for themselves.
In 1887, Charlotte Lovett Bostwick built and endowed the library as a memorial to her brother, Thomas R. Lovett. This portion now serves as a meeting room. Lovett Library became a branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia in 1924. A new addition was opened in 1961, and in 1982 the Friends of Lovett Library started.
The library was renovated in 1999 as part of the "Changing Lives" campaign. In 2004, the Lovett Memorial Reading Garden was dedicated.