Parkway Central Library

1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(between 19th and 20th Streets on the Parkway)
215-686-5322
Library Tour Information
Departments

Upcoming Events

Parkway Central Library Tours

Building Tours:

• Monday – Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
• 1st Sunday Tour at 2:00 p.m.

Rare Book Department Tours:

• Monday – Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

Explore the grand Beaux-Arts building which is an important part of Philadelphia's past and present with this specialized tour of the Parkway Central Library, which opened on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1927. The free tour, which begins in the lobby, showcases Parkway Central's unique architecture and history, while covering the many collections and services that make the Free Library such a valuable and critical resource to Philadelphians. At the end of the tour, participants will be given the option to continue their experience by joining the free, daily tour of the Rare Book Department at 11:00 a.m., which explores the history of the book along with some of the Library's most rare holdings.

Group Tour Request

Departments

• Art Department
• Automobile Reference Collection
• Business Resource and Innovation Center
• Children's Department
• Children's Literature Research Collection
• Culinary Literacy Center
• Drinker Collection
• Education Philosophy and Religion Department
• First Floor Gallery East
• First Floor Gallery West
• Fleisher Collection
• General Information Department
• Government Publications Department
• Heim Center for Civic and Cultural Engagement
• Homebound Services
• Interlibrary Loan
• Literature Department
• Map Collection
• Music Department
• Newspapers and Microfilm Center
• Patent and Trademark Resource Center
• Philbrick Hall
• Print and Picture Collection
• Rare Book Department
• Regional Foundation Center
• Science and Wellness
• Second Floor Gallery West
• Senior Services
• Social Science and History Department
• Teen Center
• Theatre Collection
• Workplace

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