Central Library

Central Library is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, dedicated 2002.

1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

Opened on June 2, 1927, the Central Library was designed in the Beaux Arts style by Horace Trumbauer & Julian Francis Abele. It was built to serve as the main building of the Free Library of Philadelphia, chartered in 1891.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1872 · Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks counties. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1880 · Philadelphia, Camden. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1884 · Philadelphia, Camden. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1895 · The Matthews-Northrup up-to-date map of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1901 · Philadelphia (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Philadelphia, Camden, 1884, covering the location of Central Library, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Philadelphia, Camden, 1884, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

More markers nearby

Frank N. Piasecki (1919-2008)under 1 mi
US Sanitary Commission Great Central Fairunder 1 mi
Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809)under 1 mi
1967 Black Student Walkoutsunder 1 mi