Free Library of Philadelphia, Kingsessing Branch, 1201 South 51st Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Significance: Completed in 1919, the Kingsessing Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia was among the last of twenty-five branch libraries built through an endowment from industrialist-turned-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The impact of Carnegie's grant program on the development of public libraries cannot be overstated. He came of age in an era when libraries were rare, privately funded institutions and access was through subscription. Believing in the power of libraries to create an egalitarian society that favored hard work over social privilege by allowing equal access to knowledge, between 1886 and 1917 he provided forty million dollars for the construction of 1,679 libraries throughout the nation. The vast resources that he allotted to library research and construction contributed significantly to the development of the American Library as a building type. In addition, by insisting that municipalities supply a building site, books, and annual maintenance funds before bestowing grants Carnegie elevated libraries from the arena of private philanthropy to that of civic responsibility.

Philadelphia was the recipient of one of the largest Carnegie grants for library construction. Although the city was among the first to establish a free library system, it had no purpose-built structures prior to the Carnegie endowment. The branch libraries were built between 1905 and 1930, under the direction of the city appointed Carnegie Fund Committee, and designed by a "who's-who" of Philadelphia's architects. The twenty extant branch libraries remain as a remarkable intact and cohesive grouping, rivaled only by that of New York City, with fifty-seven. Kingsessing Branch was designed by Philip H. Johnson, an architect for the city. This was the first of three branch libraries that he designed; the other two are the Greenwich (no longer extant) and Wyoming branches. The Kingsessing Branch is typical of Philadelphia's Carnegie-funded branch libraries, following the almost formulaic pattern of brick construction, understated Beaux Arts styling, and T-plan configuration that came to define Carnegie Libraries in Philadelphia and nationwide. The library derives its name from the Native American word "Chincessing" meaning "bog meadow," that was given to this area along the Schuylkill River by Dutch and Swedish settlers.
Survey number: HABS PA-6755
Building/structure dates: 1919 Initial Construction