Free Library of Philadelphia, Logan Branch, 1333 Wagner Avenue, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA

Significance: Completed in 1918, the Kingsessing Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia was the twenty-first 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. The Logan Branch was designed by John T. Windrim. Recognized for his successful architectural practice designing commercial, public, and municipal buildings, Windrim had already executed plans for the Passyunk Branch and would go on to design the Nicetown Branch (no longer extant), and to serve on the Library Board. Logan Branch is somewhat more staid and classically inspired then the typical Philadelphia branch library, although it follows the symmetrically arrangement and T-plan that came to define Carnegie libraries in Philadelphia and nationwide. Its less ornate detailing is a consequence of dwindling endowment funds brought on as war-time shortages inflated the cost of building materials and labor.
Survey number: HABS PA-6757
Building/structure dates: 1918 Initial Construction