July 1: Benjamin Franklin and others found the Library Company of Philadelphia
1825
Northwest Square renamed Logan Square for William Penn's secretary, James Logan
1833
April 9: Citizens of Peterborough, New Hampshire found first free public library in the United States
1864
SS. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Cathedral by architects Napolean Le Brun and John Notman is completed
June: The U.S. Sanitary Commission hosts the Great Central Fair at Logan Square to support Civil War troops
1868
December 28: Architect Horace Trumbauer born in Philadelphia
1876
American Library Association founded in Philadelphia
Library Journal founded
First edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification System published
1881
April 30: Architect Julian Abele born in Philadelphia
1883
Horace Trumbauer enters architecture profession as an errand boy in the office of G. W. and W. D. Hewitt
1884
April 29: New Jersey real estate developer Charles K. Landis issues a plan for a boulevard from City Hall to the entrance to Fairmount Park, later dubbed the Fairmount Parkway
1887
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania authorizes the creation and regulation of municipal libraries
Nov 30, 1889
Pepper bequest founds the Free Library of Philadelphia
1889
November 30: George S. Pepper executes his last will and testament that includes a bequest to found the Free Library of Philadelphia
1890
Free Library benefactor George S. Pepper dies
Horace Trumbauer leaves the Hewitts' architectural firm and opens his own firm at 310 Chestnut Street
1891
The court grants a charter for the Free Library of Philadelphia
December 21: Mayor Edwin S. Stuart signs an ordinance appropriating $15,000 to the Board of Education to establish the Philadelphia Public Library
1892
April 12: Mayor Edwin S. Stuart signs an ordinance that places the Fairmount Parkway on the official city plan for the first time
Mar 12, 1894
First Central Library opens in City Hall
1894
March 12: First Central Library opens in City Hall
December 31: Mayor Stuart signs two ordinances consolidating the Philadelphia Public Library into the Free Library and establishing the Free Library's Board of Trustees
1895
February 11: The Central Library moves to 1217-1221 Chestnut Street
June 7: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania authorizes Philadelphia to levy taxes and make appropriations for the establishment and maintenance of public libraries
November 11: Mayor Charles F. Warwick signs ordinance for the maintenance and enlargement of the Free Library of Philadelphia
1896
July 16: Mayor Charles F. Warwick authorizes a first referendum on borrowing $1 million for a central library site and building; it fails
1897
May 14: The Free Library's Board of Trustees forms committee to select a suitable site for a central library building
September 27: Mayor Charles F. Warwick authorizes a second referendum on a loan that includes $1 million for a central library site and building; it succeeds
Nov 2, 1897
Philadelphia voters approve a referendum for a new central library building
November 2: Philadelphia voters approve a referendum for a new central library building
Horace Trumbauer begins the design of Lynnewood Hall, library trustee Peter A. B. Widener's mansion in Elkins Park
1898
Free Library founder Dr. William S. Pepper dies
June 17: Mayor Charles F. Warwick signs an ordinance creating a loan that includes "one million (1,000,000) dollars for library site and building: PROVIDED, Not more than one million (1,000,000) dollars shall be expended by the City in payment of site and erection of building"
Peter A. B. Widener donates his mansion at Broad and Girard Streets for the Free Library's Josephine H. Widener Memorial Branch
1899
October 27: Legal counsel informs Free Library officials that they cannot construct a library building on Logan Square
1900
May 8: Free Library's Josephine H. Widener Memorial Branch opens after renovations by Horace Trumbauer
November 9: Free Library officials consider the old United States Mint at Chestnut and Juniper Streets as a site for the new central library building
1902
November 15: Free Library officials accept sealed proposals for a site for the new central library building
November 28: Free Library officials reject all sealed proposals for sites for the new central library building
Jun 18, 1902
Julian Abele graduates from University of Pennsylvania
June 18: Julian Abele is the first African American to graduate from the architecture program at the University of Pennsylvania
March 25: The Philadelphia City Council awards first prize to New York architects Lord & Hewlett in a competition for a Soldiers and Sailors Monument for Logan Square
1903
April 25: Horace Trumbauer marries Sara Thomson Williams
March 20: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania authorizes the Free Library to accept Andrew Carnegie's $1.5 million gift for the erection of 30 branch libraries
April 17: Peter A. B. Widener suggests the City Hall end of the Fairmount Parkway as the site for the central library building
1904
February: Architectural Record publishes a lengthy account of Horace Trumbauer's work
January 12: Free Library officials consider School of Industrial Art building at Broad and Pine Streets as a site for the central library building
October 13: Mayor John Weaver signs an ordinance authorizing the opening of the Fairmount Parkway west of Logan Square
October 15: Free Library officials select a site for the central library on the north side of the Fairmount Parkway between Fifteenth and Sixteenth Streets
November 30: Free Library officials select Horace Trumbauer to prepare preliminary plans for the central library on the Fairmount Parkway between Fifteenth and Sixteenth Streets
1907
January: Horace Trumbauer completes the preliminary design for the central library on the Fairmount Parkway between Fifteenth and Sixteenth Streets
Feb 22, 1907
Construction begins on the Fairmont Parkway
February 22: Construction begins on the Fairmount Parkway, renamed the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1937
December 12: The Fairmount Park Art Association unveils a new design for the Fairmount Parkway by architects Horace Trumbauer, Clarence Zantzinger, and Paul Cret
1909
June 8: The City authorizes the revision of the Fairmount Parkway to comply with a compromise version of the design prepared by Horace Trumbauer, Clarence Zantzinger, and Paul Cret for the Fairmount Park Art Association, freeing the plot for the central library
October 7: Mayor John E. Reyburn founds the Comprehensive Planning Committee
1910
January 21: Library officials first consider a site for the central library on the Fairmount Parkway at Logan Square between Nineteenth, Twentieth, Vine, and Wood Streets
February 18: Library officials resolve to acquire the site for the central library on the Fairmount Parkway at Logan Square
Dec 1, 1910
The Central Library moves to the College of Physicians Building
December 1: The Free Library's Central Library moves to the College of Physicians building at Thirteenth and Locust Streets
December 29: Mayor John E. Reyburn signs an ordinance authorizing the City to borrow $1 million for the central library site and building from the 1898 loan
Apr 8, 1911
Mayor Reyburn sets aside Parkway plot for the library
1911
April 8: Mayor John E. Reyburn signs an ordinance setting aside the central library plot on the Fairmount Parkway at Logan Square
April 10: Traction magnate and library trustee Peter A. B. Widener suggests Horace Trumbauer as the Free Library's advisor for an architectural competition to find a design of the central library
April 21: The Free Library Board of Trustees creates the Committee on Main Library Site and Building to erect the central library
May 15: The First Municipal City Planning Exhibition in America opens at City Hall and includes a model of the Fairmount Parkway showing a library at Logan Square
May 23: The New York Public Library by architects Carrère & Hastings opens; it serves as a model for the central library's design
June 1: Mayor John E. Reyburn decides that the Free Library should not hold a design competition, but should appoint Horace Trumbauer as the architect of the central library
Jun 7, 1911
Preliminary floor plans are submitted for Central Library
June 7: Assistant Librarian John Ashhurst 3rd and Horace Trumbauer's preliminary floor plans are submitted to the Committee on Main Library Site and Building
June 10: Horace Trumbauer accepts his appointment as architect of the central library
June 29: The Fairmount Park Commission selects Horace Trumbauer to collaborate with the firm of Zantzinger, Borie & Medary to design the Philadelphia Museum of Art
July 5: Mayor John E. Reyburn signs ordinances appropriating $1 million for the central library from the 1898 loan and confirming the purchase of properties on the Fairmount Parkway at Logan Square for the central library
September 1: Head Librarian John Thomson tells Horace Trumbauer that "We are all getting very anxious to see your suggested sketch and plans for the Main Library Building."
October 5: Architect Julian Abele of the Trumbauer firm presents a colored sketch plan and various floor plans to the Committee on Main Library Site and Building
October 6: After the plan for the central library is presented to the Free Library's Board of Trustees, Horace Trumbauer is instructed to proceed with working drawings
December 2: Mayor John E. Reyburn signs an ordinance striking streets on the central library site from the official City Plan
1912
February 14: Free Library Board of Trustees president Henry R. Edmunds and Head Librarian John Thomson present a petition to Mayor Rudolph Blankenburg advocating the completion of the Fairmount Parkway
March 15: Mayor Rudolph Blankenburg is "very anxious that the Trustees of The Free Library should commence building operations."
April 14: Free Library trustee Harry Elkins Widener and his father George D. Widener, the grandson and son of Free Library benefactor Peter A. B. Widener, die on the Titanic
April 26: A committee of the City's Art Jury recommends approval of the preliminary plans for the central library
April 29: Library officials release "a little book showing a good perspective view of the south and east facades of the building, and a ground plan, showing its proposed location, together with five floor plans of the building."
June 7: Financial problems force the Free Library's Board of Trustees to consider constructing the central library in sections
1913
February 13: Horace Trumbauer prepares a plan to construct the central library section by section
March 29: Head Librarian John Thomson solicits a donation from Andrew Carnegie for the erection of the central library
Apr 2, 1913
Carnegie refuses to fund Central building
April 2: Andrew Carnegie refuses to fund the erection of the central library
May 24: City Solicitor Michael J. Ryan issues an opinion stating that the 1898 loan money cannot be used for the construction of the central library
1914
September 24: Mayor Rudolph Blankenburg signs an ordinance to borrow $40,000 for the central library to overturn the 1898 loan restrictions
November 5: Mayor Rudolph Blankenburg authorizes the erection of a temporary building for evangelist Billy Sunday on the central library site
1915
January 7: Mayor Rudolph Blankenburg signs ordinances appropriating $40,000 for the central library and overturning the 1898 loan restrictions
March 25: Mayor Rudolph Blankenburg requests that library officials restart the central library construction effort
May 21: The Philadelphia City Council extends Logan Square west to Twentieth Street
July 17: City Solicitor Michael J. Ryan authorizes commencement of construction of the central library following approval of the $40,000 loan
August 13: Horace Trumbauer states that "The preliminary plans and studies are completed and preparation of the working drawings and specifications can be started immediately, requiring about ninety days for their completion."
August 16: The Free Library's Board of Trustees authorizes Horace Trumbauer to proceed with plans and specifications and schedules the groundbreaking for September 16, 1915
Aug 20, 1915
Groundbreaking is cancelled and construction is postponed
August 20: City Solicitor Michael J. Ryan issues a legal opinion stating that the City Council must approve the construction of the central library, forcing library officials to cancel the groundbreaking and postpone construction
1916
January 20: The City signs a contract with Horace Trumbauer for the central library
February: Head Librarian John Thomson dies; Assistant Librarian John Ashhurst 3rd appointed head of the Free Library
February 18: Mayor Thomas B. Smith authorizes the Free Library to enter into a contract for the construction of the central library
May 16: Philadelphia voters approve a loan referendum including $2.46 million for the central library and $9 million for the Fairmount Parkway
December 29: The Art Jury approves the updated plans for the central library
1917
March 19: The Mason Builders' Association threatens to block the construction of the central library if the stone is not cut in Philadelphia
March 23: Indiana limestone interests file the first Walter R. Taylor vs. City lawsuit to block the construction of central library, withdrawn on March 29, 1917
March 27: Bids opened for the construction of the central library
April 2: Contracts awarded for building, plumbing, electrical, and heating and ventilation of the central library
April 3: Local stone cutters file the John F. Flinn vs. City lawsuit to block construction of the central library
April 10: The lower court refuses to grant a preliminary injunction blocking the construction of the central library in the John F. Flinn vs City lawsuit
1917 – 1918
Landscape architect Jacques Gréber converts Logan Square into a circle
May 12, 1917
Ground broken for the Central Library
May 12: Ground is broken for the central library
May 22: On appeal of John F. Flinn vs. City, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court grants the injunction blocking the awarding of contracts for the construction of the central library; the construction contracts are annulled
July 12: New bids are received for the central library building, plumbing, and electrical contracts
July 17: New central library building, plumbing, and electrical contracts are awarded
October 13: Court refuses to grant a preliminary injunction blocking the construction of the central library in the second Walter R. Taylor vs. City lawsuit
1918
January 19: Horace Trumbauer completes detailed drawings for the central library
January 30: Jacques Gréber's redesign of the Fairmount Parkway are exhibited publicly
Oct 26, 1918
Fairmount Parkway opens
October 26: Fairmount Parkway officially declared open
1919
June 16: Horace Trumbauer directed to provide steel frame in place of the masonry, load-bearing walls for the central library
1920
February 25: Mayor J. Hampton Moore requests that the central library be redesigned to reduce cost
March 30: Horace Trumbauer reduces the size of the central library from seven to six million cubic feet
September 14: Bids are opened for the excavation and construction of the central library foundations, John Gill & Son's bid of $425,000 is the lowest; all bids are later rejected by the Department of Public Works as too high
December 21: New bids are opened for the excavation and construction of the foundations; Standard Construction Company's bid of $268,750 is the lowest
1921
Sculptor Hermon Atkins MacNeil and architects Lord & Hewlett erect a pair of stelae as the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial at Twentieth Street and the Fairmount Parkway
February 14: The Standard Construction Company restarts construction of the central library foundations
Nov 20, 1921
Foundations of the Central Library completed
November 20: The Standard Construction Company completes the foundations of the central library
December 2: Horace Trumbauer signs a new contract based on the revised central library design
1922
January 27: Horace Trumbauer completes new preliminary plans for the central library
February 21: Bids are opened for the erection of the building; the P. H. Kelly Company's bid of $1,367,000 is the lowest
March 1: The P. H. Kelly Construction Company is awarded the contract to erect the central library
March 16: Horace Trumbauer begins new detailed drawings of the central library
April 10: The P. H. Kelly Company begins construction of the central library
April 24: The Art Jury recommends approval of the revised plans of the central library
Jan 24, 1923
Cornerstone laid for Central building
1923
January 24: Mayor J. Hampton Moore led a ceremony to lay the cornerstone of the central library
June 2: The P. H. Kelly Company completes the erection of central library's steel frame
December 5: The contract for the central library's heating and ventilating systems is awarded to John H. Cooney for $397,500; contract for the plumbing and drainage systems to the W. G. Connell Company for $236,000
1924
April 29: The contract for the central library's electrical system is awarded to the W. V. Pangborne & Company for $188,600
July 24: The Swann Memorial Fountain by sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder and architect Wilson Eyre at the center of Logan Circle is switched on for the first time
1925
June 6: Julian Abele marries Marguerite Bulle
Feb 28, 1925
The exterior building of Central Library is completed
February 28: The exterior of central library is completed
July 29: The contract for the interior of the central library is awarded to F. W. Mark Construction Company for a bid of $2,417,241
1926
July 8: Horace Trumbauer completes the final revisions to the central library design
October 30: The old Central Library at Thirteenth and Locust Streets closes
1927
January 20: The first books are moved into the Central Library
Jun 2, 1927
Opening Day
June 2: Dignitaries open the Central Library with a grand ceremony on the lawn across Vine Street from the building
1928
March 16: The Art Jury approves Paul Cret and Jacques Gréber's design for the Rodin Museum
March 27: The Philadelphia Museum of Art opens
1929
April 24: The Saint George's Society dedicates a Shakespeare Memorial by sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder and architect Wilson Eyre across Vine Street from the Central Library entrance
November 29: The Rodin Museum opens
1931
May 11: The Art Jury approves John T. Windrim and W. Morton Keast's design for the Municipal Court building, the Central Library's twin
1932
April 14: The Art Jury approves John T. Windrim's design for the Franklin Institute building
1934
January 1: The Franklin Institute opens
1938
September 17: Ground is broken for the Municipal Court building
September 18: Horace Trumbauer dies
1939
February 2: Samuel T. Freeman & Company auction house sells Horace Trumbauer's important collection of rare architecture books
