Fishtown Community Library
Fishtown Community Library's elevator is temporarily out of service.
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We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this accessibility issue. Please ask a staff member if we can assist you during the elevator outage.
We are in contact with our Buildings teams to get needed repairs to our elevator. In the meantime, we are happy to retrieve materials from the upper floors on your behalf.
Please stay tuned for updates on the status of our elevator.
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday | 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
| Thursday | 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
| Friday | 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
Upcoming Closures
- Mon., Oct. 13 : Closed Indigenous Peoples' Day
- Tue., Nov. 11 : Closed Veterans Day
- Thu., Nov. 27 : Closed Thanksgiving Day
- Fri., Nov. 28 : Closed Thanksgiving Friday
Services
- Book Drop
- Browse Shelves
- Computer Use
- Materials / Holds Pick Up
- Printing Services
- Reference Services
- Wi-Fi
Facilities
- Baby changing station
- Bicycle rack
- Book drop box
- Computers for public use
- Electrical outlets available
- Meeting space (reservation required)
- Photocopier (black/white)
- Printing (black/white)
- Public restrooms
- Scanner
- Screen-reading software (JAWS)
- Street parking (free)
- Street parking
- Water fountain
- Wireless internet access (wi/fi)
Upcoming Events
Paper Craft Club
Sat, September 20, 2025
10:30 A.M.
Let’s craft together! Drop in between 10:30am-12:30pm. We’ll make paper crafts we enjoy or learn new ones from each other. This includes card-making, junk journaling, scrapbooking, and anything you can create with paper, scissors, and glue. Materials are provided…
Fall Migration Bird Walk with Expert Birder, Holger Pflicke!
Sat, September 20, 2025
10:30 A.M.
Please join the Free Library of Philadelphia's Fishtown Community Library and Holger Pflicke for a Fall Migration Bird Walk! This walk will begin at Penn Treaty Park, 1301 N. Beach Street - meet at the entrance near the wooden sign. We plan to stay out for 1 hour, and walk mostly on…
Read, Baby, Read Storytime!
Mon, September 22, 2025
11:30 A.M.
Join Miss Liz for Read, Baby, Read storytime on Monday mornings at 11:30am. Stay after storytime for playtime! Intended for babies and toddlers ages 0-2, but all are welcome. In the colder months this event will be held indoors on the library's 3rd floor, accessible…
English Conversation Group
Tue, September 23, 2025
5:45 P.M.
Build your confidence in speaking English while meeting other adults in a casual learning environment. No registration is required. This group is for intermediate/advanced English speakers and is led by Free Library volunteer Gleb. Questions? Email adultlearning@freelibrary.org or call…
About
Welcome, friends!
The Fishtown Community Library serves Fishtown, East Kensington and Olde Richmond, as well as visitors from throughout the city of Philadelphia and surrounding region.
Fishtown staff provide free programming for all ages, including storytimes, English conversation groups, book clubs, afterschool activities and homework help as part of LEAP, and so much more! In the warmer months many programs are held outdoors in favorable weather.
Have questions? Call us as 215-685-9990, or email fishtown@freelibrary.org
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see what we're up to!
Prefer an email newsletter? Sign up for our News from the Neighborhood monthly update.
Do you want to support our programs and services? Make a donation to the Fishtown Community Library!
History
The history of Fishtown begins with the Native Lenni-Lenape people, who called the area Shackamaxon. In the early 1600's, Swedes, German, Dutch and English settled on scattered plots of land, and on April 23, 1683, William Penn negotiated a land exchange to acquire Shackamaxon.
In the early 1700s, English businessman Anthony Palmer purchased a large tract of land that he named Kensington after a suburb of London. This was combined with Shackamaxon. The Consolidation Act of 1854 brought the area into the present city limits. Legend has it that Charles Dickens named the area Fishtown after seeing the fish sold in the open air farmer's market on Girard Avenue.
Open for business in 1947, the original Community Branch Library was located at 615 Girard Avenue. However, the building was soon torn down so that a police station could be built.
The library opened at its current location at East Montgomery Avenue and Flora Street on March 31, 1950. This building was built in 1895 as a stable, and was later used as a fire station for horse-drawn wagons. It was donated to the library by the city through the efforts of the Men's Organization of the Community League of Kensington, hence the initial name, Community Branch.
Reflecting neighborhood pride, the name was changed to Fishtown Community Branch in 1982. The library was renovated extensively in 1989, with the addition of a balcony, meeting room and elevator. Further renovations were completed in 1997 as part of the "Changing Lives" campaign, which refurbished branches and brought Internet access to every library.