J. Lewis Crozer Library
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The J. Lewis Crozer Library is a
public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
in
Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...
, United States. It was founded in 1769 as one of the earliest libraries established in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. It was chartered as the Chester Library Company in 1830 and reincorporated in 1879 as the Chester Free Library. In 1925, the library was renamed in recognition of a $250,000 gift bequeathed to it by the wealthy philanthropist J. Lewis Crozer. The library occupied several buildings over the years, including the Deshong Art Museum from 1961 to 1978. The current library building was built in 1976 as a neighborhood branch and became the main library in 1978.


Description

The library is located at 620 Engle Street in Chester, Pennsylvania, just north of Martin Luther King Park.


History

The library was founded February 14, 1769, when a group of citizens established a collection of 163 books on the second story of a
market house A market house or market hall is a covered space historically used as a marketplace to exchange goods and services such as provisions or livestock, sometimes combined with spaces for public or civic functions on the upper floors and often with a ...
. It was one of the earliest libraries established in Pennsylvania. In 1830, the
Pennsylvania Legislature The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...
formed a charter for the library and the name was changed to the Chester Library Company. Interest in the library declined and the collection was stored in a building on 4th Street in 1871. The library was reincorporated in 1876 as the Chester Free Library. A building on Ninth Street was constructed in 1877 to use for the library and a community center. A wealthy philanthropist, J. Lewis Crozer, bequeathed $250,000 to the library after his death in 1897. The library was renamed the J. Lewis Crozer Library in 1925 in recognition of the gift. In the 1940s, the library on Ninth Street closed. The Deshong Art Museum in
Deshong Park Deshong Park is a park in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1913 on land donated to the city by wealthy businessman Alfred O. Deshong after his death. The donation of his property, mansion and art collection would be valued at over $ ...
was used as the library from 1961 to 1978. In 1976, the current library was built at 620 Engle Street as a branch to serve the Southern and Western parts of Chester. In 1978, the main library was moved from the Deshong Art Museum to 620 Engle Street. In 2010, a statue of
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
, sculpted by Zenos Frudakis, was installed in the Martin Luther King Memorial Park adjacent to the library. The statue is tall and .


References


External links


J. Lewis Crozer Library YouTube channel
{{Chester, Pennsylvania 1769 establishments in Pennsylvania Chester, Pennsylvania Public libraries in Pennsylvania