1xBowen 3648 W. Vernor482161912The Bowen Branch opened in its current location on December 28, 1912. The branch is named in honor of Herbert Bowen, an early member of the Library Commission. It boasts a Carnegie library of English collegiate architecture with exterior walls of buff Ohio stone and red vitrified brick. Inside the library is a Pewabic tile fireplace.
2ButzelHarper and E. Grand Blvd482111998
3xCampbell8733 W. Vernor482092006Named in honor of the first president of the Library Commission, James Valentine Campbell, the Campbell Branch originally opened in a rented store building at West End Avenue near West Jefferson on September 1, 1907. The branch was known as the Delray Branch and the West Fort Street Branch. The branch opened in its current location in March, 2006.
3.1Campbell (original)West End Avenue near West Jefferson1907
4xChandler Park12800 Harper482131957Named for the area that it serves, the Chandler Park Branch opened on March 23, 1957. The branch sits on property donated by the City of Detroit Parks and Recreation Department.
5xChaney16101 Grand River482271955The Chaney Branch was named in honor of the first Director of the Detroit Public Library, Henry Chaney. Professor Chaney served as Director from 1865 to 1878. The Chaney Branch opened to the public on June 28, 1955. The site was previously a bookmobile stop.
6xChase17731 W. Seven Mile482351952The Chase Branch Library opened on July 24, 1952. It is named in honor of Jessie C. Chase, the Library’s first superintendent of branches.
7xConely4600 Martin482101913The Conely Branch Library on Detroit's Southwest side is one of the legacy of libraries that Andrew Carnegie bequeathed to towns all across America in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Named for Edwin Conely, a prominent local attorney and a member of the Library Commission, the branch library opened on September 15, 1913 in a rural area of Detroit. Over the course of the next thirteen years, the area grew so much that it was necessary to add a large room to the rear of the original library building, thus ensuring that the library could best serve the community for decades to come.
8xDouglass3666 Grand River482081971Opened March 29, 1971, the Douglass Branch for Specialized Services was named in honor of Frederick Douglass, the gifted orator and civil rights leader of the Civil War period, and the well-known Scripps-Booth family, who were benefactors of the library in numerous areas. James E. Scripps was a member of the Detroit Library Commission from 1900 to 1905.
The Douglass Branch is located on the former estate of George G. Booth (James E. Scripps' son-in-law), a Detroit philanthropist, who donated his land and house to the city of Detroit in 1905 with the requirement that it become a public park and a branch library. The house was used as a public library until around 1966, when it was demolished to make way for the existing building.
The distinguishing feature of the Douglass Branch is the Frederick Douglass Mural, which depicts the meeting between Frederick Douglass and John Brown that took place in Detroit in March of 1859. Created by muralist Leroy Foster, it measures 10 feet by 12 feet and was in the Douglass Branch at the time of its opening.
9xDuffield2507 W. Grand Blvd48208
10xEdison18400 Joy Road482281955Named in honor of Thomas A. Edison, the Edison Branch opened on December 9, 1948 in a rented storefront overlooking the Southfield Expressway. The present building opened on January 25, 1955 and was expanded in 1969 to the west and north.
11xElmwood Park 550 Chene482071975The Elmwood Park Branch opened on April 21, 1975 in the Elmwood Park Plaza -- the only branch located in a shopping plaza. The library opening completed the development of a mini-community. The original owners included the library at the insistence of the community residents.
The Lafayette Park area was the first major urban renewal project in the city of Detroit. The demolition of what was then a large African-American community began in the 1950's. The original plan for the 129 acres was to demolish the residences and commercial buildings on the site and prepare the land for resale to private developers for residential use. The plan went through many changes before the building was completed and the area fully developed. Today, Lafayette Park consists of low and high-rise apartments, condominiums and townhouses. The population of the area is mixed both racially and economically, with an age range from young families to senior citizens.
12xFranklin13651 E. McNichols482051929Named for the great American statesman, philosopher, and man of letters, Benjamin Franklin, the Franklin Branch first opened January 23, 1929, as the Outer Drive branch. It was located just one block north of its present location. Closed temporarily in 1932, it reopened one month later with funds raised by residents of the neighborhood. It moved to its present location on January 24, 1950, and was the first of the Detroit Public Library's functionally designed modern branches.
13Ginsburg91 Brewster St (btwn St. Antoine and Hastings)1927
14Gray1117 Field Avenue (btwn Field and Lafayette)
15Hosmer3506 Gratiot19111932Purchased for coffee shop in 2016
16xHubbard12929 W. McNichols482351951The Hubbard Branch of the Detroit Public Library opened February 15, 1951 in rented quarters at 13422 W. McNichols near Schaefer Highway. The library moved to its present location on W. McNichols just west of the service drive of the John C. Lodge Freeway on September 10, 1953. It is named for geologist, naturalist, and Detroit civic leader, Bela Hubbard (1814-1896).
17HurlburtE. Jefferson and Cadillac
18xJefferson12350 E. Outer Drive482241937The Jefferson Branch of the Detroit Public Library opened in rented quarters on Warren Avenue, September 27, 1937, as the East Warren branch. The library moved to its present location on East Outer Drive on October 4, 1951, the first National Library Day. It is named for the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.
19xKnapp13330 Conant482121950Knapp Branch, named after Elisabeth Knapp, the first chief of the Detroit Public Library’s Children’s Department, opened to the public on October 3, 1950. The branch today serves a diverse population including a large community of immigrants.
20xLincoln1221 E. Seven Mile482031951Renamed in honor of the 16th president of the United States, the Abraham Lincoln Branch opened in its current location at 1221 E. Seven Mile Road, October 29, 1951. Previously known as the North Woodward branch, Lincoln was housed in rented quarters on Woodward near Seven Mile, later moving to Seven Mile and John R, until finally being established in its current permanent location.
21LothropW. Warren and W. Grand Blvd2009
22.1Mark Twain (original)8500 Gratiot (at Burns)19962011
23Monnier13600 Grand River (at Schaefer)
24xMonteith14100 Kercheval482151926The Monteith Library opened May 1, 1926. It was at the time the largest of Detroit’s branch libraries, the seventeenth to be housed in its own building.
25OsiusGratiot and Burns1939current new Mart Twain Branch
26xParkman1766 Oakman482381931The Parkman Branch opened at its present location on April 16, 1931. It is named in honor of the American historian, Francis Parkman. This branch was the eighteenth in the Detroit Library system and the second to be designed according to a regional plan. The building is situated on a triangular site and the interior features the half-timbered early Tudor style.
27.1Redford (original)21511 West McNichols19261980
27xRedford21200 Grand River482191981The original Redford Branch, located at 21511 West McNichols, opened on November 22, 1926. As the neighborhood outgrew the beautiful stone building, a larger facility was needed to accommodate neighborhood growth. The current facility, located just across Grand River from the original Redford Branch, is built on the site of Detroit’s old Receiving Hospital. This new branch opened February 16, 1981 with a generous 20,000+ square feet, and includes meeting rooms, as well as children’s and adult areas. The branch name is the name of the community in which it is located and which it serves.
28Richard9876 Grand River482042011
29xSkillman121 Gratiot482261932The Rose & Robert Skillman Branch of the Detroit Public Library, formerly called the Downtown Library (opened January 4, 1932), was renamed the Rose and Robert Skillman Branch Library to honor a generous gift from the Skillman Foundation.
30Williams20845 Fenkell (btwn Burt and Pierson)originally Brightmoor Branch
31SchoolcraftDavison and Lumkin
32ScrippsTrumbull and Grand River changed to Frederick Douglass Branch
33xSherwood Forest7117 W. Seven Mile482211942The Sherwood Forest branch was established in 1942, with the present building opening in February 20, 1951. The branch was named for the area of the city which it serves, which in turn, was named for the English forest that was the legendary seat of operations of Robin Hood.
34Utley8726 Woodward (at Alger, btwn Alger and King)now DHD Family Place Clinic
35Walker10720 Mack Avenue (at Montclair, btwn Montclair and French)
36xWilder7140 E. Seven Mile482341967The Wilder Branch was named after Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of many children's stories of pioneer life.
Initially, a temporary branch location on Seven Mile Road opened on May 12, 1949. The current location opened on February 6, 1967. The exterior court displays a metal wall sculpture by Narendra Patel, which was inspired by the book "The Little House in the Big Woods." Mrs. Wilder donated manuscripts of "The Long Winter" and "These Happy Golden Years" along with photographs and other documents to the Library. These items are currently housed in the Burton Historical Collection at the Main Library.
22Mark Twain4741 Iroquois2011
36.1Wilder (original)19491966