Digital Indy presents a brief look into the history of The Indianapolis Public Library and an in-depth history of the Franklin Road Branch Library.
Join Digital Indy as we explore the history of the Franklin Road Branch in celebration of its 25th anniversary as the Franklin Road Branch!
From the time the Indianapolis Public Library opened in 1874 until the mid-1960s it only provided library services to individuals within the IPS school district lines. As demographics changed drastically in Indianapolis during the 1940s and 1950s so did the demand for the Library to increase its service area to include Marion County residents. In April of 1969, the Wanamaker Branch (now the Franklin Road Branch) was the fifth county branch to open its doors.
While being one of the smallest branches in the system Wanamaker was proudly stated to be the library branch with the “most circulation per square foot”. By the mid-1990s, the extensive use of the branch ensured its place in kicking off a new era of Library expansion. As one of two branches slated for construction, ground was broken for a new library in Franklin Township in 1998. The Wanamaker Branch remained at its original location at 8822 Southeastern Avenue until it reopened as the Franklin Road Branch at 5550 S. Franklin Road on February 19, 2000.
Following years of volunteer-staffed service in an empty church building, a permanent library serving Franklin Township, the Wanamaker Branch, opened in 1969 on Southeastern Avenue. To meet the needs of a rapidly growing township, the branch was replaced in 2000 by the current 18,000-square-foot Franklin Road Branch.
