The renovated Lawncrest Library, 6098 Rising Sun Ave., recently reopened following a $4.5 million investment through the city’s Rebuild program.
Among those on hand were Mayor Cherelle Parker; City Councilman Anthony Phillips; state Rep. Anthony Bellmon; state Sen. Sharif Street; Kelly Richards, president and executive director, The Free Library of Philadelphia; Aparna Palantino, Director, Capital Program Office; Troy Hannigan, Director of Development, Community Ventures; and Makayla Myers, a Philadelphia Youth Commission member.
“This library is beautiful,” Richards said.
“What a transformation,” Palantino said.
Community Ventures managed the project.
The reopening took place on April 10 during National Library Week and included balloon art and glitter tattoos.
Lawncrest Library, which opened in 1961, now has:
• New floors, windows, lighting, painting, plumbing, HVAC, circulation desk and interior finishes.
• Expanded computer center with modern workstations and new furniture.
• A community gathering space with an updated kitchenette.
• ADA-compliant bathrooms, a new ramp and meeting rooms.
• An exterior refresh with a new sign and landscaping.
“A library is more than just books,” said Richards, adding that the reopening took place on Library Advocacy Day.
Bellmon donated the library’s American and Pennsylvania flags.
Lindsey Schuler, an advocate for the new library, said she was happy that the renovations preserved the mural of fallen firefighter Joyce Craig, whose image is on a side wall of the building.
Craig was stationed at Engine 64, at Rising Sun Avenue and Benner Street, but was working overtime in West Oak Lane on the day she died in 2014.
Parker, a former 9th District councilwoman, called the renovations of the library and Lawncrest Recreation Center “my baby.”
Ongoing renovations to the recreation center and pool will cost more than $23 million. ••
