The Fisher Fine Arts Library was the primary library of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from 1891 to 1962. The red sandstone, brick-and-terra-cotta Venetian Gothic giant, part fortress and part cathedral, was designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness (1839–1912).
Fisher Fine Arts Library
The glass-roofed book stacks (right) were designed to be continuously expanded.
Main floor plan (1891).
Arthur Ross Gallery (1931), right, and Duhring Wing (1915), far right.
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. It is one of nine colonial colleges and was chartered prior to the U.S. Declaration of Independence when Benjamin Franklin, the university's founder and first president, advocated for an educational institution that trained leaders in academia, commerce, and public service. Penn identifies as the fourth oldest institution of higher education in the United States, though this representation is challenged by other universities, as Franklin first convened the board of trustees in 1749, arguably making it the fifth oldest institution of higher education in the U.S.
Benjamin Franklin
A 1765 admission ticket to "A Course of Lectures" given by Dr. John Morgan, the founder and first professor of medicine at Penn's Medical School
A c. 1815 illustration of the Ninth Street campus of the University of Pennsylvania, including the medical department (on left) and the college building (on right)
An illustration of Penn's College Hall from a pocket guide to the Centennial Exhibition in 1876
