Free Library of Philadelphia

Perched on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in a stately Beaux Arts-style building, this is the main hub of the 50-branch Free Library of Philadelphia system. In addition to all your run-of-the-mill library activities (books galore, author events, computers, etc…), you can also explore the fascinating Rare Books Department, which houses 100,000 books and manuscripts and even a stuffed Raven named gripped that belonged to Charles Dickens and allegedly inspired Edgar Allan Poe to write The Raven.