About the Fort Washington Library

The Fort Washington branch dates to 1914.

When it celebrated its 75th anniversary, several well-known personalities, including Henry Kissinger and journalist/author Edwin Newman, fondly recalled how important the branch was to them as teenagers. Among the many other noted residents this branch has served are Lou Gehrig, Maria Callas, Ralph Ellison, Marianne Moore, and Jacob Javits. Built with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie, Fort Washington opened to the public on April 14, 1914 in its present location, two blocks east of the George Washington Bridge. Today the branch continues to be a valuable resource to the community.

The library has collections of materials in Spanish, Russian, and other languages available for borrowing, English classes for speakers of other languages during fall, winter, and spring, and English Conversation classes in fall and spring.

Read more about the early history of the New York Public Library, including that of Washington Heights and Inwood:

History of The New York Public Library, by Harry Miller Lydenberg, available online in our Digital Collections (PDF, 659 MB)
The section on the history of Washington Heights begins on p. 189 (p. 249 of the PDF), and a statistical history of the Fort Washington Branch appears on pp. 544–545 (pp. 664–665 of the PDF)
Washington Heights, Manhattan: Its Eventful Past, by Reginald Pelham Bolton, available online in our Digital Collections (PDF, 47 MB)

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Community District Information

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