Welcome to Explore Fisher!
This is your guide to the history of the Fisher Fine Arts Library at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously known as the Furness Building (after its architect, Frank Furness) and the University Library, the building is now offically called the Anne and Jerome Fisher Fine Arts Library, after the main donors to the building's restoration project in the 1980's.
In addition to the Fine Arts Library, the building also currenlty houses the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania, the Arthur Ross Gallery, the Common Press, and offices and studios of PennDesign.
For more information on Fisher Fine Arts Library's collections, services and staff, visit the Fisher Library main page.
This tour has five main sections:
People
A guide to the personalities who made possible the design and construction of the original University Library.
Windows and Aphorisms
A complete guide to one of Fisher Library's unique features: lead glass windows adorned with pithy sayings from Western literature.
Then and Now
A series of side-by-side photographic comparisons of Fisher past and present.
History and Contexts
A narrative of the construction of the building and its renovations, with links to images througout the site.
Timeline of Renovations
An interactive timeline of all the major changes to the building since it was opened in 1891.