Named for the great American statesman, philosopher, and man of letters, Benjamin Franklin, the Franklin Branch first opened January 23, 1929, as the Outer Drive branch. It was located just one block north of its present location. Closed temporarily in 1932, it reopened one month later with funds raised by residents of the neighborhood. It moved to its present location on January 24, 1950, and was the first of the Detroit Public Library's functionally designed modern branches.