User:Bellarid

Mabel Manning Branch is a branch of Chicago Public Library located on the near west side of the city. It was dedicated December 10, 1994, and replaced a modest reading room in Rockwell Gardens Public Housing Project. The branch was named after Mabel Manning, a local community activist who was nicknamed the "mayor" of the Near West Side. Known locally as the "flower lady," Manning grew gardens in the empty lots around her home. When neighborhood public housing was demolished to make way for the United Center Sports and exhibition facility, Manning was instrumental in the achievement of a neighborhood revitalization agreement reached by the city, private developers and community residents. At that time, the Chicago Bulls basketball team, which plays at the United Center, contributed $100,000 to furnish the library with computers, printers and software for use by the library patrons.

The library houses a collection of nearly 30,000 volumes and features a special collection of African American Fiction. Mable Manning Branch features a reading garden and a program room that is available use at no charge to community and non profit organizations. It is also the site of two artworks funded through the Percent for Art Ordinance administered by the City of Chicago Public Art Program: The Francisco Family, 1994 by Dawoud Bey and The Magic of Moonlight, 1986 by Willie L. Carter.