The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad's once prestigious Main Line, it runs northwest from downtown Philadelphia parallel to Lancaster Avenue (US Route 30).
The railroad first connected the Main Line towns in the 19th century. They became home to sprawling country estates belonging to Philadelphia's wealthiest families, and over the decades became a bastion of "old money". Today, the Main Line includes some of the wealthiest communities in the country, including Lower Merion Township, Radnor Township, Gladwyne, and Villanova. Today, the railroad is Amtrak's Keystone Corridor, along which SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line operates.
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History
The Main Line region was long part of Lenapehoking, the homeland of the matrilineal Lenni Lenape Native Americans (the "true people", or "Delaware Indians"). Europeans arrived in the 1600s, after William Penn sold a tract of land, called the Welsh Tract, to a group of Welsh Quakers in London in 1681. This accounts for the many Welsh place names in the area.
The Pennsylvania Railroad built its main line during the early 19th century as part of the Main Line of Public Works that spanned Pennsylvania. Later in the century, the railroad, which owned much of the land surrounding the tracks, encouraged the development of this picturesque environment by building way stations along the portion of its track closest to Philadelphia. The benefits of what was touted as "healthy yet cultivated country living" attracted Philadelphia's social elite, many of whom had one house in the city and another larger "country home" on the Main Line.
In the 20th century, many of these families moved to the Main Line suburbs. Part of the national trend of suburbanization, this drove rapid investment, prosperity, and growth that turned the area into greater Philadelphia's most affluent and fashionable region. Estates with sweeping lawns and towering maples, the débutante balls and the Merion Cricket Club, which drew crowds of 25,000 spectators to its matches in the early 1900s, were the setting for the 1940 Grant/Hepburn/Stewart motion picture The Philadelphia Story.
The railroad placed stops about two minutes apart, starting with Overbrook. The surrounding communities became known by the railroad station names which started at Broad Street Station in Center City Philadelphia and went on to 32nd St. Station, and then the Main Line stations: Overbrook, Merion, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Villanova, Radnor, St. Davids, Wayne, Strafford, Devon, Berwyn, Daylesford, and Paoli. At least five of these station buildings, along with the first Bryn Mawr Hotel, were designed by Wilson Brothers & Company. Broad Street Station was replaced with Suburban Station in 1930, and 30th Street Station replaced 32nd Street three years later. Suburban service now extends west of the Main Line to the communities of Malvern, Exton, Whitford, Downingtown, and Thorndale.
The railroad line then continued on to Chicago, with major stations at Lancaster, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The railroad, since taken over by Amtrak, is still in service, although its route is slightly different from the original. It also serves the Paoli/Thorndale Line of the SEPTA Regional Rail system.
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The Main Line today
Today, the "Main Line" is another name for the western suburbs of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue (U.S. Route 30) and the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line, extending from the city limits to, traditionally, Bryn Mawr and ultimately Paoli, an area of about 200 square miles (520 km2). The upper- and upper middle-class enclave has historically been one of the bastions of "old money" in the Northeast, along with places like Long Island's Gold Coast, Westchester County, New York, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and Fairfield County, Connecticut.
It is home to some of the wealthiest communities in the United States, such as Gladwyne, which has the 14th highest per-capita income in the country for places with a population of 1,000 or more. The eastern section of Villanova also was ranked 39th in "The Elite 100 Highest Income Neighborhoods in America" with a median annual household income of $366,904.
Neighborhoods along the Main Line include nineteenth and early twentieth century railroad suburbs and post-war subdivisions, as well as a few surviving buildings from before the suburban area.
Communities on the Main Line
The Main Line proper is a line of communities extending northwest from the City of Philadelphia. From Philadelphia, the stations on what is now referred to as the Paoli/Thorndale (formerly "R5") Line are: Overbrook, Merion, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr, which inspired the mnemonic "Old Maids Never Wed And Have Babies". The Main Line now encompasses many communities past Bryn Mawr including the Upper Main Line communities of Rosemont, Villanova, Radnor, St. Davids, Wayne, Strafford, Devon, Berwyn, Daylesford, Paoli, and Malvern.
Demographics
There is collective data for the Main Line, so all data is by ZIP code. In comparison, the median family income and home price for the state of Pennsylvania are $68,646 and $155,000, respectively. The following ZIP codes are those within the previously mentioned municipalities that make up the Main Line. All data, with the exception of average home price, are as of the 2000 census. For comparison, the median family income of Beverly Hills, California is $110,040.
Transportation
The Main Line is served by numerous different modes of transportation among which are three commuter rail lines operated by SEPTA. Connecting the region directly with Center City Philadelphia are the Paoli/Thorndale Line which shares the former Pennsylvania Railroad four track Keystone Corridor grade with Amtrak, and the Manayunk/Norristown Line which operates over the former Reading Railroad Norristown grade. The light rail Norristown High Speed Line runs over the Philadelphia and Western Railroad line between 69th terminal in Upper Darby to Norristown. Amtrak's intercity Keystone Service (New York City to Harrisburg) and Pennsylvanian (New York City to Pittsburgh) also serve the region with stops at the jointly operated Amtrak/SEPTA stations at Ardmore and Paoli.
The main thoroughfare through the Main Line is U.S. Route 30 which follows Lancaster Avenue (formerly the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike) running east to west and serving as the backbone of the region by connecting a large majority of its towns and municipalities. Other highways serving the area are the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) which connects it to Philadelphia, and the Blue Route (I-476) which runs north to south connecting the region with the Northeast Extension and the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the north, and to Philadelphia International Airport and I-95 to the south.
SEPTA also commissions suburban buses on Routes 105 and 106 to run from Upper Darby to Bryn Mawr, with rush hour service extended to Paoli. These buses run almost entirely along Lancaster Avenue.
SEPTA also offers light rail service through the Norristown High Speed Line. The Norristown High Speed Line runs along the Main Line from Upper Darby to Ithan Avenue Station and Villanova Station before making a northward turn at the junction of Lancaster Avenue and the Blue Route toward Norristown.
Recreation and attractions
- The Appleford Estate: A 300-year-old 24-acre (97,000 m2) estate located in Villanova. Today it is carefully maintained as an arboretum and a bird sanctuary. Its gardens were designed by renowned landscape architect, Thomas Warren Sears and include woods, meadows, formal gardens, brick walkways, rhododendron tracts, a stream, pond, and waterfall. Visitors are welcome to visit free of charge and the house is available as a rental for special events.
- Bryn Mawr Film Institute: A non-profit community theater founded in 2002 in the old Bryn Mawr Theater building, built in 1926, which is in the process of significant restorations. The institute offers showings of classic movies of the 20th century, opera, film education courses, and film discussions.
- The Cynwyd Heritage Trail is a 1.8 mile linear 'rail-to-trail' park which opened in 2011. The trail intersects with roads, bridges, neighborhoods, parks, railway stations, historic mills, and the West Laurel Hill and Westminster Cemeteries. The trail also connects to the pedestrian only, Manayunk Bridge on the Schuylkill River, which opened in 2015.
- Chanticleer Garden: An estate and botanical garden located in Wayne and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Wednesday through Sunday, April through October; an admission fee is charged. The gate is crested with carved stone roosters, or chanticleers in French. The house and grounds were listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
- The Devon Horse Show: The oldest and largest multi-breed horse show in the U.S.
- Harriton House: Located in Bryn Mawr, it was built in 1704 by a Welsh Quaker named Rowland Ellis. He named the estate "Bryn Mawr", meaning "high hill" in Welsh, which is where the community gained its name. The house's best known occupant was Charles Thomson, the first and only secretary of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
- Friends of the Willows Cottage: The mission of the Friends of the Willows Cottage is to preserve, restore and facilitate the adaptive reuse of the historic gatehouse of the Willows estate in Radnor Township, Pa.
- The Woodmont Estate
Private clubs played an important role in the development of the Main Line, offering social gathering places and facilities for cricket, golf, tennis, squash, and horseback riding to wealthy or socially connected families. Among them are:
- Aronimink Golf Club
- Merion Cricket Club
- Merion Golf Club: Ranked America's 7th best golf course in 2008 and hosted the U.S. Open in 2013.
- Overbrook Golf Club
- Philadelphia Country Club: One of the first 100 golf courses established in the USA. Hosted the 1939 U.S. Open.
- Radnor Hunt Club: A club for country horse riding and for a yearly spring fox hunt in Malvern.
Education
The school districts that serve the Main Line are Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County, Radnor Township School District and School District of Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Tredyffrin/Easttown School District and Great Valley School District in Chester County. The region has numerous nationally ranked public and private schools. Among them are:
Higher education
- Bryn Mawr College
- Cabrini College
- Eastern University
- Harcum College
- Haverford College
- Immaculata University
- Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies
- Rosemont College
- Saint Joseph's University
- St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
- Valley Forge Military Academy and College
- Villanova University
In popular culture
Film
- Dare
- Happy Tears
- In Her Shoes: Toni Collette's character attends a Main Line wedding and jokes about what she should wear.
- Kitty Foyle
- Mannequin
- Philadelphia: Tom Hanks' character celebrates Thanksgiving at his family home in Lower Merion
- Pride
- South Pacific: Character "Lt. Joe Cable, USMC" is from Ardmore
- Taps starring Timothy Hutton and Tom Cruise, filmed at VFMA, featuring scenes in Wayne (at Farmers Market and North Wayne Avenue)
- Tenure
- The Art of the Steal (2009 film) Documentary chronicling the acquisition and emigration of the Barnes art collection from Merion to Philadelphia.
- The Art of War
- The Happiest Millionaire
- The Young Philadelphians
- The Philadelphia Story
- The Sixth Sense: The wake scene was set in Bryn Mawr
- To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar: Patrick Swayze's character is from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. The gang makes a detour to see his family home located on Bala Cynwyd's extremely wealthy Highland Avenue (the house shown in the movie still stands today, although it has been recently repainted), just in time to see his snobby-looking mother going into the house. Although Highland Avenue runs through Bala Cynwyd, the home is technically on the neighboring Merion side of the street.
- Trading Places
- Wide Awake
Literature
- A Stranger is Watching: The main character's murdered wife Nina grew up in a wealthy Philadelphia Main Line Family. In the book, it mentions that Nina went to Bryn Mawr College.
- Blackbird Sisters mystery novels by Nancy Martin
- Bobos in Paradise, by David Brooks
- Official Preppy Handbook, by Lisa Birnbach
- The Pretty Little Liars series, by Sara Shepard, which uses the fictional Main Line suburb of Rosewood as its setting.
- Pterodactyls, by Nicky Silver. The play is set in a Main Line house.
- Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. The character First Corinthians is educated at Bryn Mawr College.
- The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. Valley Forge Military Academy (where Salinger attended for 2 years) is the basis for Pencey Prep. Additionally, the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, believes Jane Gallagher to have gone to Shipley, a Main Line private school.
- The It Girl, by Cecily von Ziegesar
- The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
- The Man of My Dreams, by Curtis Sittenfeld
- The Badge of Honor Series, by W.E.B. Griffin The main character, Matt Payne, is from Merion.
- Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The main character gets assaulted by a tennis coach in Ardmore and subsequently works as a nanny on the Main Line (possibly Merion)
- Luckiest Girl Alive, by Jessica Knoll, which uses the Main Line and the fictional Bradley School, based on The Shipley School, as its setting
Music
- "Gloria", the Main Line is mentioned in this pop song by Laura Branigan.
Television
- All My Children, Soap opera which aired from 1970-2011, set in a fictional suburb of Philadelphia, named "Pine Valley", which was modeled after the town of Rosemont.
- Broad City
- Made
- My Super Sweet 16
- One Life to Live
- Thirtysomething
- Pretty Little Liars, as with the book, set in fictional Rosewood.
- How to Get Away with Murder
- Mad Men: Betty Draper, Don Draper's wife in seasons one through three, is said to be from Lower Merion Township.
Notable Main Liners
Sports
- Kyle Eckel, NFL football player
- Julius Erving, NBA basketball player
- Kobe Bryant, NBA basketball player
- Richie Ashburn, Philadelphia Phillies baseball player and Phillies broadcaster
- Hobart "Hobey" Baker, amateur hockey and football player, member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
- Kyle Korver, NBA basketball player
- Allen Iverson, NBA basketball player
- Jeffrey Lurie, Owner of the Philadelphia Eagles football team
- Emlen Tunnell, NFL Hall of Fame football player, born in Bryn Mawr
- John Spagnola, former NFL football player
- Andy Reid, former head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles football team
- Edward M. Snider, chairman of Comcast Spectacor, Philadelphia Flyers
Arts
- Tory Burch, fashion designer and New York City socialite
- Albert C. Barnes, physician, chemist, businessman, art collector, writer, educator, and founder of the Barnes Foundation
- Walter Annenberg, newspaper and magazine publisher (Triangle Publications), ambassador, billionaire, philanthropist
- Gloria Braggiotti Etting, wife of artist Emlen Etting, author, photographer and hostess
Entertainment
- David Boreanaz, actor and son of long time Philadelphia Action News weatherman, Dave Roberts.
- The family of Georg Ludwig von Trapp, the family depicted in The Sound of Music
- Chubby Checker, musician
- Gideon Glick, actor
- Patti Labelle, musician
- Teddy Pendergrass, musician
- M. Night Shyamalan, film director
- Abbi Jacobson, co-star and co-creator of Comedy Central television series Broad City.
Business
- Ronald Perelman, billionaire, controlling owner of MacAndrews & Forbes and Revlon
- J. Howard Pew, son of Joseph N. Pew, founder of Sun Oil Company, and co-founder of The Pew Charitable Trusts
- Alex Scott, founder of the nationwide U.S. charity Alex's Lemonade Stand to raise money for children with cancer
- John Borland Thayer, Jr., cricketer, Pennsylvania Railroad VP (lost on the Titanic)
- Edward T. Welburn, Vice President of Global Design, General Motors
- John Bogle, founder and CEO of the Vanguard Group
- Alexander Cassatt, former president of the Pennsylvania Railroad
- Clement Acton Griscom prominent nineteenth-century American shipping magnate, businessman. His home, Dolobran in Haverford is noted for its architecture.
Military / Government / Science
- Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II; General of the Army, General of the Air Force
- John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado
- Pete Conrad, NASA astronaut; third man to walk on the moon
- Alexander Haig, U.S. Secretary of State, White House Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
- Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress from 1774-1789
- Harris Wofford, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
- David Eisenhower and Julie Nixon Eisenhower
- Oscar Goodman, mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada
- Andy Hertzfeld, computer scientist (Apple)
- Hilary Koprowski, polio vaccine pioneer
- Adolph G. Rosengarten, Sr., business founder that became part of Merck & Co. and original owner of Chanticleer Garden
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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