Chestnut Hill is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in the Northwest Philadelphia section of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It is known for the high incomes of its residents and high real estate values, as well as its private schools.

Geography

Boundaries

Chestnut Hill is bounded as follows: * on the northwest by Northwestern Avenue (a county line and city limit, beyond which lies a

panhandle A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...

of Springfield Township, Montgomery County that juts into Whitemarsh Township); * on the west by the Wissahickon Gorge (part of

Fairmount Park Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, wit ...

) (beyond which lie Upper Roxborough and

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

); * on the northeast by Stenton Avenue (a county line and city limit, beyond which lie Erdenheim and Wyndmoor, both in Springfield Township); and * on the southeast by the Cresheim Valley (part of Fairmount Park) (beyond which lies Mount Airy).

ZIP code

The

USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

does not officially correlate neighborhood names to Philadelphia ZIP codes (all are called simply "Philadelphia" or "Phila"). However, the 19118 ZIP code is almost entirely coterminous with the cultural-consensus boundaries of Chestnut Hill.

History

The village of Chestnut Hill was part of the German Township laid out by

Francis Daniel Pastorius Francis Daniel Pastorius (September 26, 1651) was a German born educator, lawyer, poet, and public official. He was the founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania, now part of Philadelphia, the first permanent German-American settlement and the gatewa ...

and came to include the settlements originally known as Sommerhausen and Crefeld, as well as part of Cresheim. It served as a gateway between Philadelphia and the nearby farmlands. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

era (late 18th century), the area was one of many summer vacation spots due to its higher elevation, 400–500 feet (120 to 150 m) above sea level, and cooler temperatures than the historic Center City. Chestnut Hill is still stereotypically known as one of the more affluent sections of Philadelphia. However, there are many residents who fall within lower/middle class incomes. Chestnut Hill (along with many other towns and farmlands of Philadelphia County) became part of the City of Philadelphia in 1854 as part of the Act of Consolidation, when the County and the City became completely coterminous. In the same year, the Chestnut Hill Railroad ( Chestnut Hill East Line) opened, making an easy commute to and from Center City. In 1884, a second railway line was added by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Chestnut Hill Railroad ( Connecting Railway). During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, Chestnut Hill was home to Mower U.S. Army General Hospital, constructed to serve

Union army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

soldiers. From the mid-19th century through the mid-20th, the neighborhood served as both a "railroad suburb" and a "

streetcar suburb A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...

" of Center City; although it was part of Philadelphia, it was a leafy outlying part functioning as a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

. The neighborhood contains a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century residential buildings by many of the most prominent Philadelphia architects. In 1985, the neighborhood was designated as the

Chestnut Hill Historic District (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) The Chestnut Hill Historic District is a historic area covering all the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 1985. Contributing properties T ...

with the National Register of Historic Places. Citing its natural resources, architectural character, and thoughtful planning, the American Planning Association has recognized it among its Great Places in America.

Historic and notable architecture

The Chestnut Hill listings on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

: *

Anglecot The Anglecot, also known as the Potter Residence, is an historic residence in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Designed by noted Philadelphia architect Wilson Eyre for Charles Adams Potter (1860-192 ...

(1883), designed by

Wilson Eyre Wilson Eyre, Jr. (October 30, 1858 – October 23, 1944) was an American architect, teacher and writer who practiced in the Philadelphia area. He is known for his deliberately informal and welcoming country houses, and for being an innovator i ...

. * Chestnut Hill Historic District * Druim Moir Historic District, includes Romanesque Revival mansion (1883–86), designed by G. W. & W. D. Hewitt. * Graver's Lane Station (1883), designed by

Frank Furness Frank Heyling Furness (November 12, 1839 - June 27, 1912) was an American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his diverse, muscular, often unordinarily scaled b ...

. * John Story Jenks School (1922), designed by Irwin T. Catharine. * Thomas Mill Bridge (across the

Wissahickon Creek Wissahickon Creek is a tributary of the Schuylkill River in Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania. Wissahickon Creek rises in Montgomery County, runs approximately 23 miles (37 km) passing through and dividing North ...

, the only traditional

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

in Philadelphia). * Wissahickon Inn (now Chestnut Hill Academy) (1883–84), designed by G. W. & W. D. Hewitt. Other historic and notable properties include: * High Hollow, The George Howe House (1914–17), designed by George Howe * Inglewood Cottage (1850), designed by

Thomas Ustick Walter Thomas Ustick Walter (September 4, 1804 – October 30, 1887) was an American architect of German descent, the dean of American architecture between the 1820 death of Benjamin Latrobe and the emergence of H.H. Richardson in the 1870s. He was ...

. * Esherick House (1961), designed by

Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. W ...

. *

Vanna Venturi House The Vanna Venturi House, one of the first prominent works of the postmodern architecture movement, is located in the neighborhood of Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was designed by architect Robert Venturi fo ...

(1962–64), designed by Robert Venturi.

Public transportation

Public transportation in southeastern Pennsylvania, which includes Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, is provided by

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...

, the region's mass transit authority.

Regional rail (commuter rail)

Two

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...

commuter train lines serve Chestnut Hill: the Chestnut Hill East Line and

Chestnut Hill West Line The Chestnut Hill West Line is a commuter rail line in the SEPTA Regional Rail network. It connects Northwest Philadelphia, including the eponymous neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, as well as West Mount Airy and Germantown, to Center City. ...

Buses

Chestnut Hill is served by SEPTA bus routes from both the City Transit Division ( 23, 77 and L) and the Suburban Division (94 and 97).

Trolleys

Tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

s in the southeastern Pennsylvania region are known as ''trolleys.'' The trolley network of this region was very extensive prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, but has shrunk since that era. Chestnut Hill was formerly served by trolleys. Trolley service to Chestnut Hill began in 1894, and trolley tracks still run down the Belgian-block-paved main street of the neighborhood, Germantown Avenue, which was served by

SEPTA Route 23 SEPTA Trolley Route 23 is a former streetcar line now operated with buses. It is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs between the Chestnut Hill and ...

. SEPTA "temporarily suspended" regular trolley service in 1992. From 1992 until 1996, weekend-only service ran between Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy, re-branded The "Chestnut Hill Trolley." Sporadic trolley charter trips ran down Germantown Avenue and into North Philadelphia until 2003. In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation completed work on restoring segments of the trolley infrastructure and streetscape in Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy and Germantown. As of 2011, SEPTA spokespeople publicly state that there are no plans to reinstate trolley service on Route 23, despite claims to the contrary in their annual capital budget reports. The dismantling of Route 23 infrastructure is unpopular with a large segment of local residents.

Education

Colleges and universities

Chestnut Hill College Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount Saint Joseph College ...

Primary and secondary schools

Public education

Residents are zoned to schools in the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the 8th largest school district in the nation, by enrollment, serving over 200 ...

. Students in grades

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through 8 are zoned to John Story Jenks School, while students in grades 9 through 12 are zoned to

Roxborough High School The Academies at Roxborough High School (commonly referred to as Roxborough High School) is a public high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, operated by the School District of Philadelphia and servicing the Roxborough, Manayunk, Chestnut Hill ...

. Students were previously zoned to Germantown High School.A Directory of High Schools for 2009 Admissions
." ''

''. Accessed November 6, 2008.

Private education

Chestnut Hill is home to several private schools. The Pre-K-12

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (also known as SCH Academy or SCH) is an independent, non-sectarian Pre-K through grade 12 school located in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, approximately 10 miles from Center City. SCH serves ove ...

, educates single-sex Pre-K-8 and coed 9–12, formed in 2010 through the merger of Springside School and

Chestnut Hill Academy Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (also known as SCH Academy or SCH) is an independent, non-sectarian Pre-K through grade 12 school located in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, approximately 10 miles from Center City. SCH serves ove ...

. Other private schools in Chestnut Hill are The Crefeld School (7-12), the K-8 Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, and Our Mother of Consolation. Nearby private schools in adjacent neighborhoods that attract some Chestnut Hill residents include

Germantown Friends School Germantown Friends School (GFS) is a coeducational independent PreK–12 school in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States under the supervision of Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of ...

William Penn Charter School William Penn Charter School (commonly known as Penn Charter or simply PC) is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1689 at the urging of William Penn as the "Public Grammar School" and chartered in 1689 to be op ...

, and

Germantown Academy Germantown Academy, informally known as GA and originally known as the Union School, is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States. The school was founded on December 6, 1759, by a group of prominent Germantown citizens in the Gree ...

Public libraries

Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Chestnut Hill Branch at 8711 Germantown Avenue.

Parks, arboretums, and recreation

* Pastorius Park * Wissahickon Valley Park of the

system * Morris Arboretum of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

The community previously held the Chestnut Hill

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at ...

Festival, but in 2018 the event was canceled since the copyright owners cracked down on for-profit uses of the brand. In 2017 there were 50,000 attendees to that year's event. In 2019, the festival resumed as the Witches & Wizards Festival.

Other notable civic institutions

* Philadelphia Cricket Club *

Wissahickon Skating Club Wissahickon Skating Club (abbreviated to WSC) is a non-profit skating club in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. The club was organized in 1954 for the purpose of supporting amateur and professional athletes for ice hockey and figure sk ...

* Woodmere Art Museum

Notable people

* R. Tucker Abbott,

malacologist Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

and author * Willie Anderson, golfer, winner of four U.S. Opens *

E. Digby Baltzell Edward Digby Baltzell Jr. (November 14, 1915 – August 17, 1996) was an American sociologist, academic and author. He studied the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant establishment and is credited with popularizing the acronym ''WASP''. He was also a b ...

, author and sociologist *

Maud Banks Maud Banks of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was an English-born American tennis champion who played in the latter stages of the 19th century and in the early part of the 20th century. Career She reached the singles final of the all-comers tourname ...

, tennis playerGirard (April 21, 1939)
"Will Dick Williams Create a Wimbledon in Phila.?"
''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. *

Francis Bohlen Francis Hermann Bohlen (July 31, 1868 – December 9, 1942) was an American legal scholar from Pennsylvania who specialized in tort law and served as the Algernon Sydney Biddle professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Biog ...

(1868–1942),

Algernon Sydney Biddle Algernon Sydney Biddle (October 11, 1847 – April 8, 1891) was an American lawyer and law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. An endowed chair was established at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in his name. Biograph ...

professor of law at the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

, ornithologist; namesake of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., an ...

's fictional secret agent *

Adolph E. Borie Adolph Edward Borie (November 25, 1809 – February 5, 1880) was a United States merchant and politician who briefly served (1869) as Secretary of the Navy in the Ulysses S. Grant administration. A native of Philadelphia, Borie was born into th ...

merchant, civil war financier, Secretary of the Navy *

Joseph S. Clark Joseph Sill Clark Jr. (October 21, 1901January 12, 1990) was an American writer, lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 90th Mayor of Philadelphia from 1952 to 1956 and as a United States Senator from Pennsylvani ...

, former

U.S. senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

from

and former

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney. History The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...

* Joe Daley, professional golfer *

Richardson Dilworth Richardson K. Dilworth (August 29, 1898 – January 23, 1974) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 91st mayor of Philadelphia from 1956 to 1962. He twice ran as the Democratic nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, in ...

, former

* George Gordon Meade Easby, great-grandson of General George Meade * Philo Taylor Farnsworth, (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

pioneer *

Melissa Fitzgerald Melissa Fitzgerald is an American actress and the Senior Director of the nonprofit organization Justice For Vets. As an actress, she may be best known for portraying Carol Fitzpatrick on ''The West Wing''. Early life and education Fitzgerald ...

, actress *

William J. Green, III William Joseph Green III (born June 24, 1938) is an American politician from Pennsylvania. A Democrat, Green served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1964 to 1977 and as the 94th Mayor of Philadelphia from 1980 to 1984. Youth Green g ...

, former

Albert M. Greenfield Albert Monroe Greenfield (August 4, 1887 – January 5, 1967) was a real estate broker and developer who built his company into a vast East Coast network of department stores, banks, finance companies, hotels, newspapers, transportation companie ...

, businessman, political activist, and philanthropist * Henry H. Houston, railroad businessman and developer * W. Thacher Longstreth, former City Councilman At-Large * Alexander Lawton Mackall, journalist, editor, and gastronomic expert *

David Morse David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series ''St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film ca ...

, actor * George M. Ottinger, artist * Alec Ounsworth, musician (born 1977) *

Georges Perrier Georges Perrier (born 1943) is a French chef who emigrated in the United States in 1967 and lived in Philadelphia, where he founded and ran Le Bec-Fin and other restaurants, bars and cafés across the country. Early life At age 12, Perrier cr ...

, former resident and celebrity chef, and former owner and chef at Le Bec Fin, and several other restaurants in Philadelphia. *

Christopher Stuart Patterson use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

(born 1842), Dean of the

* Alan Porter,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

umpire * Henry C. Pitz,

Illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complic ...

Frank Rizzo Francis Lazarro Rizzo (October 23, 1920 – July 16, 1991) was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democ ...

, former police commissioner of Philadelphia and former

Brian L. Roberts Brian L. Roberts (born June 28, 1959) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and CEO of Comcast, an American company providing cable, entertainment, and communications products and services which was founded by his father, Ralp ...

, CEO of

Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

Witold Rybczynski Witold Rybczynski (born 1 March 1943) is a Canadian American architect, professor and writer. He is currently the Martin and Margy Meyerson Professor Emeritus of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania. Early life Rybczynski was born in E ...

, architect and urban policy scholar * Hugh Scott, U.S. Congressman and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

* Denise Scott Brown, architect *

Frederick Winslow Taylor Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer. He was widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency. He was one of the first management consultants. In 1909, Taylor summed up ...

, engineer, management theorist, and consultant * Marcus Tracy, professional soccer player with Danish club AaB * Robert Venturi, architect

References

External links

Chestnut Hill Community Association

Chestnut Hill Business Association

Chestnut Hill College

Chestnut Hill Historical Society

The Chestnut Hill Local - newspaper

Germantown Avenue Parents - family resources and activities

John Story Jenks School - public school

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy - independent K-12 school
{{Authority control Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Streetcar suburbs Historic preservation in the United States 1854 establishments in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1704