Radnor is a community located approximately 13 miles west 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 ...

, in the Main Line suburbs. It straddles Montgomery and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

Counties,

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, ...

. The community was named after Radnor, in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Radnor is home to Cabrini University and a large office complex by the

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing ...

. The southern portion, by Lancaster Avenue, was rapidly commercialized in the 1980s, and it is currently one of suburban Philadelphia's premier office destinations.

History

The community of Radnor was founded in 1686 at the

Radnor Friends Meetinghouse Radnor Friends Meetinghouse is a historic Quaker meeting house on Sproul and Conestoga Roads in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 1686, there were sufficient number of Friends in Radnor township to begin meetings at the house ...

, which was located on Conestoga Road, a bypass of Lancaster Avenue connecting Devon and Bryn Mawr. During the Revolutionary War, the meetinghouse was used as an outpost for General George Washington's Continental Army. In 1872, the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

's Main Line was constructed, which briefly passed through the southern section of Radnor. A station serving the town was established at King of Prussia Road, approximately 1 mile south of the Meetinghouse. For much of its history, Radnor was primarily a farming community, and relatively undeveloped, even past

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 ...

. Its town center, around the Meetinghouse, remained quaint and secluded from denser development seen in the nearby communities of Wayne and Bryn Mawr. However, starting in the 1980s, Radnor started to see great residential and commercial development, mostly stemming from suburban development for

. Additionally, office parks began to spring up in the southern portion of the community, by the train station, primarily due to safety concerns in Center City. Some big name firms, such as Lincoln National Corporation, moved their headquarters from Center City to Radnor, and currently the community is best known for its financial hub around the train station. In the 1970s, highway planners envisioned the Blue Route expressway passing through Radnor, approximately .3 miles east of the Meetinghouse. The project faced severe backlash from the Radnor community, as what was initially known as a quiet, rural feeling town would have a lot more noise. Despite attempts to quell the project, the community eventually lost, and the Blue Route opened in the 1990s on the initial alignment.

Future

Radnor is where the SEPTA

Paoli/Thorndale Line The Paoli/Thorndale Line, or R5 commonly known as the Main Line, is a SEPTA Regional Rail service running from Center City Philadelphia through Montgomery County and Delaware County to Thorndale in Chester County. It operates along the far eas ...

and Norristown High Speed Line intersect. However, the stations are not located at the intersection requiring a small bus ride to transfer. There are plans to build a transfer station where the two lines intersect. A shopping district is also planned here. Work is expected to commence in 2022.

Geography

Like many Main Line communities, Radnor straddles Montgomery and

Counties. The Delaware County portion is very affluent, and was developed prior to World War II. However, both the Montgomery County portion and the extreme southern portion (south of the train line), were developed much later. Radnor does not have a traditional developed town center, though there are a couple shops and restaurants immediately north of the train station on King of Prussia road. The nearby communities of Wayne, Bryn Mawr, and King of Prussia offer shopping and entertainment. Radnor is bounded to the west by Wayne, to the south by Villanova, to the east by Gladwyne, and to the northeast by Gulph Mills. The community is served by the

of SEPTA Regional Rail, as well as

Lancaster Avenue Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies * Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

and Interstate 476. It is also not too far from Interstate 76, providing access to King of Prussia and Center City Philadelphia. Radnor has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

with hot summers, bordering a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

. It is considerably cooler than Center City Philadelphia due to a relatively higher elevation and the

urban heat island An urban heat island (UHI) is an urban or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparent ...

effect.

Economy

Radnor contains the largest commercial business district on the Main Line. Located immediately around the town's

are several suburban office complexes. Among the companies based in Radnor are real estate company Brandywine Realty Trust, energy company Penn Virginia, insurer Lincoln National, wholesaler VWR, technology company Qlik, and financial company Mondrian Investment Partners. Radnor's town center around the Meetinghouse isn't well developed, but the nearby communities of Wayne and Bryn Mawr offer several shops and restaurants. Radnor is also easily accessible to King of Prussia.

Education

Public education in Radnor is administered by both the Upper Merion School District and Radnor Township School District. Closest universities include Cabrini University, Eastern University, and

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...

In popular culture

Radnor is identified in the script as the setting for Philip Barry's play '' The Philadelphia Story''. Radnor is also the setting of Judy Blume's young adult novel, ''

Blubber Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. Description Lipid-rich, collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except fo ...

''. Radnor High School was the model for Rydell High School in '' Grease''; the director, Randal Kleiser, is a member of the Class of 1964.

References

{{authority control Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Main Line Unincorporated communities in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania