History of the Philadelphia Main Line

The “Main Line” is another name for the affluent, Western suburbs of Philadelphia. It derives its name from the fact that towns were built along the “Main Line” of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which ran northwest from downtown Philadelphia, running parallel to Lancaster Avenue (now U.S. Route 30) and the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line, which extended from the Philadelphia city limits to traditionally Bryn Mawr and ultimately to Paoli, PA. The Main Line rail line led to the development of the Main Line communities, which in the 19th century, became home to many country estates, which were built by some of Philadelphia’s wealthiest families. The Main Line was the setting for the classic 1940 Hepburn/ Grant/ Stewart motion picture The Philadelphia Story.  Notable individuals who trace back to the Main Line include Walter Annenberg, billionaire, philanthropist and founder of TV Guide, Kobe Bryant, NBA player, Ed Snider, Chairman of Comcast Spectacor, Patti Labelle, singer and musician, Ronald Perelman, billionaire, controlling owner of MacAndrews & Forbes and Revlon, among others. Note: Grace Kelly, actress and later, Princess of Monaco, is often mistakenly referred to as a “Main Liner”. However, The Kelly family lived in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia

The SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale line and the Amtrak Keystone Corridor line (which runs to Harrisburg and beyond) currently run along a similar route as the original Main Line, starting from Center City, Philadelphia and the 30th Street Station, respectively. The original Main Line railroad placed stops approximately two minutes apart, starting with Overbrook. The surrounding communities became known by the railroad station names, including Overbrook, Merion, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Villanova, Radnor, Saint. Davids, Wayne, Strafford, Devon, Berwyn, Daylesford, and Paoli. Malvern was subsequently added to regular suburban service. The current SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale line still stops in many of these communities.

Communities on the Main Line

The Main Line is characterized by diverse topography, with steep cliffs along the Schuylkill River, rolling hills, and open meadows; the region has benefited from the early planning of William Penn. Today, the Main Line is home to many beautiful, diverse communities, many characterized by fabulous, traditional stone Colonial homes and estates, exclusivity, and upscale shopping at well-known destinations, including Suburban Square in Ardmore and the King of Prussia Mall, one of the largest shopping centers in the country. The original Main Line encompassed the communities extending northwest from the City of Philadelphia to Bryn Mawr, including Overbrook, Merion, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr, The Main Line now includes many communities beyond Bryn Mawr, referred to as the “upper Main Line”, including Rosemont, Villanova, Radnor, St. Davids, Wayne, Strafford, Devon, Berwyn, Daylesford, Paoli, and Malvern. Although Gladwyne, Bala Cynwyd, and Penn Valley are not situated on the rail line, they are included as Main Line communities, as they are typical of the traditional Main Line communities. Gladwyne is an exclusive community..

The Main Line Communities

Ardmore
Bala Cynwyd
Bryn Mawr
Berwyn
Daylesford
Devon
Gladwyne
Haverford
Malvern
Merion
Narberth
Paoli
Penn Valley
Radnor
Rosemont
St. Davids
Strafford
Villanova
Wayne
Wynnewood

The Main Line Municipalities

Lower Merion Township
Narberth Borough
Haverford Township
Radnor Township
Tredyffrin Township
Easttown Township
East Whiteland Township
Malvern Borough
Willistown Township

Transportation

U.S. Route 30 (Lancaster Avenue) is the main thoroughfare through the Main Line; it runs east to west, through the large majority of its towns and municipalities. The SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale rail line runs along the Main Line and has stops in nearly all of the Main Line communities, offering direct access to downtown Philadelphia (including the University of Pennsylvania) and easy connections at the 30th Street/Amtrak station to an extensive network of regional commuter trains, serving the entire Philadelphia metropolitan area, the Philadelphia Airport, New Jersey (including Princeton and Trenton). Frequent Amtrak trains run from the 30th Street Station North to New York City, Connecticut, Boston and South to Delaware, Baltimore, and Washington, DC, and the Amtrak Keystone route stops in Ardmore, en route to Harrisburg. The Main Line is ideally located mid-way between New York City and Washington, DC.

Education

The Main Line communities are renown for their education systems and numerous, nationally ranked public schools, many considered to be among the finest in the nation. 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 Main Line is also home to some of the most famous and exclusive private schools in the United States, including Malvern Preparatory School, The Haverford School for Boys, Agnes Irwin School, Baldwin School for girls, Episcopal Academy, Friends' Central School, Akiba Hebrew Academy (Now called Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy) , The Shipley School, and Valley Forge Military Academy, which includes among its famous alumni, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf and J.D. Salinger, author of the classic, The Catcher in the Rye.

Public, private and parochial schools of the Main Line are as follows:

Public High Schools
Harriton High School (in Lower Merion)
Lower Merion High School
Haverford High School
Radnor High School
Conestoga High School (Tredyffrin/Easttown)
Great Valley High School

Private Schools
Academy of Notre Dame de Namur (Girls)
Agnes Irwin School (Girls)
Akiba Hebrew Academy (Co-ed)
Baldwin School (Girls)
Country Day School of the Sacred Heart (Girls)
Devon Preparatory School (Boys)
Episcopal Academy
Friends' Central School
Malvern Preparatory School (Boys)
Merion Mercy Academy (Girls)
The Haverford School (Boys)
The Shipley School
Valley Forge Military Academy
Villa Maria Academy (Girls)
Parochial Schools
Archbishop John Carroll High School
St. Norbert's School (Pre-K~8 co-ed)

Main Line Colleges and Universities:
The Main Line is home to many renowned colleges, including Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, Eastern University, and Villanova University, among others. The full list of Main Line colleges and universities is as follows:.
Bryn Mawr College
Cabrini College
Eastern University
Harcum College
Haverford College
Immaculata University
Rosemont College
Saint Joseph's University
Valley Forge Military Academy and College
Villanova University

Sporting and social clubs: The Main Line is home to many well-known, award winning golf courses, including the following:

Merion Cricket Club
Philadelphia Country Club
Merion Golf Club (Ranked America's 7th best golf course in 2008 and will host the U.S. Open in 2013)
Overbrook Golf Club
Aronimink Golf Club
Radnor Hunt Club
Radnor Valley Country Club
Waynesborough Country Club
White Manor Country Club
Chester Valley Golf Club
Gulph Mills Golf Club

Main Line Recreation and attractions

The Main Line offers numerous recreation opportunities and world famous attractions, including:

• The Appleford Estate: A 300-year-old 24-acre estate located in Villanova. Today it is carefully maintained as an arboretum and a bird sanctuary.
• Barnes Foundation: World famous educational art institute currently located in Lower Merion, scheduled to move to Philadelphia. The Barnes Foundation houses 2500 objects and one of the finest collections of nineteenth and twentieth-century French painting in the world, including 800 paintings by artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso.[25]
• The Haverford College Arboretum (216 acres): an arboretum located across the campus of Haverford College, in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It is open daily without charge.
• Bryn Mawr Film Institute: A non-profit community theater founded in 2002 in the old Bryn Mawr theater building, built in 1926, which it is in the process of significantly restoring and renovating. The institute offers showings of classic movies of the 20th century, opera, film education courses, and film discussions.[26]
• Chanticleer Garden: located in Wayne
• The Devon Horse Show: The oldest and largest multi-breed horse show in the U.S.
• Harriton House: Located in Bryn Mawr. 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.
• King of Prussia Mall: An upscale shopping mall. One of America's largest shopping complexes.
• Merion Golf Club: Ranked America's 7th best golf course in 2008 and will host the U.S. Open in 2013.
• 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, Pennsylvania.
• Valley Forge National Historic Park: The site where the Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 during the American Revolutionary War.
• 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

Nearby

Fairmount Park - the municipal park system of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It consists of 63 parks, with 9,200 acres.

Longwood Gardens - consists of over 1,050 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, in the Brandywine Creek Valley. It is one of the premier botanical gardens in the United States and is open to visitors year-round to enjoy exotic plants and horticulture (both indoor and outdoor), events and performances, seasonal and themed attractions, as well as take part in educational lectures, courses and workshops.

Brandywine River Museum - a museum of regional and American art located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Brandywine River. The museum is known for its collection of works by hundreds of artists, including three generations of the Wyeth family--N.C., Andrew and Jamie.

For more information about the Philadelphia metropolitan area and the Main Line, visit http://www.pahomes.com.