Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Elkins Park is an unincorporated community
in Montgomery County
, Pennsylvania
, United States
. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington
Townships in the suburb
s of Philadelphia, roughly 9 miles (14.5 km) from Center City, Philadelphia
.
trains on the Warminster Line
, West Trenton Line
and Lansdale/Doylestown Line
at the Elkins Park station
. The Jenkintown
, Melrose Park
, and Ryers
stations are also located close to the neighborhood of Elkins Park, and are served by the same regional rail lines (with the exception of Ryers
, which is served by the Fox Chase Line
).
SEPTA bus routes 28, 55, 70 and 77 also provide service to Elkins Park.
(Old York Road). In Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Route 73
runs along Township Line Road, mostly marking the border between Cheltenham and Abington townships.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington
Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Abington Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 55,310 in as of the 2010 census.Abington Township is one of Montgomery County's oldest communities dating back to before 1700 and being incorporated in 1704. It is home to some of the county's...
Townships in the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s of Philadelphia, roughly 9 miles (14.5 km) from Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
.
Points of interest
- Beth Sholom SynagogueBeth Sholom SynagogueBeth Sholom Congregation is a Conservative synagogue located in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. It is the only synagogue designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright...
, the only synagogueSynagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
designed by Frank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd WrightFrank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. - Lynnewood HallLynnewood HallLynnewood Hall is a 110-room Neoclassical Revival mansion in Elkins Park, Montgomery County designed by architect Horace Trumbauer for industrialist Peter A. B. Widener between 1897 and 1900...
, a 110-room, derelict Gilded AgeGilded AgeIn United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
mansion is in Elkins Park. - Elkins EstateElkins EstateElkins Estate is a estate located in Elkins Park, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The estate contains five buildings, the most notable being Elstowe Manor and Chelten House, both Horace Trumbauer designed mansions. Elstowe Manor was the summer home of William L...
- Richard Wall House, a house is listed on State and National Registers of Historic Places and had the distinction of being the oldest Pennsylvania house in continuous residence until rehabilitation work began.
- High School Park, an 11-acre park with four distinct ecosystems, was the original grounds of Cheltenham High School and became a township park in 1996 after the building burned down.
Schools
- Cedarbrook Middle School
- Cheltenham Elementary School
- Glenside Elementary School
- Wyncote Elementary School
- Elkins Park Middle School
- McKinley Elementary School
- Myers Elementary School
- Lynnwood Elementary School (now closed and converted into an Administrative Building). Served as an elementary school from February 1951 through ??.
- Pennsylvania College of OptometryPennsylvania College of OptometrySalus University was established by the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, one of the oldest colleges of optometry in North America, on July 1, 2008. PCO has established degree programs in other disciplines over the past twenty-five years...
- Perelman Jewish Day School
- Robert Saligman Middle School
- Settlement Music SchoolSettlement Music School (Philadelphia)Settlement Music School is a community music education organization with branches in and around Philadelphia. Founded in 1908, it is the largest community school of the arts in the United States serving 15,000 students each year, regardless of age, race, or financial means through outreach and at...
- St. James Catholic School (shut down)
- Gratz CollegeGratz CollegeGratz College is a general college of Jewish studies founded in 1895 offering a broad array of credentials and programs in virtually every area of higher Judaic learning to aspiring Jewish educators, communal professionals, lay people and others seeking to become more knowledgeable of...
- Salus University
- The former campus of the Tyler School of ArtTyler School of ArtThe Stella Elkins Tyler School of Art, usually just referred to as Tyler School of Art is Temple University's school of art, which confers BFA and MFA degrees. The school was originally founded by sculptors Stella Elkins Tyler and Boris Blai on a separate 14-acre estate in Elkins Park...
, the art school of Temple UniversityTemple UniversityTemple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
Public Transportation
Elkins Park is served by SEPTA Regional RailSEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system consists of commuter rail service on thirteen branches to over 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and its suburbs. Service on most lines runs from 5:30 AM to midnight...
trains on the Warminster Line
Warminster Line
The Warminster Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail commuter rail. It serves stations between its namesake town, Warminster, and Center City, Philadelphia...
, West Trenton Line
West Trenton Line (SEPTA)
The West Trenton Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to West Trenton, New Jersey.-Route:The West Trenton Line connects Center City, Philadelphia with the West Trenton section of Ewing, New Jersey...
and Lansdale/Doylestown Line
Lansdale/Doylestown Line
The Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to Doylestown in Bucks County.-Route:The Lansdale-Doylestown segment of the R5 line utilizes what is known as the "SEPTA Main Line", a four-track line that has been owned by SEPTA since 1983...
at the Elkins Park station
Elkins Park (SEPTA station)
Elkins Park is a SEPTA Regional Rail located in the Elkins Park neighborhood of Cheltenham Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and is along the SEPTA Main Line. The station building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its notable architecture. The station is located...
. The Jenkintown
Jenkintown-Wyncote (SEPTA station)
Jenkintown–Wyncote is a SEPTA Regional Rail station along the SEPTA Main Line. It is located at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and West Avenue in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.-Station:...
, Melrose Park
Melrose Park (SEPTA station)
Melrose Park station is a SEPTA Regional Rail station located along the SEPTA Main Line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority...
, and Ryers
Ryers (SEPTA station)
Ryers is a station located along SEPTA's Fox Chase Line. It is located at Cottman and Rockwell Avenues and has a 71-space parking lot. The station itself consists of an asphalt platform and a small shelter.- External links :* * *...
stations are also located close to the neighborhood of Elkins Park, and are served by the same regional rail lines (with the exception of Ryers
Ryers (SEPTA station)
Ryers is a station located along SEPTA's Fox Chase Line. It is located at Cottman and Rockwell Avenues and has a 71-space parking lot. The station itself consists of an asphalt platform and a small shelter.- External links :* * *...
, which is served by the Fox Chase Line
Fox Chase Line
The Fox Chase Line is a route of the SEPTA Regional Rail system.Originally known as the Fox Chase/Newtown Branch, service was truncated in January 1983 from Newtown to its current terminus in Philadelphia at Fox Chase due to unreliable train equipment and low ridership...
).
SEPTA bus routes 28, 55, 70 and 77 also provide service to Elkins Park.
Road
Toward the western end of Elkins Park is Pennsylvania Route 611Pennsylvania Route 611
Pennsylvania Route 611 is a major state highway in Pennsylvania, United States, running from Interstate 95 south of downtown Philadelphia north to Interstate 380 in Coolbaugh Township, Pennsylvania in The Poconos....
(Old York Road). In Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Route 73
Pennsylvania Route 73
Pennsylvania Route 73 is a 62.51 miles long east–west state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. It runs from Pennsylvania Route 61 in Leesport to the New Jersey state line on the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge in Philadelphia, where it continues as New Jersey Route 73.Predating the Interstate...
runs along Township Line Road, mostly marking the border between Cheltenham and Abington townships.
Locale
Prominent current or former residents
- Bill CosbyBill CosbyWilliam Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
(comedian) - Douglas FeithDouglas FeithDouglas J. Feith served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy for United States President George W. Bush from July 2001 until August 2005. His official responsibilities included the formulation of defense planning guidance and forces policy, United States Department of Defense relations...
(former Under-Secretary of Defense) - Marvin HarrisonMarvin HarrisonMarvin Daniel Harrison is a former American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse...
(NFL wide-receiver for the Indianapolis Colts) - Mark LevinMark LevinMark Reed Levin is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese...
(radio talk show host) - Edgar Lee MastersEdgar Lee MastersEdgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist...
(poet—spent his final years in Elkins Park) - Benjamin NetanyahuBenjamin NetanyahuBenjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
(Prime Minister of Israel) - Yonatan Netanyahu (Famous Israeli War Hero)
- Ralph J. RobertsRalph J. RobertsRalph Joel Roberts is the co-founder of Comcast Communications and was its chief executive officer for 46 years. As of 2011 he serves as founder and chairman emeritus of Comcast's board of directors. His son, Brian L...
(co-founder of ComcastComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, father of current Comcast CEO, Brian Roberts) - Jeffrey SolowJeffrey SolowJeffrey Solow is an American cello virtuoso and the immediate past president of the American String Teachers Association and president of the Violoncello Society, Inc. of New York.-Biography:...
(American virtuoso cellist) - Peter A. B. Widener (head of a wealthy and historically prominent family)
- Harry Elkins WidenerHarry Elkins WidenerHarry Elkins Widener was a businessman and book collector from the United States.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was the son of George Dunton Widener and Eleanor Elkins Widener, and the grandson of the extremely wealthy entrepreneur, Peter A. B...
(grandson of Peter A. B. Widener and namesake of Widener LibraryWidener LibraryThe Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, commonly known as Widener Library, is the primary building of the library system of Harvard University. Located on the south side of Harvard Yard directly across from Memorial Church, Widener serves as the centerpiece of the 15.6 million-volume Harvard...
at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, born in Elkins Park and died on the Titanic)