Merion, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Merion Station is an unincorporated community
in Lower Merion Township
, Montgomery County
, Pennsylvania
, United States
. It is contiguous to Philadelphia and is also bordered by Wynnewood
, Narberth
, and Bala Cynwyd
. Merion Meeting House was built at the present intersection of Montgomery Avenue and Meetinghouse Lane in 1695 by Welsh settlers.
with the motto "To be Nation right and State right, we must first be Community right." The Merion Civic Association made several important improvements to Merion such as paving, better lighting, cast-iron street signs, better fire and police protection, and planned tree-planting. President Theodore Roosevelt wrote an article in 1917 for Bok's magazine entitled "Model Merion."
After World War I
, the Merion Civic Association sought to construct a community center in memorial to the 81 men from Merion who served in the armed forces during the conflict. Eldridge R. Johnson
, the founder and president of the Victor Talking Machine Company
, donated his house on Hazelhurst Avenue to this cause. The house was demolished and a new Merion Tribute House was built on its foundation. It was built with careful attention to detail, with Gothic patterns and local stone. The stone was shaped on site and window mullions all hand cut to match. The Tribute House is still used today for meetings of the Merion Civic Association and is supported by renting the space for parties or meetings. Merion also has its own public elementary school—Merion Elementary of the Lower Merion School District
on South Bowman Avenue.
that since the 1920s
has been housed in a granite mansion with gardens on Latches Lane. The Barnes collection is currently awaiting its move to a newly-designed museum building on the Parkway in Center City Philadelphia that includes a replication of Barnes's original gallery in Merion.
In addition to public Merion Elementary, Catholic, all-girls Merion Mercy Academy
and its feeder school, Catholic, coeducational Waldron Mercy Academy
, are found in Merion, as well as four Hebrew schools: the Solomon Schechter School, Chabad School, Congregation Adath Israel Religious School, and Lower Merion Synagogue Religious School. Merion Botanical Park
is located between Merion Road and the railroad tracks. Before its campus change to Bryn Mawr, Akiba Hebrew Academy
was located in Merion. That campus is now home to Kohelet Yeshiva High School, formerly Stern Hebrew High School.
Saint Joseph's University
straddles City Line Avenue and is presently remodeling the former Episcopal Academy campus on the Merion side of the Avenue to contain classroom and student activity buildings. The University also recently bought and renovated Merion Gardens Apartments, at the northwest corner of the East Wynnewood Road/City Avenue intersection, for student housing.
, originally part of the Pennsylvania Railroad
, was built through Merion in the late 1800s. Most SEPTA trains heading east to Philadelphia or west to Thorndale stop at Merion Station, located in the center of Merion.
Other public transportation options in Merion include the SEPTA Route 44 buses that travels along Old Lancaster Road and Montgomery Avenue between Ardmore and Center City, some of which stop at the Narberth
Station; the SEPTA Route 65 bus that traverses the length of City Line Avenue; the SEPTA Route 105 bus that runs the entire length of the Main Line along Lancaster Avenue (Route 30) and that stops at the Wynnewood
Shopping Center. All are within walking distance of Merion.
According to the United States Census, 2000
Merion has 5,951 residents, 93.6% of whom are White; 2.1% are Black or African American; 2.7% are Asian; and 1.3% are Hispanic or Latino. 95.1% have a high school diploma or higher and 76.7% have a bachelor's degree or higher. 9.4% were born in a foreign country. 12.3% speak a language other than English at home, and out of that percentage the number that speak Hebrew at home is 10.1%. The median household income in 1999 was $103,229, and 2.7% of individuals were below the poverty line.
Merion has a comparatively large Jewish population and serves as home to Adath Israel, a Conservative Jewish congregation. Its Orthodox Jewish population is served by Lower Merion Synagogue on Old Lancaster Road, Aish HaTorah on Montgomery Avenue and the Chabad Center of the Main Line, located in the historic former General Wayne Inn on Montgomery Avenue. Reform Jews in Merion are likely to travel a mile west up Montgomery Avenue to Main Line Reform Temple-Beth Elohim , to Gladwyne's Beth David Congregation, or to Congregation Rodeph Shalom on North Broad Street in Center City.
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 Lower Merion Township
Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania
Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and part of the Pennsylvania Main Line. As of the 2010 census, the township had a total population of 57,825...
, 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 contiguous to Philadelphia and is also bordered by Wynnewood
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania is a suburban community located outside of Philadelphia in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Wynnewood was named in 1691 for Dr. Thomas Wynne, William Penn's physician and the first Speaker of the Pennsylvania General...
, Narberth
Narberth, Pennsylvania
Narberth is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,282 at the 2010 census.-History:Narberth is located on a parcel of land originally deeded to Edward Rees , who arrived from Wales in 1682. A portion of this original tract became the farm of Edward R...
, and Bala Cynwyd
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Bala Cynwyd is a community in Lower Merion Township which is located on the Main Line in southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at US Route 1 . It was originally two separate towns, Bala and Cynwyd, but is commonly treated as a single community...
. Merion Meeting House was built at the present intersection of Montgomery Avenue and Meetinghouse Lane in 1695 by Welsh settlers.
Merion Civic Association
The Merion Civic Association was organized in 1913 by Edward W. BokEdward W. Bok
Edward William Bok was a Dutch born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the Ladies Home Journal for thirty years...
with the motto "To be Nation right and State right, we must first be Community right." The Merion Civic Association made several important improvements to Merion such as paving, better lighting, cast-iron street signs, better fire and police protection, and planned tree-planting. President Theodore Roosevelt wrote an article in 1917 for Bok's magazine entitled "Model Merion."
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Merion Civic Association sought to construct a community center in memorial to the 81 men from Merion who served in the armed forces during the conflict. Eldridge R. Johnson
Eldridge R. Johnson
Eldridge Reeves Johnson co-created the Victor Talking Machine Company alongside Emile Berliner, a United States corporation, and built it into the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time.In...
, the founder and president of the Victor Talking Machine Company
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
, donated his house on Hazelhurst Avenue to this cause. The house was demolished and a new Merion Tribute House was built on its foundation. It was built with careful attention to detail, with Gothic patterns and local stone. The stone was shaped on site and window mullions all hand cut to match. The Tribute House is still used today for meetings of the Merion Civic Association and is supported by renting the space for parties or meetings. Merion also has its own public elementary school—Merion Elementary of the Lower Merion School District
Lower Merion School District
Lower Merion School District, or LMSD, is a public school district located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The school district includes residents of both Lower Merion Township and the Borough of Narberth. Established in 1836, LMSD is one of the oldest districts in Pennsylvania...
on South Bowman Avenue.
Important Institutions
The institution for which Merion is singularly world-renowned is the Barnes Foundation, an important art collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings amassed by drug entrepreneur Albert C. BarnesAlbert C. Barnes
Albert Coombs Barnes was an American chemist and art collector. With the fortune made from the development of the antiseptic, anti-blindness drug Argyrol, he founded the Barnes Foundation, an educational institution based on his private collection of art...
that since the 1920s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...
has been housed in a granite mansion with gardens on Latches Lane. The Barnes collection is currently awaiting its move to a newly-designed museum building on the Parkway in Center City Philadelphia that includes a replication of Barnes's original gallery in Merion.
In addition to public Merion Elementary, Catholic, all-girls Merion Mercy Academy
Merion Mercy Academy
Merion Mercy Academy is a female, private, independent, Catholic, college preparatory school, teaching grades 9 through 12, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy. It is located in Merion, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia...
and its feeder school, Catholic, coeducational Waldron Mercy Academy
Waldron Mercy Academy
Waldron Mercy Academy is a K-8 Catholic private elementary school, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, located in Merion Station, Pennsylvania, USA...
, are found in Merion, as well as four Hebrew schools: the Solomon Schechter School, Chabad School, Congregation Adath Israel Religious School, and Lower Merion Synagogue Religious School. Merion Botanical Park
Merion Botanical Park
The Merion Botanical Park is a city park and botanical garden located at 100 Merion Road, Merion, Pennsylvania. It is open daily without charge. The park was created in 1944 adjacent to the railway tracks, and now contains azaleas, dogwoods, magnolias, cut-leaf maples, redbuds, rhododendron, and...
is located between Merion Road and the railroad tracks. Before its campus change to Bryn Mawr, Akiba Hebrew Academy
Akiba Hebrew Academy
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy is a pluralistic Jewish Day School for grades 6 to 12 located in Radnor, Pennsylvania. It was founded in Center City Philadelphia in 1946 as Akiba Hebrew Academy and changed its name in 2007. Barrack Hebrew Academy's enrollment was 318 students during the 2007-2008...
was located in Merion. That campus is now home to Kohelet Yeshiva High School, formerly Stern Hebrew High School.
Saint Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic Jesuit university located partially in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia and partially in Lower Merion Township and located in the Pennsylvania Main Line, Pennsylvania, United States.The school was founded in 1851 as Saint...
straddles City Line Avenue and is presently remodeling the former Episcopal Academy campus on the Merion side of the Avenue to contain classroom and student activity buildings. The University also recently bought and renovated Merion Gardens Apartments, at the northwest corner of the East Wynnewood Road/City Avenue intersection, for student housing.
Transportation
The Paoli/Thorndale LinePaoli/Thorndale Line
The Paoli/Thorndale Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line running from Center City Philadelphia to Thorndale in Chester County.-Route:This branch utilizes one of the oldest sections of what is now Amtrak's Keystone Corridor, an electrified 104-mile two to four-track high-speed route between Harrisburg...
, originally part of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, was built through Merion in the late 1800s. Most SEPTA trains heading east to Philadelphia or west to Thorndale stop at Merion Station, located in the center of Merion.
Other public transportation options in Merion include the SEPTA Route 44 buses that travels along Old Lancaster Road and Montgomery Avenue between Ardmore and Center City, some of which stop at the Narberth
Narberth, Pennsylvania
Narberth is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,282 at the 2010 census.-History:Narberth is located on a parcel of land originally deeded to Edward Rees , who arrived from Wales in 1682. A portion of this original tract became the farm of Edward R...
Station; the SEPTA Route 65 bus that traverses the length of City Line Avenue; the SEPTA Route 105 bus that runs the entire length of the Main Line along Lancaster Avenue (Route 30) and that stops at the Wynnewood
Wynnewood
Wynnewood may mean:* Wynnewood * Wynnewood, Oklahoma* Wynnewood, Pennsylvania* Wynnewood , the largest existent log structure in Tennessee...
Shopping Center. All are within walking distance of Merion.
Demographics and government
Merion is located in zipcode 19066. Lower Merion Township is responsible for all governance.According to the United States Census, 2000
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
Merion has 5,951 residents, 93.6% of whom are White; 2.1% are Black or African American; 2.7% are Asian; and 1.3% are Hispanic or Latino. 95.1% have a high school diploma or higher and 76.7% have a bachelor's degree or higher. 9.4% were born in a foreign country. 12.3% speak a language other than English at home, and out of that percentage the number that speak Hebrew at home is 10.1%. The median household income in 1999 was $103,229, and 2.7% of individuals were below the poverty line.
Merion has a comparatively large Jewish population and serves as home to Adath Israel, a Conservative Jewish congregation. Its Orthodox Jewish population is served by Lower Merion Synagogue on Old Lancaster Road, Aish HaTorah on Montgomery Avenue and the Chabad Center of the Main Line, located in the historic former General Wayne Inn on Montgomery Avenue. Reform Jews in Merion are likely to travel a mile west up Montgomery Avenue to Main Line Reform Temple-Beth Elohim , to Gladwyne's Beth David Congregation, or to Congregation Rodeph Shalom on North Broad Street in Center City.
Shopping
The main commercial area of Merion is located along Montgomery Avenue east and west of its intersection with Old Lancaster Road and extends into neighboring Bala Cynwyd, officially known as the Merion-Cynwyd Commercial District. It includes restaurants, gift shops and other stores, and local landmarks more than a half century old whose reputations extend well beyond Merion's limits, notably Hymie's Merion Delicatessen, The Tavern Restaurant, Murray's Delicatessen, Babis's Pharmacy, Bob Wark's Liberty Service Station, Bala Pizza, and the Township Cleaners. The below-mentioned Merion Park community borders Montgomery Avenue, on which exists another shopping district, although only the first block is included in the Merion township.Hospitals
Merion is served by one of the principal three teaching hospitals that serve Philadelphia's Main Line. Along with the eponymous Bryn Mawr and Paoli Memorial hospitals, Lankenau Hospital, on Lancaster Avenue (U.S. Route 30) in nearby Wynnewood near the Overbrook border, has traditionally been affiliated with either Jefferson or Hahnemann (now Drexel) colleges of medicine and is always (with Bryn Mawr and Paoli) on the list of the nation's top community hospitals. Saunders House, a rehabilitation facility, can be found on Lankenau's premises, as is a large and busy medical office building that is home to many of the private practices of the hospital's attending physicians.Neighborhoods
The community north of Montgomery Avenue surrounding General Wayne Park is usually referred to as Merion Park and is in the same zipcode as Merion. It was built by developer Ralph Madway decades after the closing of the General Wayne Racetrack that once drew thousands of spectators to Merion for horse races on the green now the Park's grounds and bounded by Maplewood and Revere Roads.Residents, past and present
- Edward W. BokEdward W. BokEdward William Bok was a Dutch born American editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. He was editor of the Ladies Home Journal for thirty years...
, American magazine editor and publisher and Curtis Publishing Company executive - Georg Ludwig von Trapp and his family, depicted in The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music (film)Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
, settled temporarily in Merion after escaping Europe - Albert C. BarnesAlbert C. BarnesAlbert Coombs Barnes was an American chemist and art collector. With the fortune made from the development of the antiseptic, anti-blindness drug Argyrol, he founded the Barnes Foundation, an educational institution based on his private collection of art...
, MD, eccentric, world-renowned art collector of the 1920s and creator of the Barnes Foundation - Chaim PotokChaim PotokChaim Potok was an American Jewish author and rabbi. Potok is most famous for his first book The Chosen, a 1967 novel which was listed on The New York Times’ best seller list for 39 weeks and sold more than 3,400,000 copies.-Biography :Herman Harold Potok was born in The Bronx, New York City, to...
, author of The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev and other novels, was a long-time Merion resident - Kate DiCamilloKate DiCamilloKatrina Elizabeth "Kate" DiCamillo is an American children's author. She is known for the Newbery Medal-winning book The Tale of Despereaux, the Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, and the Mercy Watson series, plus numerous other award-winning and honored books.-Early life:Born in...
, author, spent her early childhood in Merion
Points of interest
- The Arboretum of the Barnes FoundationThe Arboretum of the Barnes FoundationThe Arboretum of the Barnes Foundation is an arboretum and site of the Barnes Foundation art gallery, located at 300 North Latch's Lane, Merion, Pennsylvania. The arboretum and gallery are open to visitors several days a week. A reservation is required, and an admission fee is charged.The...
- Barnes Foundation
- General Wayne InnGeneral Wayne InnThe General Wayne Inn located at 625 Montgomery Ave in Merion, Pennsylvania is a tavern on the National Register of Historic Places. Established in 1704, it was previously named the William Penn Inn, Wayside Inn, Tunis Ordinary, and Streepers Tavern before being renamed in 1793 honor of General...
- Merion Golf ClubMerion Golf ClubMerion Golf Club is a private golf club located near Ardmore, Pennsylvania that is consistently rated by Golf Digest, among America's greatest golf courses, and will host the U.S. Open in 2013...