Today, it remains home to many gilded age mansions such as Lynnewood Hall, a 110-room, neoclassical estate, the Elkins Estate presently being restored as a hotel-spa, distillery and events center[6] and the Henry West Breyer Sr. House, the former residence of the ice cream magnate which now serves as the Cheltenham Township Municipal building.[7]
In 2018, New York Magazine described Elkins Park as "an old, elegant neighborhood of close-clustered homes".[8] It is notable for its varied architectural styles (among them: Modern, American colonial and Dutch colonial, Queen Anne, English Cottage and Tudor[9]) its wealth of homes designed by renowned 19th and 20th century architects such as Horace Trumbauer,[10]Louis Kahn[11] and Robert A.M. Stern[12] and its diversity of religious institutions. With six synagogues it also makes up the foundation of the "Old York Road Corridor" of the Philadelphia area Jewish community, supported by the approximately 25,000 Jews in the Cheltenham-Jenkintown-Abington region.[13] Seasonally Elkins Park hosts a variety of religious and cultural festivals such as the "Taste of Greece" food festival,[14] the Romanian food festival, the Serbian food festival, various Jewish festivals such as a multi-congregation Purim celebration, and arts festivals like "Arts in the Park".[15]
Though distinct communities, the neighborhoods of Melrose Park and historic La Mott share a postal code with Elkins Park.
Demographics
As of 2021, the US Census QuickFacts reports that Elkins Park is 62.6% white alone, 27.6% Black or African American, 4.9% two or more races, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, and 3.8% Asian alone.[17]
The total population was 6,901 people according to 2020 Census figures.[18]
The median household income in 2022 dollars was $121,135, the median family income was $158,000 and the median income for married-couple families was $180,189.[18] The per capita income was $72,072.[17]
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
Richard Wall House Museum, a house listed on State and National Registers of Historic Places, had the distinction of being the oldest Pennsylvania house in continuous residence until rehabilitation work began, now a museum
The former campus of the Tyler School of Art, the art school of Temple University. The site is currently being developed as "a center for artists and architects" for Creatio International.[21]
Toward the western end of Elkins Park is Pennsylvania Route 611 (Old York Road). In Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Route 73 runs along Township Line Road, mostly marking the border between Cheltenham and Abington townships.
Locale
Notable people
Wilt Chamberlain, American professional basketball player who played center and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history, lived in Elkins Park[22]
In the AMC period drama television series Mad Men, the character Betty Draper was raised in the "tiny Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania". During the show's second season, Betty's father has a series of strokes, and is taken to "Elkins Park Hospital".[34] This would have actually been the former Rolling Hill Hospital, which opened in 1953, and is now known as MossRehab and Einstein at Elkins Park, part of the Einstein Healthcare Network.
^"ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
^"Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
^"SEPTA | Regional Rail Schedules". septa.org. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
^Lasky, Julie (June 27, 2018). "$925,000 Homes in Maryland, California and Pennsylvania". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
^"Elkins Estate set for major renovation". PBS39 WLVT. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
^"History – Cheltenham Township PA". cheltenhamtownship.org. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
^Brennan, William (February 21, 2018). "This Is the Worst Roommate Story You'll Ever Read". Intelligencer. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
^McQuate, Bridget (May 8, 2018). "Foursquare, Years to Go". Old House Journal Magazine. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
^"Trumbauer, Horace (1868 – 1938) -- Philadelphia Architects and Buildings". philadelphiabuildings.org. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
^Romero, Melissa (August 15, 2017). "9 homes Louis Kahn designed in and around Philly". Curbed Philly. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
^Romero, Melissa (September 28, 2016). "Elkins Park apartment designed by a young Robert A.M. Stern asks $399K". Curbed Philly. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
^"Old York Road". Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
^"Greek Food Fest". ANNUNCIATION / EVANGELISMOS. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
^"Arts in the Park / Parktoberfest · Friends of High School Park". Friends of High School Park. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
^"Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
^ a b"U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Elkins Park CDP, Pennsylvania". census.gov. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
^ a b"Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
^Saffren, Jarrad (September 6, 2022). "New Yeshiva Opening in Elkins Park on High School Road". Jewish Exponent. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
^Adelman, Jacob (December 31, 2020). "Buyer of Tyler art school campus in Elkins Park revealed as program under international evangelical group". Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
^ a b"Wilt Chamberlain, Ike Richman and the relationship that saved the 76ers". audacy.com. August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
^Johnson,Correspondent, Liz. "Young Adult author to talk about latest trilogy at Newtown Bookshop". Bucks County Courier Times. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
^Meerbott, Kelly (October 30, 2020). "E34: Using Our Collective Power for Good- Jenna Arnold on White Women Creating Change | Kelly Meerbott – Leadership & Team Development Coach". Kelly Meerbott. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
^Iovine, Julie V. (July 22, 1999). "AT HOME WITH: MELISSA BANK; So Familiar, So Private". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
^digital.jewishexponent.com http://digital.jewishexponent.com/issues/ACR-February-2019/files/pages/translate/2a.html. Retrieved August 26, 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^Writers, By Michael D. Schaffer and Bill Reed, Inquirer Staff (February 28, 2012). "A bear-hug farewell to Jan Berenstain, cocreator of the Bear family". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 23, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Ilene Chaiken is a breakout star of 2004". EW.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
^Daniel Arkin, "Judge confines Bill Cosby to his Pennsylvania home until he is sentenced", NBC News (April 27, 2018).
^Steve Goldstein, Life in academia for a planner of Iraq war, The Philadelphia Inquirer (January 29, 2007).
^DiStefano, Joseph N. (January 15, 2019). "Raymond G. Perelman, master investor and philanthropist, dies at 101". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
^dmichaels (February 26, 2014). "The Cheltenham Man Behind the Oscar-nominated 'American Hustle'". Jewish Exponent. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
^Obituary at The Philadelphia Inquirer
^"The Inheritance". Mad Men. Season 2. Episode 10. AMC.
George, John (November 10, 2003). "Einstein Rehabs Hospital". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
External links
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Elkins Park.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
Abington Township Website
Cheltenham Township Website
School District of Abington Township Website
School District of Cheltenham Township Website
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Official Website