Philadelphia's Main Line
I love maps and geography. However, I’m not always
successful in pinpointing a location, and my sense of direction is abysmal. In
my work-in-process, the protagonist joins the USO in Baltimore (my hometown!).
I wanted her to live a couple of hours away by train. Her parents are quite
wealthy, so I needed to put them in a somewhat swanky area. I settled on
Philadelphia. A FB friend shared my request for information about the area, and
I was referred to the Main Line section of town.
The Main Line refers to the Pennsylvania Railroad route
connecting Pittsburgh and Philadelphia via Harrisburg. Because the railroad
owned much of the land surrounding the lines, the company was able to build way
stations along the portion of its track outside Philadelphia. The area was
touted as “healthy yet cultivated country living.”
It wasn’t long before Philadephia’s social elite began
flocking to the area to build their “country homes” on the Main Line. Estates
with acres of manicured lawns and landscaped gardens were designed by the most
famous architects of the era. Debutante balls and recreational sites such as
the Merion Cricket Club sprang up.
The communities along the Main Line became known by their station
names, many of which may be familiar to you: Merion Wynnewood, Haverford, Bryn
Mawr, Rosemont, Villanova, St. Davids, Berwyn and Paoli. Today, real estate
along the Main Line continues to be among the most expensive in the country.
Visit Bryn Mawr College’s collection of images of the Main Line Mansions. They bring to mind Newport, RI and Long Island’s “Gold Coast,” and an era gone by.
