Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Elkins Park (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Beth Sholom Congregation, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and Henry West Breyer Sr. House. Also, be sure to include Richard Wall house in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Elkins Park (Pennsylvania).
Table of Contents
Beth Sholom Congregation
Synagogue in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Beth Sholom Congregation is a Conservative synagogue located at 8231 Old York Road in the Philadelphia suburb of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. It is the only synagogue designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Beth Sholom is Hebrew for House of Peace. Completed in 1959, it has been called a "startling, translucent, modernist evocation of an ancient temple, transposed to a Philadelphia suburb by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2007 for its architecture.[1]
Address: 8231 Old York Rd, Elkins Park
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Church in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. St. Paul's Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church at Old York and Ashbourne Roads in Elkins Park, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was originally built in 1861, and is a gray stone church in the Gothic style. The church was conceived by noted financier Jay Cooke, along with John W. Thomas, J.F. Peniston and William C. Houston. Its size was doubled with an expansion in 1870, and a 60-foot-tall tower added. A transept was added in 1883, and the two-story parish hall wing in 1891. Architect Horace Trumbauer made some refinements to the church during the 1897 to 1924 period. The main sanctuary of the church features 13 stained glass windows from Tiffany studios.
Also on the property is the 2+1⁄2-story rectory built in 1868 and a stable. Jay Cooke Memorial hall (1906), and sexton's cottage (1923), were designed by architects Churchman & Thomas and Thomas, Martin & Kirkpatrick, respectively. (See Walter Horstmann Thomas.) Adjacent to the church is a cemetery laid out in 1879 and expanded in 1905. Located in the cemetery is the Jay Cooke mausoleum.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Saint Paul's remains an active parish. The church's sister organization, The Friends of St. Paul's Elkins Park, hosts a popular concert series featuring music from several genres including classical, jazz, and gospel.[2]
Address: 7809 Old York Rd, 19027 Elkins Park
Henry West Breyer Sr. House
Building in Elkins Park. Henry W. Breyer Sr. House, also known as Haredith and officially known today as the Cheltenham Township Municipal Building, is a historic home located at Elkins Park, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1915, and is a large 2+1⁄2-story, irregularly shaped stone dwelling in the Colonial Revival style. It features a full-height porch supported by four Doric order columns. Also on the property is a contributing garage. The house was purchased by Cheltenham Township in 1956, and subsequently converted to offices. The house was built by Henry W. Breyer Sr. owner of Breyers Ice Cream.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. It is located across the street from National Historic Landmark Beth Sholom Synagogue.[3]
Richard Wall house
Museum in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The Richard Wall house, built 1682, is a historic home in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. It had continuous Wall family residency for over 150 years, having been in the Wall family and its descendants through 1847. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as "Wall House" also known as "The Ivy".
The home has undergone numerous renovations, with a section of basement wall being the only original construction remaining. The site of religious meetings and weddings, it is also among the earliest places of Quaker worship still standing in the United States. It is now a museum located at Church Road and Wall Park Drive in Elkins Park.[4]
Address: Old York Rd, 19027 Elkins Park
Curtis Arboretum
Arboretum in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The Curtis Arboretum is a forty-eight-acre arboretum located at 1250 Church Road, Wyncote, Pennsylvania in Cheltenham Township, near Philadelphia. The arboretum was founded by Mary Louise Curtis Bok in honor of her father, Cyrus Curtis. The landscaping was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The arboretum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The arboretum surrounds Curtis Hall, once the music room of the Curtis family mansion, which now is operated by the Cheltenham Township Parks and Recreation Department. The arboretum features hills, two ponds, a dog park, a small World War II memorial, and over fifty types of trees.
Curtis Arboretum serves as the home course for the Cheltenham High School men's and women's cross country teams.[5]
Address: Church Rd., 19095 Wyncote
Arcadia University
Private school in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Arcadia University is a private university in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The university enrolls approximately 4,000 undergraduate, master's, and doctorate students. The 76-acre campus features Grey Towers Castle, a National Historic Landmark.[6]
Address: 450 S Easton Rd, 19038-3295 Glenside
Salus University
Private university in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Salus University is a private university in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, specializing in degree programs for the health care professions.[7]
Address: 8360 Old York Rd, 19027-1598 Elkins Park
Ashmead Village
Rowland Park is an unincorporated community in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The George K. Heller School, now the Cheltenham Center for the Arts, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located in Ashmead Village.[8]
Glenside Memorial Hall
Historical place in Glenside, Pennsylvania. Glenside Memorial Hall often abbreviated "Glenside Hall" is a historic meeting hall located in the Philadelphia suburb of Glenside, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Glenside Hall was built in 1926, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, T-shaped, red-brick Colonial Revival-style building with limestone trim. It sits on a raised stone foundation and has a slate-covered gable roof. It was to honor the veterans of World War I. Today, it is used primarily for banquets, meetings, and other social events.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.[9]
Address: 185 S Keswick Ave, Elkins Park
Milmoral
Milmoral, also known as the H.G. Fetterolf House, John & Elizabeth Eagleson House and Ruth Nissen House, is a historic home located at Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The house was built in 1905–06, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, five-bay, L-shaped dwelling in the Colonial Revival style. It is built of Wissahickon schist and was remodeled and enlarged in 1912. The house features a hipped roof, wraparound porch supported by Doric order columns. Also on the property are a contributing stable / carriage house and greenhouse.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.[10]
George K. Heller School
The George K. Heller School, also known as the Cheltenham Center for the Arts, is a historic school building located in Ashmead Village, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was originally built in 1883 to house the first Cheltenham High School, and expanded in 1893 and 1906. Later additions took place between 1963 and 1969, after it was converted to the Cheltenham Center for the Arts. The stone school building ranges from 1 1/2- to 2 1/2-stories and has intersecting gable roofs. The roof is topped by a square cupola. A school was located on this site as early as 1795 and it was considered the oldest public school site in continuous use at the time of its closing in 1953.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[11]