Discover 4 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Swarthmore (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Scott Arboretum, Swarthmore College, and Benjamin West Birthplace. Also, be sure to include Ogden House in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Swarthmore (Pennsylvania).
Table of Contents
Scott Arboretum
Botanical garden in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Scott Arboretum is an arboretum coterminous with the campus of and operated by Swarthmore College. It is open to the public daily without charge. The arboretum was established and endowed by the Scott family in 1929 in honor of Arthur Hoyt Scott, "for the purpose of enabling Swarthmore College to acquire, cultivate and propagate the better kinds of living trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants which are hardy in the climate of eastern Pennsylvania and which are suitable for planting by the average gardener."
Today the arboretum contains over 4,000 kinds of ornamental plants, labeled with scientific and common names, and grouped in collections for ready comparison. It is "celebrated for its horticultural excellence and display" and "grants Swarthmore’s 1,500 students an academic life immersed in the plant kingdom, although the arboretum welcomes visitors as well."
Each year, the Scott Outdoor Amphitheater plays host to the commencement ceremony of approximately 350 graduating seniors. The amphitheater consists of eight tiers, grassed, and edged in stone. Tulip trees "rise like columns" to create a sylvan take on the Classical Greek Amphitheater. Each year, the Dean Bond Rose Garden supplies the roses that are cut in full bloom and pinned to each graduation gown.[1]
Address: 500 College Ave, 19081-1306 Swarthmore
Swarthmore College
Liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Swarthmore College is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as a college "under the care of Friends, at which an education may be obtained equal to that of the best institutions of learning in our country." By 1906, Swarthmore had dropped its religious affiliation and officially became non-sectarian.
Swarthmore is a member of the Tri-College Consortium, a cooperative academic arrangement with Bryn Mawr and Haverford College. Swarthmore also is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania through the Quaker Consortium, which allows for students to cross-register for classes at all four institutions. Swarthmore offers over 600 courses per year in more than 40 areas of study, including an ABET-accredited engineering program that culminates in a Bachelor of Science in engineering. Swarthmore has a variety of sporting teams with a total of 22 Division III Intercollegiate sports teams, and it competes in the Centennial Conference, a group of private colleges in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
The school's alumni have attained prominence in a broad range of fields. Graduates include five Nobel Prize winners (as of 2016, the third-highest number of Nobel Prize winners per graduate in the U.S.), 11 MacArthur Foundation fellows, 30 Rhodes Scholars, 27 Truman Scholars, 10 Marshall Scholars, and 201 Fulbright Grantees, as well as a number of winners of the Tony Awards, Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and Emmy Awards, and the Guggenheim Fellowship.[2]
Address: 500 College Ave, Swarthmore
Benjamin West Birthplace
The Benjamin West Birthplace, also known as Benjamin West House, is a historic home located on the campus of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It was the birthplace of artist Benjamin West, who was an influential mentor to a generation of American painters, including Gilbert Stuart and Charles Willson Peale. His birthplace was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It presently houses the dispatch and offices for the college's campus police, along with a visitor information center.[3]
Ogden House
Ogden House is a historic home located at Swarthmore, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1736, and is a three-story stone house faced on three sides with dressed stone and one side with rubble stone. One of the dressed stone sides is coated with stucco. It has a double pitched roof and two massive stone chimneys.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[4]