Main Line Homes For Sale

Main Line Homes For Sale Main Line Homes For Sale

Click on a town to explore the community that has a Main Line Home For Sale. You will find home prices, details, and other information about each community.

Ardmore, PA 19003

Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

Berwyn, PA 19312

Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

Devon, PA 19333

Gladwyne, PA 19035

Haverford, PA 19041

Malvern, PA 19355

Merion Station, PA 19066

Narberth, PA 19072

Newtown Square, PA 19073

Paoli, PA 19301

Penn Valley, PA 19072

Philadelphia, PA

Radnor, PA 19087

Rosemont, PA 19010

St. Davids, PA 19087

Valley Forge, PA

Villanova, PA 19085

Wayne, PA 19087

West Chester, PA 19380, 19382, 19383

Wynnewood, PA 19096

The Philadelphia Main Line

Known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad‘s once prestigious Main Line, it runs northwest from Center City Philadelphia parallel to Lancaster Avenue (U.S. Route 30).

The railroad first connected the Main Line towns in the 19th century. They became home to sprawling country estates belonging to Philadelphia’s wealthiest families, and over the decades became a bastion of “old money“. Today, the Main Line includes some of the wealthiest communities in the country, including Gladwyne, Villanova, and Radnor. Today, the railroad is Amtrak‘s Keystone Corridor, along which SEPTA‘s Paoli/Thorndale Line operates.

History

Wayne Station on SEPTA’s Paoli/Thorndale line after renovations in 2010

The Main Line region was long part of Lenapehoking, the homeland of the matrilineal Lenni Lenape Native Americans (the “true people”, or “Delaware Indians”). Europeans arrived in the 1600s, after William Penn sold a tract of land, called the Welsh Tract, to a group of Welsh Quakers in London in 1681. This accounts for the many Welsh place names in the area.

The Pennsylvania Railroad built its main line during the early 19th century as part of the Main Line of Public Works that spanned Pennsylvania. Later in the century, the railroad, which owned much of the land surrounding the tracks, encouraged the development of this picturesque environment by building way stations along the portion of its track closest to Philadelphia. The benefits of what was touted as “healthy yet cultivated country living” attracted Philadelphia’s social elite, many of whom had one house in the city and another larger “country home” on the Main Line. Many of the Main Line homes for sale are close to these railroad stops.

20th Century

In the 20th century, many wealthy Philadelphia families moved to the Main Line suburbs. Part of the national trend of suburbanization, this drove rapid investment, prosperity, and growth that turned the area into greater Philadelphia’s most affluent and fashionable region. Estates with sweeping lawns and towering maples, the débutante balls and the Merion Cricket Club, which drew crowds of 25,000 spectators to its matches in the early 1900s, were the setting for the 1940 Grant/Hepburn/Stewart motion picture The Philadelphia Story.

The railroad placed stops about two minutes apart, starting with Overbrook. The surrounding communities became known by the railroad station names which started at Broad Street Station in Center City Philadelphia and went on to 32nd Street Station (replaced by 30th Street Station in 1933), and then the Main Line stations: Overbrook, Merion, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Villanova, Radnor, St. Davids, Wayne, Strafford, Devon, Berwyn, Daylesford, and Paoli. At least five of these station buildings, along with the first Bryn Mawr Hotel, were designed by Wilson Brothers & Company. Broad Street Station was replaced with Suburban Station in 1930, and 30th Street Station replaced 32nd Street three years later. Suburban service now extends west of the Main Line to the communities of Malvern, Exton, Whitford, Downingtown, and Thorndale.

The railroad line then continued on to Chicago, with major stations at Lancaster, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. The railroad, since taken over by Amtrak, is still in service, although its route is slightly different from the original. It also serves the Paoli/Thorndale Line of the SEPTA Regional Rail system.

Demographics of the Gilded Age

It was not only extremely wealthy people on the Main Line in the period 1880-1920. Wealthy households of these Main Line homes for sale required large numbers of servants in order to maintain their lifestyle. Often these servants were Black migrants from the South and recent immigrants from Europe. For example, in the 1900 census, Tredyffrin Township was 13.5% Black; another 15% had been born in Europe. The two largest countries of origin were Italy and Ireland. The corresponding figures for Lower Merion Township were 6% Black and 15% born in Europe; almost 11% were from Ireland.

Another dimension of this story is illustrated by the community of Mount Pleasant, in Tredyffrin Township just north of Wayne. This is a community that became predominantly Black in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and offered lots of Main Line homes for sale. As shown in the census for 1920, most of the Black residents of this neighborhood or their parents had come from the South. Many of the men in this neighborhood (along Henry Avenue and Mount Pleasant Avenue) were employed by the railroad, as quarry workers, or as chauffeurs and gardeners by private families. The occupations often given for women were cook and laundress. This remains a predominantly Black community to the present day.

The Main Line today

Memorial mile post on U.S. Route 30, in front of the Anthony Wayne Theater with AT&T tower in background.

Today, the “Main Line” is another name for the western suburbs of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue (U.S. Route 30) and the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line, extending from the city limits to, traditionally, Bryn Mawr and ultimately Paoli, an area of about 200 square miles (520 km2). The upper- and upper middle-class enclave has historically been one of the bastions of “old money” in the Northeast, along with places like Long Island’s Gold Coast, Westchester County, New York, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and Fairfield County, Connecticut.

Neighborhoods along the Main Line include nineteenth and early twentieth-century railroad suburbs and post-war subdivisions, as well as a few surviving buildings from before the suburban development era.

Communities on the Main Line and Homes For Sale

The Main Line proper, which contains lots of Main Line Homes for sale is a line of communities extending northwest from the City of Philadelphia, along what is currently the Paoli/Thorndale Line, from City Line Avenue west to Paoli. There are usually thousands of Main Line homes for sale at any given point.

Core Main Line towns where there are Main Line Homes For Sale

The original Main Line towns, and Main Line homes for sale, are widely considered to follow the acronym “Old Maids Never Wed And Have Babies.”[12] From Philadelphia, they are:

These seven towns are characterized as one of the primary bastions of old money in Southeastern Pennsylvania. They are comparably more dense than other suburbs and have lively, walkable downtowns. All of these communities were established along Lancaster Avenue prior to the railroad’s construction. Additionally, the following towns are often grouped with the core Main Line:

Infill Communities

Beyond the 9 aforementioned communities, many nearby communities have seeded growth in the twentieth century, either in between the core towns or nearby them. They include:

These communities are primarily residential and consist of larger lot sizes than in the nine core towns. All of them, except Gladwyne, are on the railroad and have their own station stop.

Exurban Communities

While the Main Line traditionally ends at Paoli, in the 1990s SEPTA extended service west to Thorndale. As such, communities west along the Main Line to Thorndale or even as far west as Parkesburg are considered to be a part of the Main Line.

Demographics and Main Line Homes For Sale

There is no collective data for the Main Line, so all data is by ZIP code. In comparison, the median family income and home price for the state of Pennsylvania are $68,646 and $155,000, respectively. The following ZIP codes are those within the previously mentioned municipalities that make up the Main Line. All data, with the exception of average home price, are as of the 2000 census. For comparison, the median family income of Beverly Hills, California is $110,040. The following chart show demographics that affect the Main Line homes for sale.

ZIP code Name/Aliases Population Median family income Average home price
19003 Ardmore 12,902 $80,990 $450,000[17]
19010 Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Garrett Hill 21,485 $110,956 $866,346[18]
19035 Gladwyne 3,799 $230,625 $959,200
19041 Haverford 7,058 $104,924[19] $1,106,031.[20]
19066 Merion 5,951 $118,083 $635,481[21]
19072 Narberth, Penn Valley 9,824 $106,057 $718,746[22]
19085 Villanova, Radnor 9,189 $174,511 $1,435,844[23]
19087 Wayne, St. Davids, Strafford, Chesterbrook 30,892 $105,680 $737,025[24]
19096 Wynnewood, Penn Wynne 14,179 $111,683 $770,538[25]
19301 Paoli 6,804 $87,946 $526,731[26]
19312 Berwyn 10,911 $110,083 $741,338[27]
19333 Devon 7,408 $101,279 $1,355,923[28]
19355 Malvern 22,605 $90,606 $850,250[29]

Transportation

SEPTA and Amtrak share the four track “Main Line” railroad grade between Philadelphia and Thorndale.

The Main Line is served by numerous modes of transportation among which are three commuter rail lines operated by SEPTA. Connecting the region directly with Center City Philadelphia are the Paoli/Thorndale Line which shares the former Pennsylvania Railroad four track Keystone Corridor grade with Amtrak, and the Manayunk/Norristown Line which operates over the former Reading Railroad Norristown grade. The light rail Norristown High Speed Line runs over the Philadelphia and Western Railroad line between 69th terminal in Upper Darby to Norristown. Amtrak’s intercity Keystone Service (New York City to Harrisburg) and Pennsylvanian (New York City to Pittsburgh) also serve the region with stops at the jointly operated Amtrak/SEPTA stations at Ardmore and Paoli.

Main thoroughfare through the Main Line

U.S. Route 30 which follows Lancaster Avenue (formerly the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike) running east to west and serves as the backbone of the region by connecting a large majority of its towns and municipalities. Other highways serving the area are the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) which connects it to Philadelphia, and the Blue Route (I-476) which runs north to south connecting the region with the Northeast Extension and the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the north, and to Philadelphia International Airport and I-95 to the south. Along the northern edge of the Main Line, US 202 runs from the Schuylkill Expressway in a southwesterly direction, crossing US 30 in Frazer.

SEPTA also commissions suburban buses on Routes 105 and 106 to run from the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby to Bryn Mawr, with rush hour service extended to Paoli. These buses run almost entirely along Lancaster Avenue.

SEPTA also offers light rail service through the Norristown High Speed Line. The Norristown High Speed Line runs along the Main Line from Upper Darby to Ithan Avenue Station and Villanova Station before making a northward turn at the junction of Lancaster Avenue and the Blue Route toward Norristown.

Recreation and attractions

  • The Appleford Estate: A 300-year-old 24-acre (97,000 m2) estate located in Villanova. Today it is carefully maintained as an arboretum and a bird sanctuary. Its gardens were designed by renowned landscape architect Thomas Warren Sears and include woods, meadows, formal gardens, brick walkways, rhododendron tracts, a stream, pond, and waterfall. Admission is free of charge and the house is available as a rental for special events. Many of the Main Line Homes for sale have access to this estate. 
  • Bryn Mawr Film Institute: A non-profit community theater founded in 2002 in the old Bryn Mawr Theater building, built in 1926, which is in the process of significant restoration. The institute offers showings of classic movies of the 20th century, opera, film education courses, and film discussions.
  • The Cynwyd Heritage Trail is a 1.8-mile (2.9 km) linear ‘rail-to-trail’ park which opened in 2011. The trail intersects with roads, bridges, neighborhoods, parks, railway stations, historic mills, and the West Laurel Hill and Westminster Cemeteries. The trail also connects to the pedestrian-only Manayunk Bridge on the Schuylkill River, which opened in 2015.
  • Chanticleer Garden: An estate and botanical garden located in Wayne, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • The Devon Horse Show: The oldest and largest multi-breed horse show in the U.S.
  • Harriton House: Located in Bryn Mawr, was built in 1704 by a Welsh Quaker named Rowland Ellis. He named the estate “Bryn Mawr”, meaning “high hill” in Welsh, which is where the community gained its name. The house’s best known occupant was Charles Thomson, the first and only secretary of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
  • Historic Waynesborough: Revolutionary war hero, Anthony Wayne’s, historic estate. Alternatively known as Waynesborough, this is where Anthony Wayne was born. It is registered as a National Historic Landmark and is a historic house museum.
  • Jenkins Arboretum: A nonprofit botanical garden located in Devon.
  • King of Prussia Mall located in King of Prussia is the largest mall in terms of retail space in America and is only a short distance away from the Main Line.
  • The Woodmont Estate

Sporting and Social Clubs

Looking down the first fairway at Merion Golf Club.

Private clubs played an important role in the development of the Main Line, offering social gathering places and facilities for cricket, golf, tennis, squash, and horseback riding to wealthy or socially connected families. Main line homes for sale has access to the following clubs. Among them are:

Education

The school districts that serve the Main Line are Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County, Radnor Township School District and School District of Haverford Township in Delaware County, and Tredyffrin/Easttown School District and Great Valley School District in Chester County. The region has numerous nationally ranked public and private schools. When you purchase one of the Main Line homes for sale, you have access to these schools. Among them are:

Higher education

Saint Thomas of Villanova Church on the campus of Villanova University

In popular culture

Film

1990–present

Literature

Television

Notable Main Liners

Many of these people purchased a main line home for sale.

Sports

Arts

Entertainment

Business

Military / Government / Science

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