In terms of population by Pennsylvania County, there's Philadelphia County, home to Philadelphia. There's Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh. Then there's Montgomery County. Home to 800,000+ Pennsylvanians. Those 800,000 Pennsylvanians reside in a great collection of small towns.
MontCo Subpages:
MontCo Subpages:
THE 1960s BLUE COLLAR, REVIVAL, TRAIN TOWNS: AMBLER, LANSDALE, HATBORO, JENKINTOWN, GLENSIDE
AMBLER
Ambler may be the town that I am most familiar with after my hometown of Warrington. For the better part of five years I rode SEPTA from Ambler's train station to and from Philadelphia for every commute. I've spent the past four years working a few miles away. It's a town I've seen "reborn" over the past fifteen years. Ambler always had the "bones" of a good town - it has a quaint historical commercial district with several stunning architectural buildings including a theater - and in the past few years the town has taken advantage of those bones and turned into a suburban dining and drinking destination.
The transformation was completed by an investor who saw the town's potential and slowly and quietly acquired several buildings along Main Street. These buildings were restored and rented to restaurants and bars. The result has been a stunning turnaround from the days that I'd hop off the train and drive directly home. These days I'd stick around and enjoy the scene. The Lucky Well. El Limon. Saffron. Bridget's Steakhouse. From the Boot. KC's Alley. Alice Bakery. They are all good.
Ambler also two microbreweries Forest and Main and Tannery Run ( a third, Ambler Beer Company, is scheduled to open in June 2019). Forest and Main is the longer established of the two and one of the Philadelphia suburb's standout breweries. It's housed in an older house and puts out a chill vibe - you know the beer will taste good as soon as you enter. Tannery Run has increased the level of competition.
Two events - Amblerfest in June and Oktoberfest in the fall capture small town Americana.
Ambler may be the town that I am most familiar with after my hometown of Warrington. For the better part of five years I rode SEPTA from Ambler's train station to and from Philadelphia for every commute. I've spent the past four years working a few miles away. It's a town I've seen "reborn" over the past fifteen years. Ambler always had the "bones" of a good town - it has a quaint historical commercial district with several stunning architectural buildings including a theater - and in the past few years the town has taken advantage of those bones and turned into a suburban dining and drinking destination.
The transformation was completed by an investor who saw the town's potential and slowly and quietly acquired several buildings along Main Street. These buildings were restored and rented to restaurants and bars. The result has been a stunning turnaround from the days that I'd hop off the train and drive directly home. These days I'd stick around and enjoy the scene. The Lucky Well. El Limon. Saffron. Bridget's Steakhouse. From the Boot. KC's Alley. Alice Bakery. They are all good.
Ambler also two microbreweries Forest and Main and Tannery Run ( a third, Ambler Beer Company, is scheduled to open in June 2019). Forest and Main is the longer established of the two and one of the Philadelphia suburb's standout breweries. It's housed in an older house and puts out a chill vibe - you know the beer will taste good as soon as you enter. Tannery Run has increased the level of competition.
Two events - Amblerfest in June and Oktoberfest in the fall capture small town Americana.
The Stoogeum
Buried behind a Wawa on Bethlehem Pike on the backside of a small office center complex is The Stoogeum, the only Three Stooges museum in the world. I found this museum not through a Google search or interest in Stooges nostalgia but by randomly moving Google Maps for things near my office. The museum’s random location in suburban Philadelphia traces its roots to the museums founder marrying into the Stooge Family—the found married the daughter or granddaughter or Larry Fine. The founder then helped Moe Howard with managing the Three Stooges fan club which went through a resurgence in the 1960s/1970s. Through this relationship the museum founder acquired every type of memorabilia imaginable and the fact that the Stooges were great merchandisers only helped to increase the volume of memorabilia on hand. |
This is a great museum with the only drawback being the limited hours, its only open on Thursdays 10-3 and there’s no photography allowed inside. Otherwise it’s a great museum with a huge collection of information presented in a digestible manner.
LANSDALE
You go from Ambler to Lansdale and think wow Lansdale has even more potential than Ambler. It'd be amazing if this town could go through a similar rebirth. There's one major difference - Lansdale is lacking an investor that can scoop up the properties one by one. Lansdale probably has a higher starting point making a similar acquisition style turnaround nearly impossible - the starting prices on the commercial properties are too high for a mass acquisition and rehabilitation.
Ambler may have Lansdale beat in the scale and scope of its dining and drinking options but Lansdale does have the best restaurant out of the two towns, Stove and Tap, and has the coffeeshop, Backyard Beans, one of the best in the entire Philadelphia area, that Ambler is sorely lacking. Stove and Tap, Backyard Beans, and Round Guys Brewing, Lansdale's microbrewery, although not as good as Forest and Main or Tannery Run all sit off the same intersection, Main Street and Wood Street, creating the strongest dining, coffee, and.drinking concentration in the burbs. Unfortunately there's not much beyond this intersection...but the potential!
You go from Ambler to Lansdale and think wow Lansdale has even more potential than Ambler. It'd be amazing if this town could go through a similar rebirth. There's one major difference - Lansdale is lacking an investor that can scoop up the properties one by one. Lansdale probably has a higher starting point making a similar acquisition style turnaround nearly impossible - the starting prices on the commercial properties are too high for a mass acquisition and rehabilitation.
Ambler may have Lansdale beat in the scale and scope of its dining and drinking options but Lansdale does have the best restaurant out of the two towns, Stove and Tap, and has the coffeeshop, Backyard Beans, one of the best in the entire Philadelphia area, that Ambler is sorely lacking. Stove and Tap, Backyard Beans, and Round Guys Brewing, Lansdale's microbrewery, although not as good as Forest and Main or Tannery Run all sit off the same intersection, Main Street and Wood Street, creating the strongest dining, coffee, and.drinking concentration in the burbs. Unfortunately there's not much beyond this intersection...but the potential!
HATBORO
Hatboro was my first home. In over thirty years not much has changed...in a good way. The small town, Main Street America that was York Road in Hatboro never left and has found new life. I remember buying clothes from Santerians. I remember the Hatboro pool. I remember our house was on busy street with a steep berm coming up from the sidewalk. I don't remember Gamburg's furniture but the store has been there seemingly forever. There's comfort and reassurance knowing the area still looks good. The Main Street has added a few restaurants and the area is as appealing as ever - appealing enough that I'd consider moving here assuming I can find something with more room than the three bedroom, one bath house my parents left in 1986.
While Hatboro has gone through a bit of a restaurant renaissance, there's even a microbrewery now, Crooked Eye Brewery, the standout dining option is still Silvia's deli. Hoagies are ubiquitous in the Philadelphia area particularly given the proliferation of Wawas but if you asked someone for a good hoagie place they'd be stumped. Primos...maybe but as they've added chains they've lost some quality. Then my mind snaps back into place and I remember Silvio's. Of course. Silvio's has hands down the best hoagies in the Philadelphia area. They bake their own bread. Everything tastes fresh. Even the Tuna Hoagie which can be a bit suspect at other locations is phenomenal.
Hatboro was my first home. In over thirty years not much has changed...in a good way. The small town, Main Street America that was York Road in Hatboro never left and has found new life. I remember buying clothes from Santerians. I remember the Hatboro pool. I remember our house was on busy street with a steep berm coming up from the sidewalk. I don't remember Gamburg's furniture but the store has been there seemingly forever. There's comfort and reassurance knowing the area still looks good. The Main Street has added a few restaurants and the area is as appealing as ever - appealing enough that I'd consider moving here assuming I can find something with more room than the three bedroom, one bath house my parents left in 1986.
While Hatboro has gone through a bit of a restaurant renaissance, there's even a microbrewery now, Crooked Eye Brewery, the standout dining option is still Silvia's deli. Hoagies are ubiquitous in the Philadelphia area particularly given the proliferation of Wawas but if you asked someone for a good hoagie place they'd be stumped. Primos...maybe but as they've added chains they've lost some quality. Then my mind snaps back into place and I remember Silvio's. Of course. Silvio's has hands down the best hoagies in the Philadelphia area. They bake their own bread. Everything tastes fresh. Even the Tuna Hoagie which can be a bit suspect at other locations is phenomenal.
JENKINTOWN / GLENSIDE
Jenkintown is one of Montgomery County’s jewel towns in that the town is a destination in and of itself. There’s enough to do here via coffee shops, microbreweries, restaurants, attractions, and an architecturally stunning main street that there’s no need to combine a trip here with a second destination—although I typically swing through neighbor Glenside. Jenkintown’s “heft” along 611/York Road includes some great stuck in time store fronts—I’ll never understand why but I’m attracted to the old GE sign hang above an appliance store. The great storefronts include columned banks and a 1930s theater.
Jenkintown is one of Montgomery County’s jewel towns in that the town is a destination in and of itself. There’s enough to do here via coffee shops, microbreweries, restaurants, attractions, and an architecturally stunning main street that there’s no need to combine a trip here with a second destination—although I typically swing through neighbor Glenside. Jenkintown’s “heft” along 611/York Road includes some great stuck in time store fronts—I’ll never understand why but I’m attracted to the old GE sign hang above an appliance store. The great storefronts include columned banks and a 1930s theater.
Further down York Road, toward Elkins Park, is the Beth Sholom synagogue, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed building. Tours are available—just check the times in advance.
Glenside’s Keswick Village is an interesting shopping corridor that has an English Village design, unique for the Philadelphia suburbs. There’s a coffee shop and a few restaurants but the main attraction that pulls visitors is the Keswick Theatre. Anthony Bourdain passed through here once a few years ago.
Glenside’s Keswick Village is an interesting shopping corridor that has an English Village design, unique for the Philadelphia suburbs. There’s a coffee shop and a few restaurants but the main attraction that pulls visitors is the Keswick Theatre. Anthony Bourdain passed through here once a few years ago.
The Abington Art center has a few outdoor sculptures that are available to the public free of charge. I’ve seen the “Golden Frame” thing on Instagram and swung by after a blitz through Jenkintown. The frame is ok. No complaints on artwork that is free to the public.
Bryn Athyn is an interesting place yet I’ve never actually been inside the church. Bryn Athyn is an enclave started by John Pitcairn that has a massive cathedral, the Glencairn Musuem (which I have visited to see an exhibit on hex signs), Cairnwood, a former estate that now houses special events such as wedding receptions (which I have attended), and a college on the other side of Huntingdon Pike. That’s it for Bryn Athyn. It’s an all inclusive religious community surround by Lower Moreland, another small township.
I’ve visited several former robber baron mansions located on Long Island and the larger New York City metropolitan area. Then I wonder, why doesn’t Philadelphia have similar mansions. Philadelphia was an industrial power during the 1800s and early 1900s. We had robber barons. Where are their homes? Two of them are in Montgomery County.
Lynnewood Hall is the more impressive of the two and could, in theory, be turned in to a museum. The home has largely been unoccupied since the son and grandson of the Widener patriarch died in the sinking of the Titantic. There’s a gate that surround the estate but there’s nothing stop you from pulling into the USPS station across the street and taking a few photos of this neoclassical revival.
Grey Towers Castle, the former home of William Welsh Harrison, a sugar magnate is now the admissions/administrative building of Arcadia College. Cool building. Easily accessible. Not as amazing as Lynnewood Hall.
Lynnewood Hall and Grey Towers Castle were designed by the same architect, Philadelphia Horace Trumbauer, whose most famous “building” is probably the Duke University campus. Trumbauer designed a third mega-mansion in the immediate area, Whitemarsh Hall, which was the third largest private residence in the U.S. (presumably after the Biltmore Estate and Hearst Castle) but it was destroyed in 1980 and a housing development now resides in its place.
LOWER MERION
PHOENIXVILLE