Ardmore is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) spanning the border between

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and Montgomery counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The population was 12,455 at the 2010 census and had risen to 13,566 in the 2020 census. Ardmore is a suburb on the west side of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

within

Lower Merion Township Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the ...

in Montgomery County and

Haverford Township Haverford Township is a Home rule municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule municipality Township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.Pennsylvania Railroad, on whose Main Line, west out of Philadelphia, Ardmore sits at Milepost 8.5. The

Autocar Company The Autocar Company is an American specialist manufacturer of severe-duty, Class 7 and Class 8 vocational trucks, with its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. Started in 1897 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as a manufacturer of Brass Era automo ...

moved its headquarters to Ardmore in 1899 and constructed a factory on the edge of the downtown area. The factory closed in 1954; during demolition in 1956, a major fire broke out that threatened the downtown area before it was extinguished. Today, Ardmore consistently ranks among the most desirable suburbs of Philadelphia.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ardmore has a total area of , all land. Ardmore is adjacent to Wynnewood (east), Haverford (west), Gladwyne (north), and

Havertown Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ZIP Code is 19083 and "Havertown" is a posta ...

(southwest). Ardmore's downtown, primarily centered around Lancaster Ave, Rittenhouse Place, and Cricket Ave, is home to many shops, restaurants, and

small businesses Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...

. The western end of downtown features more traditional retail establishments, including the Ardmore West and Ardmore Plaza Shopping Centers. Similarly, the eastern portion of Ardmore along Lancaster Ave is home to several car dealerships, offices, and apartments, as well as the Wynnewood Plaza Shopping Center. Suburban Square, opened in 1928 as one of the earliest shopping centers in the United States, is located just north of the Ardmore train station. Ardmore contained the nation's first suburban branch of a major department store, the former Strawbridge & Clothier which opened there in 1930; the former Suburban movie theater—now Not Your Average Joe's Restaurant; the newly relocated Ardmore Farmer's Market; an

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple TV digital me ...

, and the usual selection of mall shops. The Merion Golf Manor neighborhood, named for the adjacent

Merion Golf Club Merion Golf Club is a private golf club located in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a township bordering Philadelphia to the northwest along the historic Main Line. The club has two courses: the East Course, and the West Cours ...

, is roughly bounded by Ardmore Avenue to the north, Darby Road to the West, Hathaway Lane to the South, and the

Norristown High Speed Line The Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL), also called the Purple Line, the P&W, or Route 100,) is a interurban light rapid transit line operated by SEPTA, running between the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby and the Norristown Tr ...

to the East. Another neighborhood in the Haverford Township portion of town is Ardmore Park, roughly bounded by Haverford Road to the South, Ardmore Avenue to the west, and County Line Road to the North. While originally developed and marketed as Ardmore Park, today it is more commonly referred to today as South Ardmore (not to be confused with a separate housing development of the same name located in nearby Havertown). This neighborhood is home to Normandy Park, Chestnutwold Elementary, and businesses along Haverford Road and County Line Road. Residents from portions of southeastern Ardmore and Wynnewood cooperate as the ArdWood Civic Association. The Ardmore Progressive Civic Association serves the historically

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

section of Ardmore bordered by ArdWood Civic Association, Haverford College, Montgomery Avenue, and the Montgomery/Delaware County line. The North Ardmore Civic Association represents residents of North Ardmore and Wynnewood north of Montgomery Avenue. The South Ardmore Betterment Alliance is a community group in the Haverford Township portion of Ardmore which organizes various community activities. Residents and visitors enjoy several recreation areas, including Linwood Park, Normandy Park, the Ardmore Ice Skating Club, and Vernon V. Young Memorial Park (home to the Ardmore Ave Pool and the community center known as "The Shack"). South Ardmore Park is located in neighboring Wynnewood, and Merwood Park and Elwell Field are both adjacent to Ardmore. The Ardmore Post Office and Ardmore Public Library (part of the Lower Merion Library System) are both found on Ardmore Ave, and the Merion Fire Company of Ardmore is located nearby on Greenfield Ave. Two sites, located in the Haverford Township section of Ardmore, the Merion Golf Club East Course and Pont Reading are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Transit

Ardmore's train station is served by

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...

's Paoli/Thorndale Line (commuter) and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

(intercity) passenger trains. Additionally, the Norristown High Speed Line runs through the Haverford Township portion of town, and Ardmore Junction, Wynnewood Road, and Ardmore Avenue stations are all within or adjacent to the boundaries of Ardmore. A streetcar line built by the

Ardmore and Llanerch Street Railway Ardmore comes from the ga, Ard Mór or the gd, Àird Mhòr meaning "great height" and may refer to: Places Canada *Ardmore, Alberta *Ardmore, a neighbourhood in North Saanich, British Columbia *Ardmore Beach, a community in Tiny, Ontario Repub ...

in 1902 once ran from the

69th Street Transportation Center The 69th Street Transportation Center is a SEPTA terminal in the Terminal Square section of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, just west of the city limits of Philadelphia. The terminal serves the Market–Frankford Line, Norristown High Speed Line, an ...

Upper Darby Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule Township (Pennsylvania), township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the List of United States cities b ...

to a two-track terminal in downtown Ardmore, now the site of Schauffele Plaza. After the line was acquired by SEPTA in the 1960s, it was converted to a

bus route A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

. A section of the line, running alongside Pont Reading Creek and Hathaway Lane, was paved over and is now used by SEPTA as a private busway.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the CDP was 76.8% White, 12.9% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 4.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 1.2% were Some Other Race, and 2.3% were two or more races. 4.0% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 12,616 people, 5,529 households, and 3,129 families residing in Ardmore. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 6,588.5 people per square mile (2,550.3/km). There were 5,711 housing units at an average density of 2,982.5/sq mi (1,154.5/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 83.51%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 11.47%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.12% Native American, 2.58% Asian, 0.13%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.59% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.60% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 2.05% of the population. There were 5,529 households, out of which 23.9% included children under the age of 18, 43.0% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.98. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 20.3% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $60,966, and the median income for a family was $75,828. Males had a median income of $46,920 versus $40,802 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $36,111. About 2.4% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Pupils living in the Lower Merion Township portion attend schools in the Lower Merion School District, while pupils living in the Haverford Township portion attend schools in the School District of Haverford Township. Among the many notable graduates of

Lower Merion High School Lower Merion High School is a public high school in Ardmore, a community in Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs. It is one of two high schools in the Lower Merion School District; the other one is Harriton High School. Lower Merion serves both Lo ...

in Ardmore are General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold (1903), Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces in WWII; General Alexander M. Haig, Jr. (1942), the 59th

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

; James H. Billington (1946), the Librarian of Congress, and; Kobe Bryant (1996), NBA Hall of Fame basketball player.

Eminent domain controversy

In 2004–2006, Ardmore's business district was the subject of a hotly contested

eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

battle. A grassroots organization, the Save Ardmore Coalition, along with local businesses and other civic groups, opposed an eminent domain/redevelopment program that would have involved the demolition of historic buildings, in favor of preserving those buildings for other commercial use. In March 2006 the Lower Merion Township Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution disavowing the use of eminent domain for the benefit of private redevelopment projects. The Ardmore battle was also instrumental in prompting the Pennsylvania General Assembly to enact legislation in 2006 restricting the use of eminent domain for private projects.

Ardmore Presbyterian Church

The Ardmore Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church located at the corner of Montgomery Avenue and Mill Creek Road. The Gothic exterior of the church building is gray stone, with granite trim, and the interior is hardwood."The First Presbyterian Church of Ardmore, Pa is Born", Minute for History, January 4, 2007
/ref> The original church, now the chapel, was constructed in 1910 following the 1907 establishment of the congregation, whose 50 members worshipped at the local

Masonic Hall A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...

in the meantime. The first service in the new building was held in September 1910. The current sanctuary, designed by Thomas, Martin & Kirkpatrick, was dedicated in 1924. Subsequent additions were built in 1931 and the 1950s. J. Howard Pew served as

ruling elder Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...

of the Ardmore Presbyterian Church beginning January 26, 1958. Pew was president of the board of trustees of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Foundation from 1936 to 1971. When Pew's burial service was held in the church in 1971, the Rev.

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

assisted the pastor, the Rev. William Faulds, with the service.

Notable people

* Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in all theaters throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, first

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

five-star general A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries.Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd Edition, 1989. "five" ... "five-star adj., ... (b) U.S., applied to a general or admiral whose badge of rank includes five stars;" The rank is t ...

Richie Ashburn Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. (Some sources give his ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, outfielder and longtime broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies * Kobe Bryant,

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player, member of the Los Angeles Lakers * Russell Carter, former cornerback for the New York Jets and

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...

Larry Christenson Larry Richard Christenson (born November 10, 1953), nicknamed "L.C.", is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the Philadelphia Phillies (1973–1983). Early life Christens ...

, former pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies * Johnny Christmas, professional lacrosse player with the Philadelphia Wings and the Boston Cannons *

Kate Flannery Kate Destiny Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series ''The Office'', which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Sh ...

, actress (plays Meredith on NBC prime time comedy series ''The Office'') * Mark Gerban, first person to represent the State of Palestine at the World Championships in

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these ...

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and

* Owen Jones, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania * A. Atwater Kent, prominent early radio manufacturer and philanthropist responsible for creation of the Museum of Philadelphia History on South Seventh Street in Center City Philadelphia * Mike Pedicin, American jazz bandleaderMichael L. Pedicine tributes.com
/ref> * J. Howard Pew, son of

Joseph Newton Pew Joseph Newton Pew (July 20, 1848 – October 12, 1912) was the founder of Sun Oil Company (now Sunoco) and a prominent philanthropist. Early life Joseph N. Pew was born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, to John Pew and Nancy Glenn. He worked on ...

, founder of Sun Oil Company; his estate "Knollbrook" is located on a tall hill barely visible above the intersection of Grays Lane and Mill Creek Road, touching Ardmore, Gladwyne, and Haverford *

Michael Sembello Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sembello was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his 1983 song "M ...

, an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer ;Fictional * Lieutenant Joe Cable, from the

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

musical '' South Pacific''

References

External links

Ardmore Initiative
a business district authority responsible for physical and economic development in Ardmore
Save Ardmore Coalition
a 501(c)4 civic group which played a role in the eminent domain controversy
ArdWood Civic Association
a civic group which focuses on South Ardmore and parts of Wynnewood (surrounding South Ardmore Park)
South Ardmore Betterment Alliance
a civic group which focuses on southern Ardmore
First Friday
a 501(c)3 non-profit to bring art to the Main Line and revitalize the communities of Ardmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr {{authority control Philadelphia Main Line Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Haverford Township, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Pennsylvania