Lower Merion Academy, view from front lane

Bala Cynwyd Junior High School Complex, is a historic school complex in Bala Cynwyd, Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The complex includes the Bala Cynwyd Middle School, the Cynwyd Elementary School, as well as the former Lower Merion Academy. The elementary school and middle schools are part of the

Lower Merion School District Lower Merion School District, or LMSD, is a public school district located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The school district includes residents of both Lower Merion Township and the Borough of Narberth. Established i ...

. The Lower Merion Academy / Lower Merion Benevolent School building was built in 1812, and is a -story, five-bay,

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

ed stone building with cupola in the Federal style. It was renovated in 1938, in the Colonial Revival style. The Cynwyd Elementary School building was built in 1914, with a rear addition built in 1920. It is a -story, Classical Revival style building that features white terra cotta trim and a central entrance with

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

columns. The Bala Cynwyd Middle School building was built in 1938, and is a long, flat, two-story brick building in the modern style. A classroom wing was added in 1963. The buildings were renovated and some additions built in 1999. ''Note:'' This includes It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Lower Merion Academy School bell, cast 1888, rededicated 1976

Lower Merion Academy School bell, cast 1888, rededicated 1976

Next to the Lower Merion Academy building sits the school's old bell, cast in 1888 by McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, Maryland, and rededicated in 1976 according to a plaque affixed to the side.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Neoclassical architecture in Pennsylvania Colonial Revival architecture in Pennsylvania School buildings completed in 1812 1812 establishments in Pennsylvania Schools in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania