Villanova is a suburb of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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, ...

. It straddles

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 Radnor Township in Delaware County. It is located at the center of the

Philadelphia Main Line 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 no ...

, a series of

suburbs located along the original east–west railroad tracks of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

. It is served by the

SEPTA The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

Paoli/Thorndale Line The Paoli/Thorndale Line, or R5 commonly known as the Main Line, is a SEPTA Regional Rail service running from Center City Philadelphia through Montgomery County and Delaware County to Thorndale in Chester County. It operates along the far eas ...

regional rail train 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 Tran ...

. The center of the village straddles

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

(

Lancaster Avenue Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster * House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

) where it intersects

Pennsylvania Route 320 Pennsylvania Route 320 (PA 320) is a north–south state highway in southeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the long route is at U.S. Route 13 (US 13)/ PA 291 in Chester. The northern terminus is at PA 23 in Swedeland. The rou ...

(Spring Mill Road). This village center contains the area's post office for ZIP Code 19085, an office building, the

Wilmington Trust Company Wilmington Trust is one of the top 10 largest American institutions by fiduciary assets. Wilmington Trust is currently a provider of international corporate and institutional services, investment management, and private banking. The firm was foun ...

's Pennsylvania headquarters, and several smaller shops.

History

The Bridge in Radnor Township No. 2 and Camp-Woods 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 v ...

Geography

Climate

Villanova has a hot-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfa'') and average monthly temperatures range from 30.9 °F in January to 75.6 °F in July. The local

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

is 7a.

Demographics

Villanova is neither an incorporated area nor a census-designated place; all the data is for the ZIP code 19085. As of the census of 2000, there were 9,189 people and 1,932 households residing in the community. The population density was 1,565 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the community was 92.5% White, 3.4% Asian, 3.9% African American, 1.40% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 2.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The median income for a household in the community was $159,538, and the median income for a family was $174,511. The per capita income for the community was $50,204. About 1.5% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line. The estimated median house/condo value in 2009 is $1,435,844.

Education

Colleges

The most notable feature of Villanova is

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

, from which the community gains its name. The university campus extends from County Line Road along Spring Mill Road south to Lancaster Pike, US Route 30, and then east to just beyond

Villanova Stadium Villanova Stadium is a 12,500 seat stadium located on the campus of Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA. History Villanova Stadium was originally built in 1927 and dedicated on October 8, 1927. The stadium plays host to a wide va ...

, home of the Villanova University football, men's and women's lacrosse, women's field hockey and men's and women's track teams. The university's indoor arena, Finneran Pavilion, is home to the school's NCAA Division I 1985, 2016, and 2018 national champion men's basketball teams. In addition to the undergraduate college, Villanova University includes a well-recognized graduate school, a nursing school, a school of continuing studies, numerous certificate programs, and

Villanova University Law School Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law (known as Villanova University School of Law) is a law school of the Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1953, the School of Law is approved by the American Bar Associat ...

Schools

Public school children in Villanova who live in Radnor Township attend Radnor Elementary School in Radnor, Radnor Middle School in Wayne, and Radnor High School in St. Davids, all part of the

Radnor Township School District Radnor Township School District is a school district that serves Radnor Township, Pennsylvania and has 3 elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Due to the mostly affluent demographic of the Main Line that the Radnor Townshi ...

. Children who live in the Lower Merion Township portion of Villanova attend Gladwyne Elementary School in Gladwyne, Welsh Valley Middle School in Narberth, and Harriton High School in Rosemont. Other private schools in the area include the all-boys

Haverford School , motto_translation = , address = 450 Lancaster Avenue , location = , region = , city = Haverford , county = , state = Pennsylvania , ...

, located in nearby Haverford and the

Episcopal Academy The Episcopal Academy, founded in 1785, is a private, co-educational school for grades Pre-K through 12 based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Prior to 2008, the main campus was located in Merion Station and the satellite campus was located in D ...

called among locals as "EA" in

Newtown Square Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1789 it was part of Chester County. The population was 12,216 as of the 2010 census, and was 19,705 as of 2017. History The first mention of the township was in 1684, ...

. There are several all-girls schools in Bryn Mawr, including the

Baldwin School The Baldwin School (simply referred to as Baldwin School or Baldwin) is a private school for girls in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1888 by Florence Baldwin. The school occupies a 19th-century resort hotel designed by ...

, the

Agnes Irwin School The Agnes Irwin School is a non-sectarian college preparatory day school for girls from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. It was founded in 1869 by Agnes Irwin in Philadelphia. Irwin, a great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin, later beca ...

, the

Country Day School of the Sacred Heart Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr, commonly referred to as, SHA or Sacred Heart, is a highly selective, independent, private, Roman Catholic school for girls. Sacred Heart is located on the Main Line in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and consists of a Low ...

, and the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, as well as the coeducational

Shipley School , motto_translation = Courage for the deed; Grace for the doing , address = 814 Yarrow Street , location = , region = , city = Bryn Mawr , county = , st ...

. Rosemont School of the Holy Child on Montgomery Avenue is a nearby Catholic grade school.

Infrastructure

Hospitals

Bryn Mawr Hospital Bryn Mawr Hospital, part of Main Line Health, is a 264-bed acute care hospital located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr, pronounced , from Welsh language, Welsh for big hill, is a census-designated place (CDP) located across three towns ...

, at South Bryn Mawr Avenue and Haverford Road, is one of the three nationally ranked community teaching hospitals that serve the

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

; it is located less than one mile (1.6 km) from the Villanova district line. The hospital has historically been associated with Philadelphia's

Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

for many years. Bryn Mawr Hospital is the chief beneficiary of the area's preeminent social and sporting event, the

Devon Horse Show The Devon Horse Show, also known as The Devon Horse Show and Country Fair is an annual horse show which has been held late May through early June in Devon, Pennsylvania since 1896It is the oldest and largest outdoor multi-breed horse show in the U. ...

and Country Fair, which is held annually during the last week of May at the fairgrounds in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

Notable people

* Kevin Brennan – stand-up comedian and writer *

Neal Brennan Neal Brennan (born October 19, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. He is best known for co-creating and co-writing the Comedy Central series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) with Dave Chappelle and for his ...

– comedian, writer, director, producer, actor *

Colby Cohen Colby Shane Cohen (born April 25, 1989) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Avalanche and in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, the minor league affiliate of the Bos ...

(born 1989) – ice hockey player *

Fran Dunphy Francis Joseph Dunphy (born October 5, 1948) is an American college basketball coach, who is the head coach of the La Salle Explorers of the Atlantic 10 Conference. He is the former men's basketball coach at Temple University and the University o ...

– Temple University men's basketball coach *

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

(Dr. J) – former NBA star *

Albert Eugene Gallatin Albert Eugene Gallatin (July 23, 1881 – June 15, 1952) was an American artist. He wrote about, collected, exhibited, and created works of art. Called "one of the great figures in early 20th-century American culture," he was a leading proponent ...

(1881-1952) – artist and art collector * Conyers Read – historian *

Michael Smerconish Michael Andrew Smerconish ( ; born March 15, 1962) is an American radio host and television presenter, political commentator, newspaper columnist, author, and lawyer. He broadcasts ''The Michael Smerconish Program'' weekdays at 9:00 a.m. ET ...

– broadcaster, journalist, authorMichael Smerconish house
/ref> *

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

– actor *

Brian Westbrook Brian Collins Westbrook (born September 2, 1979) is a former American football running back who played for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft af ...

– former NFL running back * Jay Wright – former head coach of the

Villanova Wildcats men's basketball The Villanova Wildcats men's basketball program represent Villanova University in men's college basketball and competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. Their first season was the 1920–21 season. Named the "Wildcats", Villanova is ...

team

Points of interest

* Appleford/Parsons-Banks Arboretum *

Arboretum Villanova Arboretum Villanova is the name of a former 222-acre (90 ha) arboretum located throughout the campus of Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It is open to the public daily without charge. Designated an arboretum in 1993, the site has ...

* Friends of the Willows Cottage * Stoneleigh: A Natural Garden

References

{{authority control Philadelphia Main Line Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania