Iconic house in Overbrook Farms, northeast corner of Drexel Road at Upland Avenue; Wissahickon schist foundation, Norman Revival design by Horace Trumbauer.
Throughout the late 19th century and early 20th century, houses of worship and benevolent/charitable institutions played a role in the Overbrook section.
African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, an institution founded in central-city Philadelphia in 1792, with its present home in this building, which was constructed by White Episcopalians in 1899.
From the mid-19th century onward, the Pennsylvania Railroad’s “Main Line” trains spurred the development of affluent suburbs just northwest of the City of Philadelphia. Overbrook’s residential development benefited immensely from the railroad’s passage through West Philadelphia to the central city. Electric trolleys arrived in Overbrook in 1895.
View north from Overbrook Station, at City Line Avenue. The Pennsylvania Railroad opened this station ca. 1860 and renovated it in the 1890s. Today, the station and tracks are part of SEPTA’s Regional Rail system.