Merion Station, Pennsylvania facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Merion Station
Merion
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Merion Station post office, which is part of the SEPTA Regional Rail station
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 Merion Station
Location in Pennsylvania
Merion Station
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Montgomery |
| Township | Lower Merion |
| Elevation | 233 ft (71 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 5,741 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Code |
19066
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| Area codes | 610 and 484 |
Merion Station, also called Merion, is a community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is not officially a town or city. It sits next to Philadelphia on its west side. Merion Station is part of the Philadelphia Main Line, a group of towns known for their history. It is located within Lower Merion Township. This community is famous for its large, beautiful homes. Many wealthy people live here.
Merion Station is right next to the Overbrook and Overbrook Park areas of Philadelphia. It also borders other communities in Lower Merion Township. These include Wynnewood, Bala Cynwyd, and the town of Narberth. In 2020, about 5,741 people lived in Merion Station.
Contents
- History of Merion Station
- Why it's Called Merion
- Merion Civic Association: Helping the Community
- Important Places in Merion Station
- Getting Around Merion Station
- Faith Communities
- Shopping and Dining
- Hospitals Near Merion Station
- Merion Neighborhoods
- Famous People From Merion Station
- Places to Visit
History of Merion Station
The Merion Meeting House was built in 1695. Welsh settlers built it at the spot where Montgomery Avenue and Meetinghouse Lane meet today.
Two important buildings in Merion Station are very old. The General Wayne Inn and the Merion Friends Meeting House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are special historical sites. The Merion Friends Meeting House is even more important. It is a National Historic Landmark.
Why it's Called Merion
The community got its name from Merionethshire, Wales. Many of the first people who settled here came from that part of Wales. People often call it "Merion Station." This helps the United States Postal Service tell it apart from other places named Merion in Pennsylvania. However, the original name, used by people like Theodore Roosevelt, was simply Merion.
Merion Civic Association: Helping the Community
The Merion Civic Association started in 1913. Edward W. Bok helped create it. Their motto was about making the community strong. The association helped Merion in many ways. They improved roads and streetlights. They also added cast-iron street signs. Fire and police protection got better. They even planned tree-planting projects. In 1917, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote an article. It was for Bok's magazine and called "Model Merion."
After World War I, the association wanted to build a community center. It would honor the 81 men from Merion Station who served in the war. Eldridge R. Johnson helped make this happen. He founded the Victor Talking Machine Company. He gave his house on Hazelhurst Avenue for the project. The old house was taken down. A new building, the Merion Tribute House, was built in its place. It was made with great care. It has Gothic designs and local stone. The stone was shaped right there. Window parts were cut by hand to match. The Tribute House is still used today. The Merion Civic Association holds meetings there. People can also rent it for parties or events. Merion also has its own public elementary school. It is called Merion Elementary. It is part of the Lower Merion School District.
Important Places in Merion Station
Merion Station was once famous for the Barnes Foundation. This was a very important art collection. It had many Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. A businessman named Albert C. Barnes collected them. Since the 1920s, the art was kept in a stone mansion. It had beautiful gardens on Latches Lane. The Barnes collection has now moved. It is in a new museum in Philadelphia. This new building even looks like Barnes's original gallery. The Merion grounds of the Barnes Foundation are still open. They are now called the Arboretum at the Barnes Foundation.
Besides Merion Elementary, there are other schools. Merion Mercy Academy is a Catholic school for girls. Its younger school, Waldron Mercy Academy, is for both boys and girls. Kohelet Yeshiva High School is also in Merion. Before moving, Akiba Hebrew Academy was here. Episcopal Academy was also in Merion.
Merion Botanical Park is a nice green space. It is located near Merion Road and the railroad tracks.
Saint Joseph's University is partly in Merion Station. It bought the old Episcopal Academy campus. Now, it has classrooms and student buildings there. The university also bought and fixed up Merion Gardens Apartments. These are now used for student housing.
Getting Around Merion Station
The Paoli/Thorndale Line train runs through Merion Station. This line was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was built in the late 1800s. Most SEPTA trains stop at Merion Station. This station is in the middle of the community. You can take trains east to Philadelphia or west to Thorndale.
Other ways to travel include SEPTA buses. Route 44 buses go along Old Lancaster Road. They also travel on Montgomery Avenue. These buses connect Ardmore and Center City. Some stop at the Narberth Station. The SEPTA Route 65 bus goes along City Line Avenue. The SEPTA Route 105 bus travels along Lancaster Avenue. It stops at the Wynnewood Shopping Center. All these bus stops are close to Merion Station.
Faith Communities
Merion Station has a large Jewish population. Temple Adath Israel of the Main Line is a Conservative Jewish place of worship. The Orthodox Jewish community has several places. These include Lower Merion Synagogue and Aish HaTorah. Young Israel of the Main Line is also here. The Chabad Center of the Main Line is in the old General Wayne Inn. Reform Jews often travel to nearby temples. These include Main Line Reform Temple-Beth Elohim.
Shopping and Dining
The main shopping area is on Montgomery Avenue. It is near Old Lancaster Road. This area is called the Merion-Cynwyd Commercial District. It has restaurants and gift shops. There are also older, well-known local spots. These include Hymie's Merion Delicatessen and The Tavern Restaurant. Murray's Delicatessen, Babis's Pharmacy, and Bob Wark's Liberty Service Station are also popular.
Hospitals Near Merion Station
Lankenau Medical Center serves Merion Station. It is part of the Main Line Health System. This system also includes Bryn Mawr Hospital and Paoli Hospital. Lankenau is on Lancaster Avenue in Wynnewood. It is known as a top community hospital. The hospital campus has doctors' offices. It also has Saunders House, a place for rehabilitation.
Merion Neighborhoods
The area north of Montgomery Avenue is called Merion Park. It is around General Wayne Park. A developer named Ralph Madway built it. This was long after the General Wayne Racetrack closed. That racetrack used to bring many people to Merion. They came to watch horse races. The park grounds are now where the races used to be.
Famous People From Merion Station
- Edward Bok, a magazine editor
- Wendell P. Bowman, a major general
- Kate DiCamillo, an author
- Sophie Drinker, a music expert
- Rob Evans, a children's songwriter
- Murray Gerstenhaber, a mathematician
- Melissa Klapper, a historian
- Paul Makler Jr., an Olympic fencer
- Chaim Potok, an author
- Milton Shapp, a former governor of Pennsylvania
- Georg Ludwig von Trapp and his family, whose life inspired The Sound of Music
Places to Visit
- The Arboretum of the Barnes Foundation
- Barnes Foundation
- General Wayne Inn
- Merion Friends Meeting House, the oldest in Pennsylvania
