Welcome To Our Neighborhood
Philadelphia is just minutes away from our cozy Chester County communities. The nation's first capital has grown in the past few decades. The city has successfully blended it's historic past with a great mix of modern times.
Philadelphia is a city of "firsts" including the first American hospital, medical college, women's medical college, bank, paper mill, steamboat, zoo, sugar refinery, daily newspaper, US mint and public school for black children (1750).
You can visit the sites of Philadelphia easily from our area. History, culture, entertainment and sports abound. For example, within 10 blocks between the Delaware River and 9th Street, lies a history-rich part of Philadelphia. Here you can see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell Pavilion and many other historical sites in and around Independence National History Park. There are more than 25 colleges, universities and professional schools in Philadelphia as well.
Founded in 1642, Chester is the oldest city in Pennsylvania. For the first two hundred years Chester became a prosperous manufacturing community. Industries included, metal manufacturing, machinery, locomotive and ship building, textiles and oil refineries. These industries fueled growth in both population and employment.
Eastern Chester County has experienced a revitalization of its many small towns. The Borough of Malvern dates back to the Victorian era with its Victorian street lamps, brick pavements, and Victorian facades in the business district. You can enjoy a leisurely walk through town and browse in the antique and gift shops, the flower shops, the coffee shops and restaurants. Many of these shops are locally owned, and the shopkeepers delight in remembering your name. It is a family-oriented town filled with tradition and celebrations. Come join us for the annual Memorial Day Parade, our Fourth of July celebration, our annual Fire Company Fair or perhaps our Victorian Christmas celebration.
Description
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Nestled in the heart of the Brandywine Valley, downtown West Chester reflects the small-town charm and cosmopolitan tastes that prompted The Philadelphia Inquirer to call West Chester ". . . one of the world's most perfect small towns" (July 26, 2001). |
The district was entered onto the National Register in 1988 and comprises approximately 15 square blocks bordering the intersection of Gay and High Streets. It includes about 400 structures of which about 1/3 are residential.
The West Chester Downtown Historic District includes approximately 15 square blocks of the Borough. Central to this area are five blocks along the Borough's tow parallel "Main Streets," Gay and Market. This area includes the original town plat (1784 -- the four blocks bordering Gay and High Streets) and subsequent commercial expansion to the east and west along Gay and Market streets. In addition, the district extends two blocks north and south along Church and High Streets to include early 20th century commercial, institutional and office expansion into former prominent residential areas; and the "Industrial Square" south of Barnard Street between Church and High. Here Denney-Reyburn has manufactured tags and labels since 1888 in a large factory complex built around the early Barnard Street School (circa 1840). It resides quite comfortably within a neighborhood of early Victorian townhouses and row buildings. High Street is the major north-south route (Route 100) through town.
Significance
Established at the site of a crossroads tavern known as "Turks Head," this new town was the chosen site for a courthouse and prison to serve a scaled-down Chester County. The new Delaware County was carved out f the southeast corner of Chester County, which included the former county seat at the City of Chester. The Historic District provides material documentation of the initial residential and later commercial and institutional redevelopment of these blocks; and subsequent expansion, first to the east and west and then to the north and south, that today comprises West Chester's Downtown and Central Business District.
The four original blocks are anchored by the Chester County Courthouse (1849), which faces two outstanding buildings across High Street: the National Bank of Chester County (1836) and the First National Bank of West Chester (1912). Between these Greek Revival and Neo-Classical bank buildings is one of the surviving structures which relates to the initial development of the courthouse site: the 1789 Smith-Sharpless House. This Federal style structure is among five other structures within the district that remain from the first period of development. Both the Courthouse and the National Bank of Chester County (now Fidelity Bank) were designed by Thomas U. Walter .
Adjacent to the courthouse on the north is another survivor from West Chester's early period, a 1793 stone, Federal style residence which became the Aiken's Drug Store in 1866. Since (it was) brick faced this building stands intact with two Victorian storefronts inserted in the first floor. Since these blocks have historically been the town's focal point, they also contain most of its large-scale structures. Later, but on the same scale in this area are the Beaux Arts F & M Building (1907) and the Art Deco Warner Theater (1930) and Green Tree Apartment (1933) buildings. Woolworth's (1928) also remains at Gay and High as a strong "anchor" in the downtown, retaining its original facade and signage.
Source: National Register Nomination Document, 1988
WEST CHESTER
West Chester Demographics
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Household type by relationship Households: 14,476
Size of family households: 1,125 2-persons, 696 3-persons, 497 4-persons, 261 5-persons, 93 6-persons, 43 7-or-more-persons. |
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Estimate of home value of owner-occupied houses |
Rent paid by renters in 2000 in West Chester: |
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| True to it's Historic Background, many homes were built 1939 or earlier. You will find thousands of historic places in West Chester.
Year homes built in West Chester |
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