about us
The Overbrook
Farms Club
Preserving and protecting the
historic fabric of the community. Maintaining our quality of life.
6376 City Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19151
Phone: (215) 477-9250
Email: ofclub@verizon.net
.
about us
The Overbrook Farms Club is the country's oldest home owners' association. It was founded, along with the community for which it is named, in 1892. Since that date, the Club has worked to preserve and protect the historic fabric of the community and maintain the quality of life of its residents.
Overbrook Farms is a residential neighborhood in Philadelphia listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The neighborhood is located near the western border of the city, leading to Philadelphia 's famed Main Line .
At present, there are 413 buildings in Overbrook Farms, which is bounded by 58th and 66th Streets and Woodbine and City Avenues, and bisected by Lancaster Avenue .
National Register of Historic Places
Overbrook Farms was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 21, 1985. The following information was prepared to document the area:
- National Register Statement of Significance
- National Register Nomination Form
- National Register Building Inventory
- Architectural Styles in Overbrook - a brief overview of Overbrook Farms' architectural styles
- Architect List - a listing of architects who worked in Overbrook Farms
History
When Drexel & Co., major investors in the Pennsylvania Railroad, saw lucrative opportunities in the post-Civil War suburbanization process, they purchased the 168-acre John M. George farm in 1892 for $425,000 and turned it into a planned community.
Two prominent real estate developers, Herman Wendell and Walter Bassett Smith, were hired by Drexel & Co. to begin the planning of this commuter suburb. An 1893 announcement for the development proposed 500 homes and commercial, educational and religious facilities for the residents.
An impressive list of architects, some of whom would become nationally known and respected after their work in Overbrook Farms, were commissioned to design residential and nonresidential buildings. The work of architects Charles Barton Keen, Westray Ladd, Walter Thomas, Horace Trumbauer, William L. Price, Chester Kirk, Walter F. Price, David K. Boyd, Lawrence Vischer Boyd, Joseph Huston, Angus Wade and others can be seen in the neighborhood.
Magazines of the era extolled the virtues of leaving the city for the tranquility of the suburbs. At a time when nature had captured the fancy of the moneyed class, the pleasures of outdoor life, fresh air and exercise were a major promotional theme for Overbrook Farms.
Wendell and Smith offered such amenities as sparkling water from underground springs, a central steam heat plant, modern plumbing, electric lighting and elegant homes a client could customize.
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