Title: Suburb in the city : Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, 1850-1990 /
Authors: Contosta, David R.
Publisher: Ohio State University Press,
Year: 1992
Subjects: Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) History.; Philadelphia (Pa.) History.
Abstract: In Suburb in the City, David Contosta tells the story of how Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, once a small milling and farming town, evolved to become both a suburban enclave for wealthy Philadelphians and a part of the city itself. In 1854, the railroad connected Philadelphia and Chestnut Hill and the village was annexed by the city. Attuned to the romantic currents of the age, the wealthy men and women who moved to Chestnut Hill believed that the village's semi-rural surroundings might uplift them physically, spiritually, emotionally, and morally. At the same time, they wanted to continue to enjoy the best that the city had to offer while escaping from its more unpleasant aspects: dirt, crime, disease, and other shortcomings. They thus cultivated a dual identity with both suburb and city.
Contents: 1. Before Suburbia: The Gateway Village -- 2. North Chestnut Hill: The Romantic Suburb -- 3. Wissahickon Heights / St. Martin's: The Planned Suburb -- 4. Social Contours: The Divided Community -- 5. Different Worlds: Chestnut Hill Lives -- 6. Community Improvement: The Progressive Suburb -- 7. Community Organization: Postwar Chestnut Hill -- 8. Community Reorganization: Suburban Quasi Government -- 9. Conflicting Identities: City, Suburb, and Region.