page_title: Ambridge, Pennsylvania
section_title: Current day
hierarchical_section_title: Ambridge, Pennsylvania / Current day
caption_attribution_description: English: Presbyterian church in Ambridge, Pennsylvania from a pre-1923 postcard From RG 428, Postcard Collection, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
context_page_description: Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Incorporated in 1905 as a company town by the American Bridge Company, Ambridge is located 16 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River. The population was 7,050 at the 2010 census.
context_section_description: Even though the steel mills no longer dominate the landscape, Ambridge remains the home of Old Economy Village, a National Historic Landmark administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.  The site interprets the Harmony Society, one of America's most successful 19th century Christian communal societies.  Old Economy Village also provides public education and preservation of the Society's unique material culture.  Founded by George Rapp, it was the third and final location of the Harmonites.  Established in 1824, Old Economy - known to the Harmonites as "Ökonomie" - was founded upon German Pietism, which called for a higher level of purity within Christianity.  Soon the Harmonites were not only known for their piety, but also for their production of wool, cotton, and silk.  As a pioneer in the American silk industry, Economy became known as the American silk center in the 1830s and 1840s.  Today, the site maintains seventeen carefully restored structures and gardens that were built between 1824 and 1830.  The buildings reflect the unusual life style of the organization, which, by the 1840s, was well renowned for its economic success in textile production.  The site also portrays the community's involvement with agricultural production, railroads, and oil.  The recreated gardens encompass more than 2 acres (8,100 m²), providing colorful 19th century flowers.  The gardens' formal pathways, stone pavilion, and seasonal flowering hedges are among the striking features.  Old Economy's buildings, grounds, library, archives and 16,000 original artifacts are fused to create an interpretive facility for the Commonwealth.
  Although the different ethnic groups of Ambridge have blended over time, the community continues to recognize the origins from which it came.  Since 1966, Ambridge has held an annual heritage festival celebrating the borough's ethnic pride.  Diversity in food, music, and entertainment continues to unite the community in remembering its origins.  Organized by the Ambridge Chamber of Commerce, the three-day Nationality Days festival takes place in May and is located in the heart of the downtown Commercial District.  Vendors line the center of Merchant Street as thousands of attendees – locals and tourists – enjoy Italian, Ukrainian, Greek, Polish, German, Croatian, and Slovenian cuisine.  Booths are sponsored by numerous churches in Ambridge, bringing with them the recipes for their cultural dishes such as pirohy, haluski, stuffed cabbage, and borscht.  Live entertainment, arts and crafts, and children's activities are also available. Thousands visit this festival daily (located on Merchant Street from 4th Street to 8th Street).
  With Ambridge now over 100 years old, revitalization is beginning to occur along Merchant Street in the Downtown Commercial District.  Entrepreneurs and investors have begun to renovate the Victorian facades of the commercial storefronts.  Antique shops are opening in the Historic District, which is also a National Historic Landmark, and a once industrial warehouse area is being converted to condominiums, shops, and parks.  In 2007 Ambridge was designated as a Preserve America Community by the White House.  Convenient to Pittsburgh along the Ohio River Boulevard and just across the Ohio River from the Pittsburgh Airport, Ambridge leaders hope it will benefit by its location and low cost of living.
caption: Presbyterian church in Ambridge from a pre-1923 postcard
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