Chestnut Hill Academy

Chestnut Hill Academy
Location
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
Information
Type Private
Established 1861
Campus Urban/Suburban
Color(s) Light Blue and Dark Blue
Athletics Inter-Academic League
Mascot

Blue Devils

Wissahickon Inn

Wissahickon Inn, now the Willow Grove Campus of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (1883-84, G.W. & W.D. Hewitt, architects).
Location 500 W. Willow Grove Ave.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Built 1884
Architect G.W. & W.D. Hewitt
Architectural style Queen Anne
NRHP Reference # 79002333[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP December 6, 1979
Designated PHMC June 14, 1988[2]

From 1861 to 1952 Chestnut Hill Academy was an all-male Pre-K through 8th grade independent college preparatory school located in Northwest Philadelphia. The 9th though 12th grades were added, one per year, beginning in the Fall of 1952 with the first High School graduating class in the Spring of 1956. In 2011, CHA merged with its academic partner and neighbor, the all-girls school Springside School. The two schools together are now known as Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

History

The school's main building at 500 West Willow Grove Avenue was formerly known as the Wissahickon Inn. Designed by G.W. & W.D. Hewitt and built by Henry H. Houston, the Inn opened for business in 1884. Houston also built the Philadelphia Cricket Club across the street, and additional land across the street played host to the Philadelphia Horse Show (now the Devon Horse Show). These were popular attractions for Houston's 3,000-acre (12 km2) real estate development, and brought much business to the Inn.

In 1897, the Inn's business began to decline when the Philadelphia Horse Show moved, and improved transportation caused guests to seek more distant travel spots. In 1898, Chestnut Hill Academy moved to the Wissahickon Inn from its previous residence on 8030 Germantown Avenue. The school and the Inn functioned simultaneously, the school making use of the inn's facilities during its off season, and the Inn doing business when students had gone home for the summer. The Wissahickon Inn closed in 1901, and Chestnut Hill Academy took permanent possession of the property.

The Wissahickon Inn is listed on National Register of Historic Places, and the school retains many of the Inn's original structures today.[3]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2007-01-23). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Wissahickon Inn - PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ Chestnut Hill Academy Archived February 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Hepp, Christopher. "Penn's Isaac Starr, 94, Pioneer In Cardiology". The Inquirer. Retrieved 27 October 2011.

Coordinates: 40°03′44″N 75°12′31″W / 40.0622°N 75.2086°W / 40.0622; -75.2086

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