Living in Drexel Hill, PA
A medium-sized community with a wide variety of housing options, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, is a suburb of Philadelphia known for family friendliness, good public transportation and walkability. While the Drexel Hill neighborhood has roots dating back several hundred years, a good portion of the housing stock dates to the early 20th century. About 400 years ago, Nordic expats were living in the neighborhood now known as Drexel Hill, and artifacts from what was then called New Sweden are still easy to find.
Things to Do
Drexel Hill serves a variety of international and regional cuisines in its restaurants, including Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and barbecue. A number of local bars offer up traditional pub dishes and burgers as well as live music, while several bakeries and cafes will satisfy a craving for something sweet. Reasonably priced family fun can be had at the bowling alley, comic book store, and one of several neighborhood playgrounds, as well as the Performing Arts Center.
The roots of the neighborhood are also still present. Located near Darby Creek in Drexel Hill, many historians consider the Swedish Log Cabin to be the oldest log cabin structure in America, reportedly built between 1635 and 1650; early Swedish settlers brought log architecture to the colonies and this home is on the national registry of historic places and remains a tourist attraction. Another example of historic Drexel Hill real estate is the property of celebrated abolitionist Thomas Garrett, who was a station master on the Underground Railroad in Wilmington, Delaware.
Housing and Transportation in Drexel Hill
Homes for sale in Drexel Hill, PA are a mix of architectural styles such as arts and crafts bungalows, Victorian homes, and colonials, along with more modern duplexes, townhouses, and split- or bi-level homes; apartments and condos are also available. Interestingly, a few celebrities have lived in Drexel Hill. "American Bandstand" host Dick Clark was a resident of the neighborhood in the 1950s, before he became a household name, and former "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon was Dick Clark's neighbor. Plus, singer-songwriter Jim Croce, known for the hits "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time in a Bottle" attended Upper Darby High School, which serves Drexel Hill.
Getting into Center City Philadelphia from Drexel Hill is easy via Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), Trolley Service, Regional Rail. or bus. With Center City only about seven or eight miles away, depending on which side of Drexel Hill you're coming from, it's an easy commute whether you use public transportation or drive.
