Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The area ranges from middle to upper class, and centers on the businesses along Germantown Avenue. The street, which is quite prone to congestion, is lined with duplexes that have been converted to shops, as well as some mid-density apartment buildings with commercial space on their ground floor. South of Germantown Avenue, the main housing stock is large duplexes, and although within the city limits these duplexes are often fronted by large lawns. North of Germantown Avenue, homes consist of smaller, more densely packed duplexes and rowhouses. The neighborhood is bound by Northwestern Avenue, Stenton Avenue, Cresheim Valley Drive and Cresheim Creek, and Wissahickon Creek. The neighborhood's buildings are for the most part quite old, as Chestnut Hill was once an independent village. The buildings are also very nice architecture-wise. Density in the neighborhood is quite low, especially for an area within the City of Philadelphia. Even so, Chestnut Hill is quite transit-friendly, and is very walkable and bikeable. The area is also a good place for families due to the large homes and ample green space. Transit in the neighborhood is made up of SEPTA City Division, SEPTA Suburban Division, and SEPTA Regional Rail. For SEPTA Regional Rail, the Chestnut Hill East and Chestnut Hill West Lines each have three stations in the neighborhood. However, frequencies on the line aren't very good at rush hour, and are horrendous on weekends and holidays, especially on the Chestnut Hill West Line. The SEPTA City Division service in the neighborhood consists of the 23, 77, and L. The 23 from Broad & Oregon to Chestnut Hill Loop is SEPTA's busiest bus route, with 24/7 Service north of Erie Station, and has very frequent service. The 77 from Roosevelt & Saint Vincent to Chestnut Hill Loop is a not very busy route, with service seven days a week, though with very low headways. Finally, the L from Olney Transportation Center to Erdenheim OR Plymouth Meeting Hall has seven day a week service, and operates fairly frequently from Chestnut Hill Loop to Olney all of these days. SEPTA Suburban Division service is made up of routes 94 and 97. The 94 from Montgomery Mall to Chestnut Hill Loop has the worst service of them all, although it does operate seven days a week. Lastly, the 97 from Norristown Transportation Center to Chestnut Hill Loop has bad service, operating seven days a week, with bad frequencies. Overall, Chestnut Hill is a nice neighborhood with a lot of history and a thriving business district, though it could benefit from some mixed income housing.