June 5, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local News

Hill businesses not all down on economy
by Kristin Pazulski

Lei Winson, who will close her Iris boutique after four years on the Avenue, said business in Chestnut Hill is down but it’s not the only reason she’s closing. (Photo by Erin Vertreace)

Walking into the boutique Iris of Chestnut Hill and passing its numerous “50-75% off closing sale” signs, a customer might suspect that the store is another victim of our struggling economy.

G’town shrine shines again
by Jennifer Katz

More than 10,000 donations have poured in to fund the restoration of the Miraculous Medal Shrine, a structure of Vatican stature on Chelten Avenue in Germantown.

There is an odd fact about the Miraculous Medal Shrine in Germantown. While millions of Philadelphians are unaware of its looming presence at 500 E. Chelten Ave., thousands upon thousands of worshipers visit the shrine each year.

This year the Central Association of the Miraculous Medal, an organization established in 1915 and dedicated to spreading devotion to Mary Immaculate, undertook a renovation project to repaint and restore the entire chapel to its original splendor. For more than five months, workers from the Hooven Company, which specializes in the restoration of churches, replicated the original details and restored several paintings. The chapel remained open so the hundreds of visitors who come on any given Monday to attend novenas would not be turned away.

Hill historian pens Mt. Airy retrospective
by Thomas H. Keels

Elizabeth Farmer Jarvis’ Mt. Airy.

“I don’t call myself a historian,” Elizabeth Farmer Jarvis admits.  “I call myself a curator.  There is a difference.” 

For someone who doesn’t consider herself a historian, Liz (as she is universally known) is putting on one heck of an act.  In June, her third pictorial history of Northwest Philadelphia, Mount Airy, will be released by Arcadia Publishing.  Arcadia was also the publisher of Jarvis’ previous books, Chestnut Hill (co-authored with the writer of this article in 2002) and Chestnut Hill Revisited (2004). 

Besides her writing, Liz Jarvis has served as curator of the Chestnut Hill Historical Society (CHHS) since 1993.  She has also advised other local institutions like the Awbury Arboretum on how to preserve and manage their historical collections.   As a board member, she has lent her expertise to Wyck, the Germantown Historical Society, and the Springfield Township Historical Society.  On an individual level, she has labored to save personal photos and letters from destruction, preserving the ephemera that paint a picture of daily life in decades past.  For many people, Liz Jarvis personifies historic preservation in Chestnut Hill. 

Chestnut Hill Academy gets $1 million

A recent $1 million grant from a private family foundation will support Chestnut Hill Academy’s goal of creating a LEED-certified learning facility — the Science & Technology Center — that is a living demonstration of environmental sustainability.  LEED is the acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.