Natale D’Amico immigrated to Philadelphia from Sicily in 1900 and operated a hair salon from 1900 to 1910 in the Bourse Building, across from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. He later opened a barber shop nearby in Old City. Since then, four generations of the D’Amico family have been providing “shear magic” for loyal clients.

Some sat comfortably for services provided by Natale’s son, Nicholas, at Snellenburg’s, a former department store in Center City. Nicholas, a chip off the old hair blower, worked as a hairdresser at Snellenburg’s, located at 11th and Market streets from 1869 to 1962.

In careers that have taken the family from Old City to Center City, Mt. Airy, and in 1969, to Chestnut Hill, the D’Amicos have carried on a legacy started at the turn of the century by a patriarch who left Italy in search of a better life.

“Natale died of tuberculosis when my grandfather (Nicholas) was 21,” said Cynthia D’Amico, owner of Salon 90 at 90 Bethlehem Pike in Chestnut Hill. “Nicholas talked about his father so much that I felt as if I knew him.”

Nicholas moved to Mt. Airy in 1940 and in the early 1950s opened Nicholas’ Hair Styling at Germantown Avenue and Sedgwick Street, where he remained until 1969, when he moved to Chestnut Hill. In 1970, Nicholas and his son, David, born in 1942, opened Nicholas and David Hairstyling at 90 Bethlehem Pike, where the family business, now Salon 90, remains 56 years later.

Cynthia D’Amico, 53, who currently owns and operates the fourth-generation business, trained with her father, David, and grandfather, Nicholas, and then apprenticed at prestigious salons in Paris and London, and at Salon Antoine in Haverford. She returned to Chestnut Hill and worked with her dad for about a year when David was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. About eight months later, he died in June of 2004 at the age of 61. (David was a super-nice guy whom I had interviewed twice and who always looked healthy and fit, so what happened to him was a shock.)

“For eight months we took care of him,” Cynthia said. “He never smoked or drank, so he really got robbed. He was living upstairs. That was the hardest thing I have ever done.”

With the heartbreak of losing her father, Cynthia took over the family business, where photos of all four generations are displayed on the wall to honor that legacy.

“My hairstyling knowledge came from all different people and places, but my father and grandfather taught me how to run a business,” Cynthia said. “That was important because I knew that I wanted to be my own boss. My mom ran the books after my grandfather stopped, so my mom taught me how to do the bookkeeping and how to deal with money. I’m the third generation to live upstairs.”

Salon 90 now has loyal clients who are following in the footsteps of their grandmothers who came to Cynthia’s grandfather to get their hair done, said Cynthia, who grew up in Erdenheim and graduated from Springfield Township High School. She has been dubbed the “Queen of Bethlehem Pike” by developer and longtime Chestnut Hill resident Richard Snowden. Cynthia has also done wigs for cancer patients who lost their hair because of chemotherapy treatments.

The salon had 12 employees for 16 years and now has seven, four of whom are stylists. “For years, all I did was work,” Cynthia said, “but now it is nice to take a day off here and there, knowing that you have good people to step in and give the best service to clients.”

Salon 90 also offers facial waxing, hair care therapies and services including everything from color highlighting to balayage. (“Balayage” is a French word meaning “to sweep or to paint.” In a hair salon however, the word represents a technique involving hand-painting hair in a sweeping motion with a brush. This allows for a sun-kissed, natural looking hair color.)

“People loved my dad, who trained with Vidal Sassoon,” Cynthia said. “There were 700 people at his funeral. My grandfather had elegance, and my dad was very charming, very talented and easy-going. I think I am in-between, a little bit of both. I have had some signs that they are both looking down on me and are proud of me. I hope so.”

For more information: Salon90.net or 215-242-2888. Meredith Bernstein contributed to this article. You can reach Len Lear at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.