City Cycling 7: Chestnut Hill and Germantown

   When discussing some of my previous rides into Philadelphia with friends, the idea that city cycling isn’t for everyone, consistently comes up. I would add that trying to follow some of the routes that I’ve been doing is very difficult by bike, not only because you have to be familiar with your surroundings, but also because you have to have skill moving around traffic, pedestrians and various “road obstacles”.

   This particular ride through the Germantown section of the city would not be for the casual cyclist, as it not only required some fitness with the hills involved, but it demanded top-end handling ability on the cobbled streets, weaving through cars and maneuvering over in-street trolley trackage. I would also recommend that anyone determined to try this tour should ride a cyclocross, hybrid or mountain bike with larger tire diameter to provide cushioning, and wear your favorite padded cycling gloves!

    I tried something a bit different this time around and started my ride in Fort Washington State Park and rode the upper section of the Wissahickon Trail to its endpoint at the corner of Valley Green Road and Stenton Avenue, just outside of Flourtown, PA. I continued south on Stenton and turned right on Erdenheim Street to arrive at a bonus destination, one of the few true cobbled climbs in the area, on Meadowbrook Ave. I felt momentarily transported back to Belgium!

   At the top of the hill is Gates Hall, which serves as an administration and laboratory building for the University of Pennsylvania’s Morris Arboretum. The entrance to the grounds is actually on Northwestern Avenue, so a loop back down Stenton would be required to reach the gate. The arboretum contains more than 100 acres of gardens and landscaped property.

   The arboretum was started in 1887 by John Morris and his sister Lydia, who eventually gave the land to the university in 1932. Visitors can view a wonderful collection of mature trees, a swan pond and formal rose garden. One can also take a relaxing stroll through a meadow, as well as Japanese and English gardens. There are also a couple seasonal displays, including the famous garden railway.

   I headed south on Northwestern Avenue and passed Chestnut Hill College before making a left onto Germantown Avenue. I laughed when I saw a sign stating that Chestnut Hill was a bicycle friendly community, as the bicycle lane on the bridge over Wissahickon Creek was completely covered with cinders and tree detritus. When I met the nasty, long hill (I assume the subject of the area’s name) on the other side of the bridge, I realized that the bike lane was probably never used, so no one ever complained about having it cleared!

   I’m in close to top form at this time of the year, but wouldn’t say I enjoyed the climb - I can imagine most folks walking their bikes up! I was breathing pretty hard when I reached the top, not far past the Woodmere Art Museum, which is housed in an attractive mansard-roofed stone mansion built in the 19th century.

   My planned route included approximately 3.5 miles of pedaling along Germantown Avenue to my next landmark. The cobbles started less than a mile along the way at the trolley loop near the intersection with Bethlehem Pike. I had some fun over the cobbles and enjoyed the up and down nature of the road.

   I became concerned with maneuvering between the raised edge of the track’s concrete platform and the parked cars. I definitely didn’t want to catch the edge with my front wheel and go down in front of traffic, which was becoming heavier as I went farther into the city. I also wanted to concentrate on seeing what was ahead of me, as there was a real threat of being “doored” by the Chestnut Hill shoppers getting in and out of their cars!

   I decided to ride on the concrete platform out in the traffic lane, between the outside track and the cobbled surface, as much as possible. Although that section was only about 18 inches wide, years of cycling with my wife and others while drafting closely behind a rear wheel have developed my ability to “hold a line”, and I felt a lot safer with the handling on that smooth surface, despite its narrow confines. I was keeping conscious of the traffic flow ahead, as well as the cars behind me, and would occasionally pull over to let a few cars go by when I was becoming an obstacle.

   The mid-18th century Federal-style house known as Upsala was used by American troops during the Revolutionary War. Its name comes from the university city of Uppsala in Sweden, and was owned by the Johnson family, who were tanners. The Battle of Germantown featured American artillery set up on the property to shell the British forces across the street at Cliveden.

   Pennsylvania Chief Justice Benjamin Chew saw his elegant country home become a war

zone on the foggy morning of October 4, 1777. General Washington led a surprise attack against the occupying British soldiers, and the outside walls of Cliveden still show the scars of bullets.

   A couple blocks away, near Washington Lane, is the Johnson House, which became a stop on the Underground Railroad. This wonderful example of Germantown architecture was built for John Johnson in 1768 and was home to three generations of Quakers that strived to abolish slavery. 

   Right across Germantown Avenue is the one-room Concord Schoolhouse, built in 1775. Inside is a small fireplace and hard wooden benches used by the children. The original schoolmaster’s desk is still in place, as is the original bell up in the building’s simple belfry.

   I took a right turn on Tulpehocken Street and rode a few blocks to reach the Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion (photo left), a beautiful mid-19th-century stone villa. Now containing a library on Victorian architecture, the mansion was home for the owner of a large department store in Philadelphia. Maxwell was known for shipping goods to customers before the practice became widely used, and he was also one of the first businessmen in the area to commute to work by train.

   Back to Germantown Avenue, I only had to go about a block to reach Wyck, one of the oldest homes in Philadelphia. Hans Milan replaced his original 1690 log structure with what is actually two houses joined together, when he added living space for his daughter and husband between 1710 and 1715. The property served as a field hospital during the Battle of Germantown, and the Marquis de Lafayette visited the site when he returned to America in 1825.

   I soon crossed Chelten Avenue and was in the center of Germantown. The Deshler-Morris House became the official residence of President George Washington during two separate stays of a few weeks during the years of 1793 and 1794. The stone house, built in 1772 by Quaker merchant David Deshler, was actually occupied by British commander William Howe during the Battle of Germantown. The next owner leased the property to Washington during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia.

   The president and family returned a year later to the "Germantown White House" and could often be seen crossing the street through Market Square, where much of the community’s activity once took place. Stalls with vendors goods have since been replaced by a statue of a Union soldier, which stands upon a slab of granite taken from the Devil’s Den, a spot of intense fighting during the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg.

   A few pedal strokes away at the end of Queen Lane lies a rustic stone house known as Grumblethorpe. The German farmstead was built in 1744 by Philadelphia wine importer and merchant John Wister, and features stone quarried from the property and joists carved from local oaks. During the American Revolution, the house served as the headquarters for British general James Agnew.

   On the right, just before the avenue starts to pitch downhill, is a grassy park which contains a graceful Federal-style mansion known as Loudon, built in 1801 by Thomas Arnat. Named after the Virginia county where Arnat had originally settled after arriving from England, the home received a Greek Revival look in 1830.

   I ducked under the bridge carrying Septa’s railroad tracks from Wayne Junction and made a left turn on Windrim Avenue. I was riding through a neighborhood that can only be described politely as "one that has seen better days" and found an oasis at 18th Street, in the form of the Stenton estate. Designed by William Penn’s secretary James Logan (for whom Logan Circle is named) and finished in 1730, the manor was the first Queen Anne-style building in the area.

   After the Penn family’s return to England in 1701, Logan represented the Penn family’s interests in Philadelphia for a half century and named his mansion after the birthplace of his Scottish father. Stenton was used by General Howe while plotting British moves during the Battle of Germantown.

   I made my way back to Germantown Avenue and made a right onto Hunting Park Avenue. After a couple miles, I turned right at Allegheny Avenue and again at Ridge Avenue to eventually reach the Wissahickon Trail. I have ridden this lower portion of the trail many times, as it is a fantastic shady route during hot summer months.

   Also known as the Forbidden Drive Trail, it is a rare road-to-trail conversion that runs along a beautiful 5.4-mile length of the Wissahickon Creek gorge. Constructed in the mid-1800s as a turnpike, this roadway was renamed Forbidden Drive in 1920 when the Philadelphia park commission successfully pushed to have vehicles banned from its use.

   The surface varies from a dusty, gravel coating to coarser stone and even some bare rock ledge, so I would suggest bicycle tires of a 28mm width and up. There will be plenty of hiker, and occasionally equestrian, traffic sharing the route with cyclists, but, because it was once a street, the trail is always plenty wide. One last tip – I greatly recommend a stop at the historic Valley Green Inn for brunch or dinner, but maybe, if you are in sweaty cycling attire, stick to the patio.

   I left the gravel at the Northwestern Avenue trailhead, turned right and retraced the first portion of my route back to Fort Washington State Park.