A "Model" House in Swarthmore! One of the first!

Chester Rd. {Rt.320} in Swarthmore Boro. Park Ave is on the left. The picture is from c.1920

Note: Before 1920 and that is an approx. date most houses built in Delaware Co. were custom built houses. Builders began building 2 or 3 houses the same on the same street but in the 1920's builders began building entire streets with the same house design. To help promote the new homes, builders began to build "model" houses tp promote their homes and show options.  One of the first "model" homes ever built in Delco was in Swarthmore, See the article below/

 

 November 10, 1928                                                                                                        

 OPEN NEW HOME AT SWARTHMORE 

Model Residence Fully Furnished, Is Ready for Inspection

The first completely furnished model home ever built in Swarthmore opens to the public today.  The home is built by George Gillespie & Co., of Swarthmore, and is the fourteenth home built in the Gillespie Development on South Chester Road.

The Blue Star Home – so called because the gas appliances installed by the Philadelphia Suburban Counties Gas and Electric Company – is typical of the $25,000 to $25,000 homes built by Gillespie & Co.  In addition to the gas appliances, the home is especially equipped with many modern electrical appliances furnished by the Delaware County Electric Company.  The furniture used throughout the home is supplied by H. Feinberg, Inc., of this city.

The home is located on University place, in the Gillespie Development on South Chester Road below Yale Avenue.  Signs and arrows have been erected to aid people in finding the development and the house.  At night a large blue star of electric lights burns brightly from the top of the chimney.

The Gillespie Development has already proven popular with Chester people and the Blue Star Home is expected to attract a great many visitors from this city.  At the present time, many Chester industrial executives, business men, bankers and professional men have their work in the Chester district and their home in Swarthmore.

The completion of the repaving of Providence Road and Sproul Road is also expected to increase building in the direction of Swarthmore since the little college town and this city will then be about twelve minutes apart by automobile.

Although South Chester Road, which runs just west of the Blue Star Home, is closed because of the repaving work on Sproul and Providence Roads, signs have been erected at Fairview Road and the Chester Pike pointing out the back route to Swarthmore through Woodlyn.  Signs have also been erected at Chester Road and Yale Avenue, in Swarthmore, where the detour begins announcing that Chester Road is open one quarter of a mile past the detour sign to the site of the Blue Star Home.

Mr. Gillespie feels that the opening of the home is coming at a particularly appropriate time with the Pennsylvania railroad between Swarthmore and Philadelphia practically completed the paving of Sproul and Providence Roads, bringing Chester and Swarthmore closer together, and the recent approval by borough Council of the zoning ordinance which insures Swarthmore will always be a highly restricted home community.