This photograph (circa 1950) shows the store window at Robertson’s Flowers when it was still located at 8339 Germantown Ave. The business would relocate to 8501 Germantown Ave. in 1952, where it still serves its customers today. (Photo courtesy of the Chestnut Hill Conservancy)[/caption]

by Alex Bartlett

The year 2019 has been a particular busy one for the Chestnut Hill Conservancy archives. To date, the archives have received almost 500 items this year. These include but are not limited to board meeting minutes associated with local organizations, photographs of local businesses, and historical images of stations and rights of way along the two railroad lines to Chestnut Hill.

These items have already proven invaluable to the interpretation of Chestnut Hill’s rich history and, in some cases, have been featured in the conservancy’s programming. For example, the conservancy included some of the photographs of Chestnut Hill businesses in its third annual Night of Lights slideshows. The photographs featured in the slideshows included those of Robertson’s Flowers, McNally’s Tavern (originally known as McNally’s Light Lunch), Kilian’s Hardware, and the Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop.

These were donated by the businesses and their associated families. In the case of Robertson’s Flowers, the business opened in 1927 at 8339 German town Ave., now the home of Fiesta Pizza III. This circa 1950 photograph shows the business’ store window a short time before Robertson’s moved to 8501 Germantown Ave., where it continues to serve its customers today.

The archives also have an ever-expanding collection of oral histories, including a series of 12 recordings obtained during the conservancy’s Night of Lights on Oct.4. Volunteers have been faithfully listening to the recordings and have been creating transcripts from them. Doing so will ensure that the information will survive for generations to come.

Have you visited the Archives of the Chestnut Hill Conservancy recently? We are constantly adding new items to our collections, which document the social history of Chestnut Hill and vicinity. We hope you will visit sometime soon! Walk-ins are welcome; appointments are preferred. To make an appointment, please contact me at 215-247-9329, Ext. 206, or email me at alex@chconservancy.org. You can also learn about the history of our community from home, as thousands of our historical photographs are available on our website.

Alex Bartlett is an archivist at the Chestnut Hill Conservancy.