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The Borough of Collegeville

The Historic Commercial Main Street

The Ridge Pike as it passes through the Borough is called Main Street. Main Street is the location of the original town, literally, because until the mid 20th century, the Main Street was surrounded almost exclusively by farms.

(Top) Main Street home (Bottom 2) Main Street Merchants

Main Street is still the location of many of the merchants and businesses in the Borough as well as the Ursinus College campus. Many of the businesses retain their original building facades which range in style from the Victorian to the 1940's. Ursinus College maintains several 18th and 19th century farmhouses including Clamer Hall, Fetteroff House, and the Andrew Todd house, now known as Isenberg Hall.

There are also many large homes on Main Street, some of which served as boarding houses for the Pennsylvania Female College, and after the railroad was built, summer vacationers. They are now a mix of private homes and businesses with the exception of the houses of the Residential Village — the restored victorian homes located directly across from the Ursinus College campus and used by the college as off campus housing.

Main Street business are a mixture of traditional merchants, village commercial, professional offices, and restaurants.

Current and planned zoning for this part of the Borough provides continued commercial opportunities via the Commercial Office, General Commercial, Main Street Commercial, and Residential Office zoning. In addition, a Main Street revitalization project is underway to preserve and protect its character.