Part of the NW Philly Life family | ZIP Code 19150
The Short Version
Cedarbrook sits at the northeastern edge of NW Philly, where the city meets Montgomery County, and it has the kind of grounded, established character that comes from generations of people choosing to put down roots here and stay. Tree-lined streets, well-maintained rowhomes and twins, active block associations, and a community that takes genuine pride in where it lives. It’s a neighborhood that delivers on the fundamentals, and in a city where that’s increasingly rare, that counts for a lot.
A Little History
Cedarbrook takes its name from Cedarbrook Avenue, the neighborhood’s central artery. Much of the housing here was built in the post-World War II era, the late 1940s through the 1960s, when returning GIs and their families were establishing new lives on the edges of the city. It’s a solidly mid-century neighborhood in the best sense: built with care, built to last, and remarkably intact.
Two of the neighborhood’s most distinctive landmarks are Ivy Hill Cemetery and Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, both established in the 19th century when this area was still largely woods and farmland. Their presence gives Cedarbrook a quieter, more contemplative quality, and a surprising amount of green space, that you don’t find in most Philadelphia neighborhoods of this density.
Cedarbrook borders Cheltenham Township to the north, putting residents on the city-suburb line: Philadelphia property taxes and city services, with easy access to the suburban road network and Montgomery County amenities just across the line.
Cedarbrook Today
Cedarbrook sits at the very top corner of the city, where Philadelphia ends and Cheltenham Township begins, and that line shapes daily life more than a map suggests. A good deal of the everyday shopping happens over it, at Cedarbrook Plaza on Easton Road, which is a few minutes north and technically Montgomery County. Inside the neighborhood, commercial life runs along Cheltenham Avenue, up Limekiln Pike, and at the top end of Ogontz.
What defines Cedarbrook as much as anything is how long people stay. Block associations are active, neighbors know each other, and the housing stock has been maintained by the same families for decades. It is a neighborhood that delivers on the fundamentals, and in a city where that is increasingly rare, it counts for a lot.
Things to Do
Dorothy Emanuel Playground & Recreation Center, 8500 Pickering Ave
The neighborhood playground, with open space and courts, and the rec building alongside it. The playground is the reliable part. Indoor hours and programming shift around, so call 215-685-9253 before you count on the building being open.
Eat + Drink
Juici Patties, 3110 W Cheltenham Ave
The first Philadelphia outpost of the Jamaican chain, and it landed here rather than Center City. The Infatuation called it one of the best new things in Philly, which is not a sentence that gets written about this corner of the map very often. Patties run a little over four dollars and people buy them by the dozen.
Pagano’s Steaks & Hoagies, 7617 Ogontz Ave
Cheesesteaks and hoagies, and far and away the most reviewed place in the neighborhood. A fixture.
Tallow, inside the Fresh Grocer at Cedarbrook Plaza, 1000 Easton Rd, Wyncote
Crispy chicken sandwiches, hand-breaded tenders and wings, all fried in beef tallow. Two things worth knowing before you go: it is a counter inside the supermarket rather than a sit-down restaurant, and it is over the city line in Montgomery County. Still walking distance from most of Cedarbrook.
Outdoors
Ivy Hill Cemetery, 1201 Easton Rd
Eighty-seven acres, and older than almost everything around it. It opened in 1867 as the Germantown and Chestnut Hill Cemetery, which tells you something about how the northwest saw itself at the time, and was renamed Ivy Hill four years later. Quiet, hilly, and green in a way the street grid is not.
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 3301 W Cheltenham Ave
The Archdiocese’s cemetery on the Cheltenham Avenue edge. Open Monday through Saturday from nine in the morning until six, and Sundays from ten until three.
The wider Northwest Philadelphia park network, including Wissahickon Valley Park and the trails through Mt. Airy and Germantown, is a short drive from here, and our outdoor guide has the access points. West Oak Lane is the neighbor down Ogontz.
Cedarbrook This Week
Every Thursday morning we publish a calendar of what is actually worth leaving the house for across Northwest Philadelphia. Markets, live music, trail days, festivals, gallery openings, and the block-level things that never make it onto a ticketing site. Cedarbrook is in it every week, and so are the seven neighborhoods around it, which is usually how people find the thing they did not know was happening ten minutes away.
One email, Thursday morning. No listings, no drip campaign, no selling. Just the calendar. Past issues live on the events page.
The Housing Stock
Cedarbrook’s housing is primarily rowhomes and twins, built to the solid mid-century Philadelphia standard that holds up well over decades. Good bones, real square footage, and well-established blocks that have been owner-occupied for generations.
For buyers focused on value within the NW Philly market, Cedarbrook consistently offers strong returns on investment relative to some of the higher-profile neighborhoods to the south.
Want to know what’s available and what’s moving right now? Let’s talk.
Getting Around
Multiple SEPTA bus routes serve Cedarbrook, and the Fern Rock Transit Center is nearby, with connections to the Broad Street Line and regional rail. Cheltenham Avenue connects directly to the suburban road network, making the neighborhood practical for commuters heading in any direction.
The Bottom Line
Cedarbrook is a neighborhood built on the things that actually make a place good to live in: solid housing, community pride, green space, and easy access to everything NW Philly has to offer. It doesn’t need to announce itself. The people who find it tend to stay.
Questions about Cedarbrook real estate? Reach us at hello@nwphilly.com or 917.691.9093. Or see what is on this week.