The Berkley Apartments, named for the street which was never extended, was built atop the stone foundation of the large barn that stood behind 26 Sabine; the name first appears in the 1930 census as "Berkley Road Apts".
Harsch’s Settlement: Narberth’s Italian community started here
Earlier, behind the house on the 3½ acres bought by Theobald Harsch from the estate of Edward Price in 1899, stood a 150-foot long wood frame building, labeled "dwellings" on the 1908 to 1920 map layers. It stood where 33 Price, the Parkview Apartments, was built around 1925.
The "dwellings", and possibly the future "Berkley", too, were home to male "laborers", mostly Italian immigrants, many of whom later brought over their families to settle in Narberth and elsewhere in the region. Twelve were listed in the 1920 census, which designated it as 330 Sabine Rear (330 was renumbered to #26 before 1926). 29 were listed in 1910 at "Harsch's Settlement Back of #21 Woodbine Avenue" (Woodbine is a typo for Sabine). They represent a snapshot of the hundreds that must have passed though these dormitories, part of the tide of over 4 million Italian immigrants to the United States between 1880 and 1924.
Updated May 22, 2024.
