Century-Old UPenn Research Lab in Levittown Demolished by School Districts

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1920's era illustration of The Wistar Institute labs on Red Cedar Hill.
Image via Bucks County Courier Times, public domain.
1920's era illustration of The Wistar Institute labs on Red Cedar Hill.

Multiple school districts split the cost to tear down the century-old University of Pennsylvania research lab in Levittown, writes Carl LaVO for the Bucks County Courier Times.  

The complex, built in the 1920s was formerly known as The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology on Red Cedar Hill. A decade later, biologists bred what is known as “Wistar Rats” to learn about human disease.  

As Levittown was being built in the 1950s, the then vacated labs were jointly owned by all Bucks County school districts excluding Centennial.  

For years, the county Intermediate Unit used the site for specialized classes, with the cost being shared by the districts.  

Recently left vacant, the districts decided to sell the property. However, efforts to contact the Levitt family or their representatives went unanswered leading to demolition of the unsafe buildings on the site. 

Read more about the former Levittown research lab in the Bucks County Courier Times.  


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