Editing Media, Pennsylvania (section)

===20th century===
In 1940, the [[American Guide Series|Pennsylvania guide]] described Media by noting that "[t]he majority of its houses, almost all built since the [[American Civil War]], sit far back on shaded lawns and seem somewhat gloomy. The borough has a large and prosperous business section and a few small industrial plants; many townspeople work in [[Philadelphia]] or [[Chester, Pennsylvania|Chester]]."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State|last=Federal Writers' Project|date=1940|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=1st|page=416|location=New York}}</ref>

The [[John J. Tyler Arboretum]] occupies part of Thomas Minshall's original {{convert|625|acre|ha}}. This farm and a nearby [[Lima, Pennsylvania|Village of Lima]] was used by the [[Underground Railroad]].<ref>Loretta Rodgers, "The Trackless Train: Tracking Delco's Role in the Underground Railroad" (Feb. 27, 1989), ''[[Delaware County Daily Times]]''</ref> The land was donated to a public trust in 1944 by an eighth-generation descendant. The arboretum was started as a private collection by brothers Jacob and Minshall Painter. In 1825, they began systematically planting over 1,000 varieties of trees and shrubs. Over twenty of their original trees survive, including a [[giant sequoia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tylerarboretum.org/tylers_history.htm |title=Tyler Arboretum History |access-date=2008-02-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224015810/http://www.tylerarboretum.org/tylers_history.htm |archive-date=2008-02-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Minshall Painter was also a leader of the [[Delaware County Institute of Science]], which was formed on September 21, 1833, with just four other members: George Miller, John Miller, George Smith, M.D., and [[John Cassin]]. The institute was incorporated in 1836. About 1850, Painter gave the institute the land where its building currently stands at 11 Veterans Square, and the building was constructed in 1867.<ref name="DelCoIS">{{cite web|title=History|url=http://delcoscience.org/history/|website=Delaware County Institute of Science|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

In the second half of the 19th century, Media was a summer resort for well-to-do Philadelphians. The borough's large vacation hotels included the Idlewild Hotel (1871) on Lincoln Street at Gayley Terrace, Chestnut Grove House or "The Colonial" (1860) on Orange Street, and Brooke Hall on Orange Street and Washington Avenue (now Baltimore Avenue). The Chestnut Grove was used for a year by nearby [[Swarthmore College]] due to a fire on its campus.<ref name="Swat">{{cite web|title=1881 Parrish Hall Burns|url=http://swat150.swarthmore.edu/1881-parrish-hall-burns.html|website=Swarthmore Sesquicentennial|publisher=Swarthmore College|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

The [[West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad]] was built through Media on October 19, 1854. Electrified service was opened on December 2, 1928. Up to 50 trains passed through each day. The railroad became part of the [[Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad]] and eventually the [[Penn Central]]. [[SEPTA]] took over operations in 1983. [[Woodrow Wilson]] spoke at the Media Station in 1912 during his first [[1912 United States presidential election|election campaign]]. Trolley transportation lines spread to and through Media in the 1890s and early 1900s.<ref name="18501900a">{{cite web|title=A Brief History of Media: 1850 to 1900|url=http://www.mediaborough.com/community/brief-history-media-1850-1900|website=Media Borough|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="19001950b">{{cite web|title=A Brief History of Media: 1900 to 1950|url=http://www.mediaborough.com/community/brief-history-media-1900-1950|website=Media Borough|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Media PA Theater.JPG|thumb|The Media Theatre for the Performing Arts|200x200px]] [[File:Minshall House Media PA.JPG|thumb|Thomas Minshall house|200x200px]]
[[File:Media PA Keystone Marker.jpg|thumb|[[Keystone Marker]] from the 1920s gives one version of the origin of the town's name]]{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage = [[File:State St Media PA.JPG|210px]] | video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et4rB2vm3hI Media, PA - Walking Tour], by Wanda Kaluza | video2 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXF_Q_Ni3RA Media, PA] CoyopaFilms}}The Media Theatre opened as a [[vaudeville]] house in 1927.<ref>[http://mediatheatre.org/about/history/ The Media Theatre for the Performing Arts - History]</ref> The first talkie film, ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'', was shown there. It remained a popular cinema through the 1970s and 1980s. In 1994, the theater underwent a $1 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=1000000|start_year=1994}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) restoration by Walter Strine Sr. and re-opened as the Media Theatre for the Performing Arts.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.mediaborough.com/community/brief-history-media-1950-present
| title = Restoration of an important landmark
| date = 2016
| website = www.mediaborough.com
| publisher = Media Borough
}}</ref> Shows produced there have included ''[[The Full Monty (musical)|The Full Monty]]'', ''[[Carousel (musical)|Carousel]]'' and ''[[Miss Saigon]]''.

On March 8, 1971, the [[Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI]] raided an [[FBI]] "resident agency" in Media. They later released thousands of documents to major newspapers around the country. These documents revealed FBI tactics such as the illegal wiretapping of civil rights leaders like [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and the recruitment of [[Scouting|Boy Scouts]] as informants, and confirmed for the first time the existence of [[COINTELPRO]], an FBI program to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" dissident groups in the United States.<ref name=burg>{{cite book| last=Medsger| first=Betty| title=The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI| date=January 2014| publisher=Random House| isbn=9780307962966| pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780307962959/page/592 592]| url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780307962959| url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=How to break into the FBI: 50 years later, Media burglars get local honors |url=https://whyy.org/articles/how-to-break-into-the-fbi-50-years-later-media-burglars-get-local-honors/ |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=WHYY |language=en-US}}</ref>