It runs southeast up a hill, where it passes LaSalle College High School and forms the border between Springfield and Cheltenham Township.

After passing a small cemetery on the right (where the skyline of Philadelphia is just visible), Cheltenham Avenue intersects with the northern terminus of Broad Street.

It then continues through more row houses and passes to the northeast of Frankford Transportation Center, a major SEPTA stop and terminal for the Market-Frankford Line.

Cheltenham Avenue then winds through a few more blocks of houses, before it comes to its terminus at Keystone Street, just west of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor tracks, Interstate 95, and the Delaware River.

The Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (later became SEPTA) ran many trollies along Cheltenham Avenue, including the famous Route 6 which began service in 1907.

Trolley service from Cheltenham Avenue to Willow Grove ended in 1958, and the entire route was shut down and replaced by buses in 1985.