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Roslyn’s Burger King property was once an estate

The stately stone wall bordering the Roslyn Burger King on Easton Road is likely a relic of a turn-of-the-century residence, the Old York Road Historical Society found.

The stone wall bordering a Burger King on Easton Road is likely the relic of anestate, the historical society said.
The stone wall bordering a Burger King on Easton Road is likely the relic of anestate, the historical society said.Read moreJess Rohan
    by Jess Rohan
    Published 

Earlier this fall, a reader of The Inquirer’s Greater Abington newsletter asked, why is there a fancy stone wall outside the Burger King in Roslyn?

“Maybe a mansion?” Maryann M. speculated.

And Maryann was right: The hilly property ringed by Easton, Edge Hill, and Bradfield roads was once a doctor’s house, and then an inn, according to the Old York Road Historical Society.

In 1916, the parcel was owned by W.W. Cox, and by 1937, it belonged to Karl F. Mayer, archivist Stephanie Walsh said.

Inquirer archives from the 30s and 40s refer to Karl F. Mayer as a railroad doctor who lived in the Glenside area.

The property later became Uncle Henry’s, according to the historical society, and then the Hilltop Inn, which burned down in 1966, according to newspaper coverage at the time.

A firefighter nearly died during that blaze when he became trapped under debris, according to the Weldon Fire Company, but was saved by Chief Charles Gerhard, Jr.

The home’s perimeter stone wall withstood the fire.

The Burger King was built there in the early 1980s, property records show.

Walsh and other historical society volunteers, including Eileen Koolpe and L.A. Feldstein, scoured property records and historical phone books to help solve the mystery of the stone wall.

Visit the Burger King today, and you’ll find other historical images of Roslyn from the Old York Road Historical Society.

Have another question about Abington, Cheltenham, Jenkintown, or Rockledge? Ask it at Curious Greater Abington.

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