Violet Hill in Spring Garden Township, Part 3; Violet Hill Cafe, Joseph Lopiccolo
In previous posts we learned by looking through a chronological sequence of maps, Violet Hill appears to start in an area near South George Street and Country Club Road. However as time goes by, the area known as Violet Hill gradually shifts south along South George Street.
I recently purchased a Violet Hill Cafe matchbook cover. This drawing of the Violet Hill Cafe is from that matchbook cover. Did any of my readers ever dine at that restaurant along South George Street? If so, I’d like to hear from you. The other posts in this series, or related posts include:
- Violet Hill in Spring Garden Township; Assorted Maps, Hotel & Schoolhouses
- Violet Hill in Spring Garden Township, Part 2; plus A. B. Farquhar’s Estate “Edgecomb”
- LoPiccolo’s in Violet Hill connection to The Woods in Springettsbury Township
- Recollections of Violet Hill Elementary School
A section of a 1941 PA Highway Map of York County details the Violet Hill area of Spring Garden Township. In 1941, Violet Hill encompassed an area adjacent to South George Street. The initial location of the Violet Hill One-Room Schoolhouse is shown at location {4}; this is presently near the South George Street entrance to York Hospital.
Location {3} marks what was earlier known as the Violet Hill Hotel; this is noted as just a hotel on a 1860 map and the “Violet Hill Hotel” is named in John Gibson’s 1886 History of York County, PA. The Violet Hill Hotel becomes the Violet Hill Cafe pictured at the beginning of this post.
Here are a few notes about the 1941 PA Highway Map. The small numbers next to long buildings indicate the number of dwellings in each building of row homes. In 1941 Tri Hill Road and South Duke Street were gravel or stone roads. South George Street, known as route 111, was a concrete road.
Polk’s York Directory of 1945-1946 notes the Violet Hill Service Station is now on the southwest corner of South George Street and County Club Road. I believe that the building of Farquhar Estates and the construction of I-83 in the later 1940s and 1950s had a hand in the southward shift of the Violet Hill neighborhood during that time period.
Polk’s York Directory of 1933-1934 contains the earliest listing of Joseph Lopiccolo as the Violet Hill Hotel/Cafe owner. His ownership continued through at least a listing in the 1945-1946 Directory; at that time Joe Lopiccolo was about 60 years old.
The back of the matchbook cover contains the slogan “Where Italian Spaghetti Was Made Famous.” It was definitely authentic Italian spaghetti; Joe Lopiccolo was a native of Carini, Italy per his April 27th 1942 WWII Registration Card.
