Living in Glenside: A Neighborhood Guide
This super-convenient community with two downtowns offers a lot to entertain you.
The Keswick Theatre in Glenside / Photography by Jeff Fusco
You may know Glenside as the home of Arcadia University, or as a place to catch a performance. But Carle Robbins, Addison Wolfe Real Estate’s director of sales, says it’s also a convenient place to live. “It’s a perfect 10!” he says. “As in, only 10 miles to Philly with fast, easy access. But you’re living in Montco.”
That easy access includes getting to town by train. One could say that Glenside sits at the end of the other Main Line — that is to say, the former Reading Railroad main line into Philly’s northern burbs. Because two SEPTA Regional Rail lines stop there, Glensiders enjoy more frequent service to Center City. But it’s also a short distance to Route 309, which means that getting to King of Prussia via the Turnpike is just as convenient. If you work in King of Prussia, Glenside offers reasonably priced housing in a community with plenty of walkability and great recreational facilities.
Keswick Cycle in Glenside
But instead of shopping at the mall, why not stay close to home? Glenside’s Regional Rail station sits at the gateway to an attractive suburban downtown. Easton Road, its main drag, is filled with shops you can browse in a relaxed environment. Outfit your kitchen and bathroom at Flow’s design studio, buy gifts at Sweet Magnolia, get your (video) game on at Classic Game Junkie, find a new ride at Keswick Cycle, and dine at the Ways Restaurant and Brewery.
Head north on Easton Road, and you’ll run into Keswick Village, a charming Tudor-style shopping district — Glenside’s other downtown. Here you’ll find eateries serving everything from pub fare (Rooster’s) to dumplings and noodles (Humpty’s Dumplings).
Humpty’s Dumplings
But the best-known Keswick Village business is the Keswick Theatre, one of the region’s premier performing-arts venues. The onetime vaudeville and movie house, designed by Horace Trumbauer and opened in 1928, has hosted performers from Lionel Hampton to Philly rock band the Hooters. Yet even though the Keswick draws big-name talent, it isn’t full of itself — like Glenside, it just feels neighborly.
Published as “Living in Glenside” in the April 2025 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
