Olney, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Olney is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is roughly bounded by the Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, Tookany Creek to the east, Godfrey Avenue to the north, and the railroad right-of-way west of Sixth Street to the west. Olney is typically pronounced "ahl-nee" or incorectly as "ah-len-nee."

Although Olney is primarily a quiet residential neighborhood, portions do serve as major commercial centers for many surrounding groups. 5th Street has a Korean-American business district in the vicinity of Olney Avenue, and Hispanic businesses flourish in the southern reaches of the neighborhood.

Fisher Park is located in Olney. It is a 23 acre public park which was originally laid out and owned by Joseph Wharton, founder of Swarthmore College and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. It was donated to the city by Joseph in 1908 as a "Christmas gift" to Philadelphia. Fisher Park has a football field, basketball and tennis courts, and a wooded hiking area.

Olney is named after the estate of Alexander Wilson (not the ornithologist), who resided on Rising Sun Avenue, near Tacony Creek. Wilson chose the name for his residence because of his love for the poet Cowper, of Olney, England. The mansion was demolished in 1924, but the name was applied to the growing village nearby. Recently, youths living in the area have dubbed Olney 'The Ozone'.

1 History
2 Education
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

Olney was originally vast, hilly farmland in the hinterland of Philadelphia County up to the late nineteenth century. The population was mainly farmers and wealthy Philadelphians who could afford to live away from the city.

As Philadelphia grew northwards, the area became more urbanized. People seeking to escape the growing population density towards the center moved to Olney. Soon after, businesses began appearing, centered at 5th Street and Olney Avenue. Industry was also attracted and companies such as Heintz Manufacturing Company, Proctor and Schwartz, and Brown Instrument Division built factories in the neighborhood. But this took second place to the strong commercial district, lead by the Olney Businessmans' Association.

The population grew even more after the construction of the Broad Street Subway which had its original terminal at Olney Avenue (Olney Transportation Center). It promised to get riders from Olney to City Hall in less than twenty minutes for fifteen cents. In addition to trolley lines that travelled east and west, this made Olney Philadelphia's northern transportation hub and gave Olneyites easy access to the entire city and beyond.

Throughout its history, Olney had many crowning achievements. In 1925, Colney Theatre was constructed which then had the largest one-floor seating capacity in the world with room for almost 2000 people. In 1931, Olney High School graduated its first class and for a time boasted the largest enrollment in the city with 3600 students. Olney High School is also reputable for its many notable alumni such as comedy writer Barry S. Waronker (1965), local news reporter Sheila Washington (1982), and former Feltonville historian Dennis Dalbey (1994). Civic pride was abundant in the "city within a city." Olneyites lobbyed the city intensely for the constructions of playgrounds and the library at 5th Street and Tabor Road. Community members even put together an amateur Olney Symphony Orchestra (which continues to give concerts) and started their own newspaper, the Olney Times (which is still in circulation today).

Between the 1960s and 1980s, Olney began experiencing change. Large numbers of African Americans began migrating into the area from other parts of the city. As part of the deindustrialization of Philadelphia, industry closed factories and moved from the area. People began to claim that Olney was deteriorating: crime was going up and property values were going down. Taking part in the white flight occurring across the country, many white residents moved to the suburbs.

This receding population was quickly supplmented by a new wave of residents from Asia (Korea, mainly, as well as Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Laos) and Latin America (Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico). This new population quickly filled the vacancies left behind in the commercial district and, today, 5th and Olney is still a vital economic center. These groups also maintained Olney's historic civic pride through the creation of orgnizations such as the Korean Community Development Center.

Today, Olney is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Philadelphia. The Olney stop on the Broad Street Subway, while no longer the terminal, is the second most used (next to City Hall). There are thriving business districts at 5th and Olney, Broad and Olney, and Front and Olney.

[edit] Education

Olney, as with all areas in Philadelphia, is zoned to the School District of Philadelphia.

Olney has six public elementary schools (Lowell, Finletter, Morrison, Grover Washington,Jr, Marshall, and Olney) and one general public high school (Olney). Magnet public high schools in the neighborhood include Central and the Philadelphia High School for Girls.

There are several private and parochial schools in Olney. Elementary schools include Incarnation Catholic School & Saint Helena and high schools include Cardinal Dougherty Catholic High School and International Christian High School.

[edit] Demographics

Olney was settled by German Americans and the population remained homogeneous throughout the first half of the 20th century. Today, Olney is a melting pot of ethnic groups in Philadelphia with large numbers of African Americans, Koreans, Sub-saharan Africans, West Indians, Hispanics, and Arab Americans, as well as other smaller groups representing other nationalites and ethnic groups.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, the racial makeup of Olney is 44.60% African American, 17.92% Asian, and 11.66% from other races. 21.03% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The population of Olney increased by 7% between the 1990 and 2000 censuses (from just over 63,000 to about 67,500). Most of Olney lies in postal zip code 19120. It's geographical cöordinates are 40.034254 degrees North and 75.121256 degrees West.

In 2005, the median home sale price in the 19120 zip code was $79,950. This was an increase of 20% over the median price for 2004.