Oxford Circle

In the lower Northeast portion of Philadelphia you will find a traffic circle, where the streets and flow of traffic seemingly form a circle. The circular flow of traffic is the reasoning behind the naming of Oxford Circle, the neighborhood that surrounds.

Major roadways in the area include Roosevelt Boulevard, Oxford Avenue, and Cottman Avenue, which are the neighborhoods borders Also, Bustleton Avenue and Frankford Avenue lie in the vicinity. Oxford Circle is also surrounded by three creeks; Wissinoming, Tacony, and Pennypack.

The brick and stone row homes in Oxford Circle, built by the Hyman Koman Company, were erected between the 1940's and 1950's. These single-family houses attractively sit cozily along the blocks with beautiful lawns out front.

Some of the features of Oxford Circle are the Tarken and Max Meyers Playgrounds, Bushrod Library and the shopping district of Castor Avenue. Speaking of Castor Avenue, you can find just about any and every thing you may need along the avenue. There are many restaurants that feature American, Jamaican, Albanian, and Asian cuisines. Also, a number of pizza places can be found as well.

Oxford Circle offers four elementary (one which is one the National Register of Historical Places list), one middle and one high schools that serve the neighborhood. They include public, Catholic and charter schools. There are over a dozen day cares in Oxford Circle with most residing along Castor Avenue.

Transportation is a breeze whether you drive or take public transportation. There are many SEPTA routes in the neighborhood, some of which lead to the Margaret-Orthodox station of the Market-Frankford Line, which can shoot you straight into the city. Driving, being right by US Route 1 helps get you get to different parts of the city quickly (if there's no traffic).

Oxford Circle, like many of the Northeast neighborhoods, receives a bad reputation because of the neighborhood integration. Many claim that the area is no longer safe, but to be honest, it's just as safe as any other part of the city. It's just the change in the times. The area is still worthy of living with all the perks it has, especially for young families.

Oxford Circle is a neighborhood in the Lower Northeast. The area used to be well maintained with strong community bonds, but in recent years Section 8 low-income housing has moved into the area, causing former owners to leave for the suburbs, and low-income renters to replace them. This shift has marked an increase in crime, violence and litter.

Like much of the Lower Northeast, Section 8 has put a large strain on the community. Oxford Circle is no longer an area you want to walk alone at night – and is also not ideal for raising families. The majority of homes are Victorian style multi-family homes, with both singles and families renting the spaces. There are pockets of Oxford Circle that still have proud homeowners that continuously attempt to revitalize the community, however these people are becoming hard to find.

A unique feature of Oxford Circle is that it is home to three creeks: Wissinoming, Pennypack and Tacony. These add a serene feel to the otherwise urban area; however, litter and distress has found its way to these bodies of water as well. Oxford Circle could benefit greatly from gentrification, yet has not yet been touched by it.

Oxford Circle has been quickly headed south when it comes to the type of neighborhood it is. Once a clean, working class community of brick row homes, Oxford Circle has become rough area with dirty streets and increasing crime rates.

Several long time residents of Oxford Circle have left the neighborhood because they no longer feel safe there. Or the appearance of the community is not what it used to be, yards are unkempt, houses are falling apart.
The local businesses are all closing up as well. The mom and pop shops the locals loved are no more, unable to keep afloat in the market. Those who are religious are finding many of their churches closing as a result of the change in the community.

Oxford Circle schools are also seeing an increase in crime on their campuses that eventually leads to the trash riddle streets. The future of neighborhood doesn’t look promising either with many people giving up and headed to other, less dangerous communities.

A majority of the current residents of Oxford Circle are renters. It’s a pretty inexpensive community to live in but that is also because of the cons of living there. Many of the houses are falling apart because they’re rented out by people who don’t care to people who don’t care. So, while it’s cheap to invest in property in Oxford Circle, it’s probably not really worth it.