Olney

Olney, pronounced “awl-nee,” is a neighborhood located in the North section of Philadelphia. It is situated between Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, Godfrey Avenue to the north, 6th Street to the west and Tacony Creek to the east.
Olney is one of the nicer neighborhoods located in North Philly and is primarily a quiet residential area with few stores. There is a Korean business district located on 5th Street that has a variety of little shops and restaurants.
Olney has a diverse ethnic population including Korean Americans, Arab Americans, Hispanics, African Americans and Caucasians. Locally referred to the “The Ozone” by younger residents, Olney provides its citizens with a clean and enjoyable place to live. It offers lovely houses that sell for around $80,000.
One of the draws of the area is Fisher Park, which is a 23-acre public park. It includes basket ball and tennis courts, a football field and lots of forest area for hiking and biking. Olney also offers the Free Public Library Greater Olney Branch.
Olney is also close to Highway 611, which runs up through Montgomery County. It is recommended that you own or rent a car if you live here since everything is spread out.

The first time I ever went to Olney was to attend a party at a karaoke bar. After that it has always had a little place in my heart. I don’t venture there often; actually rarely because it is not easy to get to without a car and taking public would take forever. Olney is kind of a remote neighborhood in comparison to other parts of Philadelphia and unless you live there, you’re probably not going to visit that often.

Once referred to as “Little Korea” because of the many Korean owned and operated business that flourished in the community, the neighborhood is extremely diverse, though many Korean families have left the area in recent years.

Many residents feel as though Olney has already peaked as a neighborhood and has gone downhill since the 1980s. Factories have closed and been replaced with strip malls and people moved away. But some residents stayed and are still a close group, organizing clean ups to keep the streets and parks in top condition.
There are several schools located in Olney, a neighborhood that also gets to stake claim to having the largest Roman Catholic high school in the United State, Cardinal Dougherty High School, which closed its doors in 2010.