Hi!

I'm a senior studying at Temple University. I have lived in Olney for 12 years now. I am currently resaerching a paper on my neighborhood in my urban sociology class. I'm interested in talking about the change in the racial makeup of Olney from the 1950s to today. I'm interested in the stories people have about Olney: its history, their experiences living there, the people they knew, the businesses and community organizations that existed, and the condition of the neighborhoods from then and now. Anything anyone could share would be greatly appreciated! Also, if anyone has actual written information in books, magazines, websties, etc., I'd love to know which they are as well.

Thanks!

__________________
"I gotta testify, come up in the spot looking extra fly.
For the day I die, I'mma touch the sky."
Kanye West

(P.S. - He, Common, and Fantasia are at the Liacouras Center @ Temple on NOVEMBER 6!)

Good luck krikkit. Olney is an interesting neighborhood. I only lived there for 2 years right after college back in the mid 80s. When I lived there I rented, first an apartment in a converted rowhome, then a 3 bedroom rowhome around the corner. Both near Front & Chew Sts. Rent was reasonable and the neighborhood was friendly and well kept. The shopping area across Front St. wasn't there yet, the old Heintz (sp?) Plant was still there. 5th St shopping district was still pretty nice. My end of the hood was mostly white with Koreans just moving in. South of me, lots of Portugese and Brazilian immigrants were establishing communities. White flight was in it's early stages there. I really liked Olney and hope it survives and improves in the future.

I'm curious about the origin of the name and why it's pronounced the way it is.

Niel...Penn's Linguistics Dept. website has some info on the pronunciation. You may have to dig a little but I remember finding it before there.

For the rest try this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olney%2C_Philadelphia

Wikipedia...it's the bestest of the internet.

Guess who wrote the history portion of that Wikipedia article on Olney? I went to the Urban Archives at Temple's library and snooped through articles from the now defunct Philadelphia Bulletin. I didn't know the Heintz plant was were that plaza is today. I was wondering where all those factories had gone.

__________________
"I gotta testify, come up in the spot looking extra fly.
For the day I die, I'mma touch the sky."
Kanye West

(P.S. - He, Common, and Fantasia are at the Liacouras Center @ Temple on NOVEMBER 6!)

Nice job on the article! I would disagree slightly with your time table on the demographic change though. Olney was almost all white until the 80's. Only the sections west of the railroad tracks were not and they were primarily African American. I guess the change there began in the 60's. The immigrants didn't start coming in large numbers until 1980 or so.

grew up in olney (moved out when i was 18 in 1994) and can answer any questions you have. pm me.

Hey, I go to Temple as well, and wrote several of the Philly neighborhood articles, and the entirety of the North Phil article. Unfortunately, despite what I've covered thus far, I'm not a native, and historical sources have mostly eluded me. Have you found any other good sources of information?

That's a interesting era in Olney's history. I went to high school there in the '70s and made a lot of friends, some of whom still live there. The transformations that took place on 5th St alone during that time frame would make an interesting read. In the mid-70's Olney still had a strong German population, many of whom were first generation and, by the 70's, were senior citizens. My sister, a few years older than me, was majoring in German in college at the time. I recall that the magazine shops in Olney were the only places in the area where should could purchase German language magazines and newspapers.
I think it was in the '80s when there was a major backlash from the older Olney residents when Korean Street signs went up on 5th St. As a result of the uproar, they were taken down.
A lot more recollections, but not enough time to share now. Good luck w/your research.

Yes the Korean sign controversy was the mid 80's, I lived there at the time.