Exploring Hunting Park

The unseasonably warm weather last Friday afternoon created a vibrant atmosphere in Hunting Park. While walking Lycoming Street, Hunting Park Avenue and Fifth Street we couldn’t have been more excited to see what our neighborhood has to offer. In our exploration we found residents of this North Philadelphia neighborhood venturing to and from various local businesses, sitting on porches of row houses and teenagers playing handball in the streets. People were everywhere, and immediately we knew this neighborhood would have an array of stories we can cover.


The corner of Fifth and Lycoming Streets.

By merely walking around Hunting Park, it’s clear that a large number of its residents are Latino. The soulful sounds of Salsa music can be heard playing from barbershops and open windows of homes, as the delicious aromas of Spanish food floods the air as it’s released from the kitchens of corner bodegas. Much of Hunting Park is filled with small grocery stores, bars and barbershops. Had it not been such a nice day, we assumed that this neighborhood would still have been bustling with patrons frequenting these businesses.

Like many North Philadelphia neighborhoods there are certain parts of Hunting Park that appear to have been abandon. This can definitely be seen in the actual park that sits to the west of the neighborhood. The park is huge as it extends north from about Lycoming Street up to Roosevelt Boulevard. What use to be tennis and basketball courts have succumbed to rust and trash. As a group we questioned why such a large park was so empty? Yet, the neighborhood sitting adjacent to it was so vibrant and lively. We hope to answer this question as we become more familiar with the neighborhood as the semester progresses.


A desolate Hunting Park.

Hunting Park looks to be a great and we’re excited about having the opportunity to step away from the Temple area and become a part of this neighborhood.

By: Kurtis Lee, Cris Robinson and Kendra Howard