Our First Visit to Olney

Our first trip to Olney was an interesting commencement. The bus ride from Center City aboard the C-bus took us far up Broad Street and in a zig-zag across the southeast side of Olney before arriving at the Fern Rock Transit Center. It was perfect weather for our initial visit to the neighborhood, and as we headed out into our new ‘home’ we sighed collectively… Olney was a far cry from the preconceived notions of an under-reported Northern Philadelphia neighborhood.

The first thing that caught our eyes was a nameless backyard ‘ministry’ located at North Warnock Street and Nedro Avenue which, according to its signage, was a member of the Philadelphia Police Clergy.



Our next stop was Fisher Park where we met a gentleman who, despite his inclination for anonymity, proceeded to talk our ears off for over twenty minutes. His litany of complaints – a psychotic postal carrier, heavy handed police, anti-tree/anti-beautification neighbors, and the malfeasance of the L&I (which we now know stands for Licensing and Inspection) workers who are conspiring to seize his dogs, cats and plants – left us feeling a bit overwhelmed. Nonetheless, we gave the gentleman our contact information, the phone number of his city councilwoman, and our assurances that we would be willing to be an outlet for any of his serious complaints.


The walk through Fisher Park revealed a summer camp for young teenagers who played basketball, climbed trees and walked the trails in small groups. We were pleased to find several colorful ‘activity specific’ picnic tables, and a small yet lovely fenced-in community garden with a sign which read ‘We Grow Together For Olney’s Future’.

As our site visit came to an end, and we headed back towards TUCC, we were infinitely more comfortable with the phantom threat of MURL.







By Wendy Borst and Justin Finneran - Team 3, Olney/Logan