Olney the Lonely - Photo Essay

When I click on the information on Olney, it points me to the photos instead of the planning commission's report....

Fixed. Sorry about that.

Thanks for a great story (and for leaving it up on the Internet). I grew up in Olney in the 50s & 60s, learned to play baseball in the Olney Midget League, attended St Helena's, Cardinal Dougherty and LaSalle College before heading off to grad school (Michigan) in 1970. My parents didn't sell their Olney house till 1999, so my walking-the-streets memories extend that far. I've spent some time living in Korea, so even the hangul signs were oddly familiar when I first saw them, back on a visit. More recently, my wife and I were in town for a funeral, and drove through my old neighborhood (front of CDHS), down the driveway behind the house I grew up in, and stopped in St. Helena's after school hours, then drove down 5th St. past the park, Inky, etc. to the Boulevard. Lots of changes, to be sure, but I didn't see all the trash that others have mentioned. Back in the 50s and 60s, Olney, like a lot of Philly, was a wonderful place to grow up--good schools and playgrounds, the library at 5th & Tabor, Fisher's Park, a vibrant 5th St. business district (Martin guitars to try out at Zapf's--thanks, Willy!), the Olney Times ("Aggressively Devoted to the Good of Greater Olney" was it?), and some great little bakeries here and there. Here's hoping Olney sees its renaissance, the sooner the better.