East Oak Lane: Will it ever be "in" again?

[Kukla65th]

East Oak Lane remains out of the way, and totally underrated on the whole. Will it ever be trendy again? It was trendy when it was newer I imagine.

There's just this overwhelming feeling of malaise in that area when I visit it, despite many properties still being in great condition.

I am sure this has been dealt with in some old thread...time to revisit this (non?) issue.

I assert the lack of a central train stop on SEPTA is a big factor limiting the neighborhood, and the Fern Rock station being just a bit too far south to be within a walking distance for many. And didn't Melrose Park train station close? That was where EOL people seemed to travel from on SEPTA.

Just amazes me that EOL and even the blocks of Olney above Fisher Park could remain so off the radar of people seeking places away from Center City, but still in Philly. It remains viable for families/middle class - but it's just an amazingly ignored neighborhood on many levels.

[BarryG]

Melrose Park is still open. EOL is to far from cc to be trendy but it's a decent neighborhood, it may be attractive again once more jobs are in the city and Germantown and he northwest get too expensive. EOL also lacks even the bones of a cohesive main commercial street as far as I know.

I don't see how this neighborhood is viable for families and the middle class. You have all the inconveniences of the suburbs (some worse since it's not near 95, 76 or 1 expressway) and the downsides of the city--poor schools and services, wage tax. If you are ok with being in Philly and want a nice house with a yard, Germantown is affordable and much closer to CC and has a better main street. If you need to commute to eastern Montgomery County, why not buy in Cheltenham, Abington, or Rockledge and avoid the wage tax?

[MariusPontmercy]

Hasn't that area gotten a lot worse recently? IMO much of the "creep" NEsters fear coming up from North Philly appears to be moving through the Oak Lanes towards Cheltenham Ave.

Not to sound so bleak. I know when I pass through or I'm on the train it looks great. There are some very nice houses up there on what look like solid blocks. That area definitely has nice housing stock and still seems to be well kept. However, I've been seeing a lot of bad news: shootings, homicides, out of Oak Lane. Is there a reason for this? Are they concentrated somewhere?

[thoth]

Melrose Park is still open. EOL is to far from cc to be trendy but it's a decent neighborhood, it may be attractive again once more jobs are in the city and Germantown and he northwest get too expensive. EOL also lacks even the bones of a cohesive main commercial street as far as I know.

I don't see how this neighborhood is viable for families and the middle class. You have all the inconveniences of the suburbs (some worse since it's not near 95, 76 or 1 expressway) and the downsides of the city--poor schools and services, wage tax. If you are ok with being in Philly and want a nice house with a yard, Germantown is affordable and much closer to CC and has a better main street. If you need to commute to eastern Montgomery County, why not buy in Cheltenham, Abington, or Rockledge and avoid the wage tax?

Less problems and more intact than Germantown. Northwood has hung on for this long, why not EOL?

Hasn't that area gotten a lot worse recently? IMO much of the "creep" NEsters fear coming up from North Philly appears to be moving through the Oak Lanes towards Cheltenham Ave.

Not to sound so bleak. I know when I pass through or I'm on the train it looks great. There are some very nice houses up there on what look like solid blocks. That area definitely has nice housing stock and still seems to be well kept. However, I've been seeing a lot of bad news: shootings, homicides, out of Oak Lane. Is there a reason for this? Are they concentrated somewhere?

Mostly West Oak Lane. Different neighborhood. EOL has definitely faced similar pressures recently, but is not as bad.

[uly55es1]

Shaking my head at this thread. Goodness.

[OldMama]

My first apartment was in Oak Lane in a converted mini-mansion at 11th and 69th. It was gorgeous- I had carved, painted tiles in the bathroom, a curved turret wall in the bedroom, beautiful stained glass in the hall, windows with deep sills I could stand up in. My friends' jaws would drop when they saw it. I moved there in 1974 and left when I bought a house in 1979. At that time, the neighborhood (mostly huge single houses) consisted of older couples and a few younger post-hippies. There was a small commercial strip the younger people were trying to make something of. One of our friends opened a coffee house there with live music that was a lot of fun. There was also a fledging community association. Sadly, the neighborhood just never took off. My friends and I (we all had apartments in the same building) never considered buying there when we left because most of the houses were just too big and required too much upkeep in Oak Lane proper and East Oak Lane had so little character and was quite far from our jobs. I am still very nostalgic for Oak Lane and the start of my adult life. It's funny how rarely I actually get to that part of town- even when I lived in Roxborough. Maybe that's why it never became a destination- not really near anything?

[billy ross]

East Oak Lane remains out of the way, and totally underrated on the whole. Will it ever be trendy again? It was trendy when it was newer I imagine.

There's just this overwhelming feeling of malaise in that area when I visit it, despite many properties still being in great condition.

I am sure this has been dealt with in some old thread...time to revisit this (non?) issue.

I assert the lack of a central train stop on SEPTA is a big factor limiting the neighborhood, and the Fern Rock station being just a bit too far south to be within a walking distance for many. And didn't Melrose Park train station close? That was where EOL people seemed to travel from on SEPTA.

Just amazes me that EOL and even the blocks of Olney above Fisher Park could remain so off the radar of people seeking places away from Center City, but still in Philly. It remains viable for families/middle class - but it's just an amazingly ignored neighborhood on many levels.

You're perpetuating a misnomer. The neighborhood is historically Oak Lane. West Oak Lane was developed to sponge off the name, much like "Palm Beach Gardens" in Florida was recently developed. East Oak Lane is a little development off of 5th Street which again was developed to take sponge off the name brand of Oak Lane. Just because West New York is so named doesn't mean that what's east of it is East New York. Similarly with West Memphis.

Oak Lane is not in a fortuitous location. Until North Philly comes back and Center City becomes more of a jobs center than it is now, I don't see Oak Lane taking off. It's the gateway to Cheltenham, and that part of Montgomery County (and the city, too) is declining, so its salvation needs to come from the other direction, that is, from the south, since what lies beyond Oak Lane is now more of a source of trouble going forward rather than strength.

[Outlaw Star]

The "conventional" wisdom, for a lot of folks, is that EOL fell of a cliff in the past couple of decades. But that's not really the case. Much like upper parts of Olney that border it, the area changed but didn't ever truly "decline" in the true sense of the word--unless "decline" means for you that different colored people live there now.

The fact is, the area is surviving, and in some cases doing surprisingly well. It does have a lot going for it--chiefly, housing stock and great transit access via Fern Rock and Melose Park stations. But the things it doesn't--incredible location, thriving commercial assets--mean that, IMO, it won't ever really be a "trendy" destination. Solid, middle-class bedroom community is probably the neighborhood's ceiling. And that's probably ok. Not every area can or should be "the next big thing."

[BarryG]

Less problems and more intact than Germantown. Northwood has hung on for this long, why not EOL?

I didn't mean to say it won't hang on, but that it has little potential for being an "in" neighborhood.

The "conventional" wisdom, for a lot of folks, is that EOL fell of a cliff in the past couple of decades. But that's not really the case. Much like upper parts of Olney that border it, the area changed but didn't ever truly "decline" in the true sense of the word--unless "decline" means for you that different colored people live there now.

The fact is, the area is surviving, and in some cases doing surprisingly well. It does have a lot going for it--chiefly, housing stock and great transit access via Fern Rock and Melose Park stations. But the things it doesn't--incredible location, thriving commercial assets--mean that, IMO, it won't ever really be a "trendy" destination. Solid, middle-class bedroom community is probably the neighborhood's ceiling. And that's probably ok. Not every area can or should be "the next big thing."

This is the correct assessment but the transit options are not "great," they are just ok as Fern Rock and Melrose aren't a very close walk for much of the area and it has no highway access for car commuters. In other words, not really better than the nearby parts of MontCo except for more buses.

The Koreatown that has developed around there bodes well for the neighborhood staying stable but a lot of that spilled over into Melrose Park and Elkins Park so we'll see how long they stick around. Plenty have already moved onto Blue Bell and that area.

[annie]

The Koreatown that has developed around there bodes well for the neighborhood staying stable but a lot of that spilled over into Melrose Park and Elkins Park so we'll see how long they stick around. Plenty have already moved onto Blue Bell and that area.

I knew someone that was helping her parents sell their Korean restaurant/building up there so they could start up again in MontCo where their customers had moved. The buyers were Caribbean immigrants, I think.

[Geno]

Shaking my head at this thread. Goodness.

Get out while you still can! Look out the window. Can you see the sky falling?

[uly55es1]

Get out while you still can! Look out the window. Can you see the sky falling?

You caught my drift.

To the OP.

We hillbillies are doin' just fine up in these here parts. Some of us have shoes, a full set of teeth and can even read. Shazzam!!!

Oh and them "other folks" don't bother us none. They're clean, know their way around a broom and can swing a mean hammer so the houses are holding up fine. I hear tell that they work and can afford to hire out to have work done on their homes should the need arise. You believe that?

The youngins are respectable actin' and go to school. In fact quite a few of us in these parts are married up mixed like and blending just fine.

Don't fret none bout us'n here. We can hitch our rigs to get into town for previsions, and entertainment as we need just fine.


The main thing EOL is slow and quiet, that is just the way we like it, just the way we want it and just the way we is fixin' to keep it.

[NickFromGtown]

There is more than one premise in the OP that is flawed, especially the contention that EOL was ever "in". I'm not exactly sure what that means anyway.

EOL was and is a fine place to live. Given the housing stock, I doubt that would change anytime soon. EOL is a sleepy hamlet and there is nothing wrong with that. Not every place in the city should be hip and trendy. Philadelphia caters to a diversity of interests and East Oak Lane plays a nice part in that diversity.

It is a shame though that EOL doesn't have a train station, but it's awkwardly in the middle of a few different rail options and I believe developed during part of the advent of the automobile.

[thoth]

It is a shame though that EOL doesn't have a train station, but it's awkwardly in the middle of a few different rail options and I believe developed during part of the advent of the automobile.

It's also not particularly far from several modes of transit, including the BSL. There are plenty of suburban towns that would kill for that level of transit access.

[uly55es1]

http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com/fo...-oak-lane.html

Thread from last year re. EOL.

There is a train station just north of Fern Rock that is no longer in use.

[Hospitalitygirl]

There is more than one premise in the OP that is flawed, especially the contention that EOL was ever "in". I'm not exactly sure what that means anyway.

EOL was and is a fine place to live. Given the housing stock, I doubt that would change anytime soon. EOL is a sleepy hamlet and there is nothing wrong with that. Not every place in the city should be hip and trendy. Philadelphia caters to a diversity of interests and East Oak Lane plays a nice part in that diversity.

This. It wasn't ever really "in", whatever that means, just a decent place to live.

[uly55es1]

I can get to Melrose station in ten minutes walking. Fern Rock may take 20. You have the 28,K, 55, C buses that are all less than a five minute walk from where I live.

[City Man]

I grew up in Olney and hung in Oak Lane, mostly between 5th and 8th streets. The actual road called Oak Lane had a good bar called Tomasso's, Murray's Pizza, a butcher shop and a barber shop. I haven't been around in a while but the last time I checked there was only a butcher shop (Halal) and a dry cleaners.

The houses there are mostly awesome - big, single stone homes with fireplaces. If you have the money and want to keep up the house, it wouldn't be a bad place to live. Probably still quiet, but being as it's next to Olney and West Oak Lane, it would be a lie to say that they're isn't a good amount of crime there.

If you work or play in Center City, the access to the train and subway is there. I would Imagine that most people there gravitate toward the suburbs when it comes to heading out to shop or eat locally. Think Old York and Church Road area in Cheltenham or Jenkintown.

If anyone on here lives there, my main question would be: Where do you go to eat if you're looking for a good, nice restaurant? Yes, it is important. As is a corner grocery store/deli.

And I second the idea that it was never a "hip" or "in" neighborhood. Nice and quiet. Walk through on a winter night and smell the wood smoke from all the fireplaces.

[billy ross]

There is more than one premise in the OP that is flawed, especially the contention that EOL was ever "in". I'm not exactly sure what that means anyway.

EOL was and is a fine place to live. Given the housing stock, I doubt that would change anytime soon. EOL is a sleepy hamlet and there is nothing wrong with that. Not every place in the city should be hip and trendy. Philadelphia caters to a diversity of interests and East Oak Lane plays a nice part in that diversity.

It is a shame though that EOL doesn't have a train station, but it's awkwardly in the middle of a few different rail options and I believe developed during part of the advent of the automobile.

Doesn't have a train station? Google the "Oak Lane Station". It's still in use at the same location, albeit with a new building and a new name. There's a little footpath to get you there from the neighborhood.

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