Fern Rock

On your way to the Northern outskirts of town, you might pass by Fern Rock. It is a middle class neighborhood of African Americans who maintain neatly appointed row and single family homes. Property values reflect this care having increased by 9 percent in the past 6 years according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Most of the homes are 3 bedrooms.

Perhaps it is best known as the last stop on the Broad Street subway that runs to the stadiums in South Philadelphia. Accessibility to other parts of the city is no problem with the Fern Rock Station as well as the Olney Transportation Station, both on the Broad Street Line. On major game days, suburbanites flock to the station for high speed trains that do directly to the sports venues with limited stops.

The area is bounded by North Broad Street, W. Godfrey Avenue and West Olney Avenue. It is the site for the Northwest Regional Center of the Community College of Philadelphia. Broad and Olney is the location of Girls High School and Central High School two of the top public schools in the region. Einstein Hospital services the area.

Crime has been a problem with robbery and burglary plaguing the community.

Fern Rock is a neighborhood located in the upper North section of Philadelphia. It is bordered by Olney to the east, Logan to the south, Ogontz to the west and East Oak Lane to the north. The neighborhood is bound by Broad Street, 7th Street, Tabor Road, Godfrey Avenue and Fisher Park. It is an ethnically diverse neighborhood and includes African Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics.
Fern Rock offers a number of different living options including a couple of high rise apartment complexes near York and Chelten, 1920’s styled row homes and singe and twin-family houses located near 13th Street and Spencer Street. Houses are moderately priced in this section of the city and a median sale price ranges from $30,000 to $50,000.
It is easy to take public transportation in Fern Hill. The northern terminus of the Broad Street Line subway is located at the intersection of Fern Hill Transportation Center and runs directly to Center City. There are also four SEPTA Regional Rail lines that run through this station.
Fern Hill is a safe neighborhood to live and is mainly consists of families. It is located near Roosevelt Boulevard, which is one of the main transportation arteries of Philadelphia.

The Broad Street line ends at Fern Rock before turning around and heading south again. This makes you feel as though Philadelphia has gone as far as it can go north. It’s the end of the road and really when you are in certain areas of Fern Rock it pretty much feels like the end of road.

North Philadelphia is known for being a no-man’s zone and Fern Rock is kind of like that. There isn’t much too it. Made up of single family homes, most of which are owned not rented, Fern Rock is a predominantly African American lower to average income community. Most of the people who live in this area were born or raised there. Few people ever move to Fern Rock and a majority of its residents commute to other parts of the city for work.

Fern Rock has a notable history of crime having drawn a lot of attention for a double murder in 2006 in which a couple was murdered after attempting to stop the rape of another woman who was also shot in the process.

Transportation as mentioned is accessible at the Fern Rock Transportation Center. The Broad Street line will only take you south though. But SEPTA’s Regional Rail also runs through this station, so it’s possible to get out of Fern Rock if you need to.