What’s the ninth most common odonym in the United States? Oak.
What’s an odonym? Look it up.
Like most crowded, noisy cities, Philadelphia has a street named after the Quercus. Philadelphia's Oak Lane is located along the northwest border of the city, and there are two neighborhoods named after the road itself: East Oak Lane and West Oak Lane. East Oak Lane has the notable distinction of being one of Friend William Penn’s first neighborhoods, one of the many arboreous sanctums that he mapped out to surround his “green countrie towne” of Philadelphia.
East Oak Lane? West Oak Lane? I’ve been to these neighborhoods but I don’t
know them very well. I hope to get out there more. I can see lots of good tree-hunting grounds in these neighborhoods. There’s Awbury Arboretum, fifty-five acres of historic grounds right in the middle of its sprawl, and there are two great cemeteries: Northwood and Chelten Hills. Like most tree-hunters, I am drawn to cemeteries and graveyards. Plus, being so close to the northwest border of Philadelphia, these neighborhoods are a suburban abut to the great Catfish-Creek Woods of the Lenape Indians, commonly known as the Wissahickon.
I’ll get to these places. I just have to remember to bring a good map. Like most citybillies, I have an uncanny sense of direction but there’s something about the East Oak Lane and West Oak Lane neighborhoods that really sets me adrift. It usually happens in some weird place where 7th Street meets 66th Avenue. What’s going on over there when it comes to street names? Philadelphia is famous for its easy navigation when it comes to street names and numbered avenues. But out there in the Oak Lane neighborhoods? The benevolent grid seems to fold and bend and eat itself like a hungry oroboros.
What’s an oroboros? Look it up.
