Blue Ribbon Finalist: North 5th Beautification Program, North 5th Street Revitalization Project

N5SRP’s mission is to manage, promote, and revitalize North 5th Street and North Broad street in Olney as thriving commercial districts for area shoppers, residents and visitors. N5SRP was founded by Olney residents and merchants, in 2007/2008 as a focused reinvestment toward North 5th Street’s primary commercial hub, located at 5th and Olney Avenue. N5SRP has since grown to a full-time seven person staff and expanded service area to include North 5th Street and Broad Street from Roosevelt Boulevard (4800) to Godfrey Avenue (6000)

The North 5th Street Beautification program includes a cleaning program, educational material and mural projects. The cleaning program consist of a staff of three men from Olney who clean the corridor seven days a week. The mural project is the work of one of N5SRP’s cleaning ambassadors Randall Whitfield who painted 10 murals along the N. 5th St. commercial corridor. Eight of the murals were installed on a security gates of businesses along the corridor as part of a capital improvement project. Each security 2 gate murals reflect that business’ service or culture while they all share the same message "Welcome to Olney”. This project was an effort to create a sense of connectedness along a long stretch corridor of 13 blocks and also to connect the diverse cultures along the corridor.

Another mural was painted on Peony Garden at 5th and Duncannon with a scenic view of China. This mural reflects the business owner’s home country as well as culture. The Peony Garden mural has been a statement piece that has made an impact on the corridor by creating a sense of place and beauty.

The most recent mural is that of the “Never Forgotten: George Floyd” mural on Tang pharmacy at 5th and Olney. The original mural was painted on an abandoned newsstand during the late summer early fall of 2020. The project’s intention was as a remembrance and honoring piece for the late George Floyd as well as a reflection of the many things that happened during 2020, while celebrating the diversity and unity in Olney. In the summer of 2021, that mural was the defaced by a white supremacy group. As a result, former Councilwoman Cherelle Parker and Mural Arts came together to support North 5th Street Revitalization Project in re-creating the mural. In fall 2021, Randall Whitfield worked diligently to complete a 110 foot long mural of George Floyd on the side of Tang pharmacy. This mural impacted all of the residents and visitors. Randall captured various scenes from 2020 including protests, masks, different people from all walks of life coming together to stand against hate.

PACDC congratulates North 5th Street Revitalization Project on being recognized as a finalist for the Blue Ribbon award for Community Development Excellence