Cecil B. Moore is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in the

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...

section of the city of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

named after the late Philadelphia-based civil rights attorney and politician Cecil B. Moore. The district is loosely arranged around the main campus of

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

. The neighborhood has gentrified due to an influx of Temple students during the past several years. The controversial term “Templetown” was coined by former Temple president

Peter J. Liacouras Peter James Liacouras (April 9, 1931 – May 12, 2016) was an American academic. Career Liacouras was the President of Temple University from 1982–2000, and former Dean of the Temple University School of Law (1972–1982). He was chancellor o ...

, but has only recently come into wide use after a

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parcels ...

company adopted the name. Cecil B. Moore Avenue is the street running parallel to Oxford and Montgomery, intersecting with N. Broad Street in the neighborhood.

Demographics

The neighborhood consists of 17,012 males and 20,277 females. The median age is 25.49. The population has increased 6.7% from 2000 to 2014 and 1.1% from 2010 to 2014 to reach a total population of 37,289 in 2014.

Boundaries and population

The Cecil B. Moore neighborhood loosely extends from 6th Street to the east, York Street to the north, 17th Street to the west, and

Girard Avenue Girard Avenue is a major commercial and residential street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For most of its length it runs east–west, but at Frankford Avenue it makes a 135-degree turn north. Parts of the road are signed as U.S. Route 13 and U.S. ...

to the south. The majority of its native residents are African Americans and Puerto Ricans, although Temple students of all races are a growing presence, with many living off campus and in the Cecil B. Moore community. Recently the renaissance of Progress Plaza shopping center can mainly be attributed to the economic impact of students within these borders, furthering Temple's expansion further south down broad street towards Center City. Furthermore, the purchase of the closed-down William Penn High School by the university, after redevelopment, will extend the footprint even further down Broad street towards Girard.

History

The region was named after

Cecil Bassett Moore Cecil Bassett Moore (April 2, 1915 – February 13, 1979) was a Philadelphia lawyer, politician and civil rights activist who led the fight to integrate Girard College, president of the local NAACP, and member of Philadelphia's city council ...

(April 2, 1915 – February 13, 1979) who was a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

lawyer, activists in the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

who led the fight to integrate

Girard College Girard College is an independent college preparatory five-day boarding school located on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was founded and permanently endowed from the shipping and banking fortune of Stephen Girard upon h ...

, president of the local

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

, and member of Philadelphia's City Council. Moore is best remembered for leading a picket against

which led to the

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

of that school. He was also a champion of a wide range of causes central to the Civil Rights Movement, including integration of schools and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s, and increased political and economic representation for poor African-Americans. He has been credited with helping to restore order after the unsettling vandalism and violence of the racially charged Columbia Avenue riot of 1964. During his tenure, membership in the local NAACP chapter expanded from 7,000 in 1962 to more than 50,000 within a few years.

Templetown naming controversy

The Templetown nickname was widely used due to the influence of

. The name, however, was not approved by either Temple University or its surrounding community. In October 2014 the Templetown name began to experience backlash from longtime local residents that became disgruntled due to 60 years of economic stagnation along the Cecil B. Moore corridor. The complaints were strong enough that

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

removed the name in favor of the Cecil B. Moore name.

Local institutions

Education

(39,515) * Girard College (Prep) (300)

Transportation

The Cecil B. Moore neighborhood is served by two railroad stations: * Cecil B. Moore transit station by the Broad Street Line * North Broad and

stations by the SEPTA Regional Rail Cecil B. Moore Avenue stretches from Fairmount Park in the Strawberry Mansion Section of Philadelphia to its eastern terminus at Frankford Avenue in Kensington intersecting Broad Street (PA 611) at Temple University.

References

{{North Philadelphia, state=collapsed Neighborhoods in Philadelphia Lower North Philadelphia Temple University