‘TempleTown’ off the map after Google gets complaints from Cecil B. Moore area

In recent years, more and more college students have moved to the blocks around Temple University in Philadelphia. Just don’t call it “TempleTown.”

 

In recent years, more and more college students have moved to the blocks around Temple University. Just don’t call it “TempleTown.”

Google has removed the name “TempleTown” from Google Maps — after getting some complaints.

Christine Brown is with Beech Community Services, part of the nonprofit Beech Interplex that she said is “located at 15th and Cecil B. Moore in the Cecil B. Moore community in North Philadelphia.”

Brown wasn’t happy that instead of the civil rights leader’s name, Google used “TempleTown.” Calling it a “smack in the face,”  Brown said she contacted the company about three weeks ago to complain.

“It’s racist. It’s a name that’s being used by developers,” she said.

Some of those developers, Brown said, come into the Cecil B. Moore community, land grab and then take the profit they make out of the neighborhood they’ve decided to rename.

“For the community, it’s almost like the developers want to come in and erase the history that’s here.”

Temple spokesman Ray Betzner said the university is glad Google has done away with “TempleTown.”

“‘TempleTown’ was never anything that Temple University ever thought would be on a map. We certainly didn’t support it,” he said.

Betzner said former Temple President Peter Liacouras had a plan to add additional housing called “TempleTown” on the  school’s campus.

“It was purely designed as an on-campus community, and it began the evolution of Temple from being a largely commuter campus to being a much more residential community, which it is today,” he said.

Brown said the next step is to get Philadelphia City Council to name the area after Cecil B. Moore. That neighborhood, she said, would extend from Broad Street to 24th Street, and Girard to Susquehanna Avenue.

She hopes then Google will add that name to its maps.