Temple University

In the heart of North Philadelphia, Temple University has grown and grown. Spread over seven sites, Temple offers some 300 academic degrees and has over 37, 000 students. Rome, Tokyo, and London host Temple academic campuses.

Humble were the beginnings of Temple University in 1884. Founder Dr. Russell Conwell tutored working class students in the basement of Grace Baptist Church, which is how the name “Temple Owls” originated. “Acres of Diamonds” is a quotation from a speech by Dr. Russell Conwell which he delivered 5,000 times between 1900 and 1925. This quotation remains a cornerstone of the institution today. He believed that one should not search for value but cultivate the value within ones’ own backyard.

However, in the 1980s, the North Philadelphia took issue with the increasing encroachment into the community. John Street and his brother Milton Street were vendors at Temple University and galvanized the community concerning the increasing razing of homes and ensuing construction. John Street took law classes at Temple and during this time made a name demanding and negotiating concessions from Temple University for the right to increase their footprint. Eventually, John Street became the Mayor of Philadelphia and served for two terms. He lives in North Philadelphia today.

Transporation along Broad Street is excellent.

Temple University, also referred to as “Templetown,” is a neighborhood located in North Philadelphia. It is named After Temple University, one of the most well known schools in Pennsylvania. The area is bound by 17th Street to the west, West Susquehanna Avenue to the north, Oxford Street to the south and 12th Street to the east.
The area has a large population of both low income African Americans and students. It is a busy section of the city due to its close proximity with the university. There are a lot of affordable housing options including spacious three-story row homes, apartment complexes, condos, and also plenty of student housing.
Temple University isn’t the greatest area of the city. If you’re a student, it’s recommended that you don’t venture out at night by yourself. The stretch of the neighborhood that runs along Broad Street is one of the busier sections and offers a lot of shopping opportunities, bars and a huge movie theater.
Everything in Temple University is close together so getting from place to place by walking or biking is simple. There is also a lot of public transportation options in this section of Philadelphia so getting to other parts of the city is also easy.

The neighborhood of Temple University is dominated by, well, Temple University which is an extremely large school with over 30,000 students. Everything that you really need in this area is on the campus, venturing any further in either direction is ill advised as North Philadelphia is not the safest part of the city.
Most of the residents in the neighborhood are college students so expect the local establishments to be filled with them as well. Really, if you are not attending school here you are probably not going to want to live in this neighborhood. If you do plan to attend school or just visit, Temple University has a lot of live events at Liacouras Center; the university’s theatre program also holds performances throughout the season. And the Wagner Free Institute of Science is also located on the campus as well
Any parking that is available is usually snatched up pretty quickly by students and faculty of Temple but the Broad street line runs directly to the University as do several buses. It is also relatively easy to bike through if you don’t want to take public transportation.
Outside of activities that are not related to Temple University there is not much going on. The school has everything cornered in this area and as an alumnus of the school I can say there is enough there to consume you, you just have to look.