Neighborhood Around Temple University (Philadelphia, Allentown: credit, home, safe area)

[skyscraperboy93]

Well, today was the day that I went to the school. We came in from the north at first I was a little freaked out, it was different from what I am used to seeing in Boston. But we parked at a Temple lot on Broad Street, and decided to walk around the area. It wasn't that bad, after the official campus tour we continued exploring and I decided that the area wasn't horrendous, and that I kind of enjoyed it. We then took the subway downtown to explore there, and I loved it. All in all the trip to Philadelphia changed my whole view on the city and I am definitely considering the school. I will say the one thing that creeped me out was the old building on Broad Street with the sign "Divine Lorraine Hotel" But I can see that with just a little common sense the area will be just fine, even my father was convinced that I could handle the area. Thanks to everyone who replied.

[*Sweetkisses*]

^ Glad u made the trip out to take a look for urself. We told u it wasnt THAT bad! But yes u will see that downtown, Philly is very similar to Boston. Who knows if u decide to come here for school, u could hook up with a few forumers who can give u a real tour of the city.

[Marius Pontmercy]

Ahhh, the Divine Lorraine Hotel. Yeah, its like the unholy blight keystone on Fairmount Ave. If you go west down Fairmount you'll go through very good neighborhoods all the way to the Museum. The eastern end of Fairmount runs through the Northern Liberties, but the Divine Lorraine sits in a blighted patch right in the middle. There have been plans to rehab it into condos, and develop the vacant area around it, for years. I think they're finally going to turn it into housing for elderly folks.

[LibraGirl123]

Originally Posted by skyscraperboy93

I will say the one thing that creeped me out was the old building on Broad Street with the sign "Divine Lorraine Hotel"

A tad off-topic, but here's a Wikipedia article about the Divine Lorraine. Using Google, I'm sure you'll find lots more info, if you're interested. The sad thing is that when the Divine Lorraine was first built, it housed some of the wealthiest residents in Philadelphia.

Divine Lorraine Hotel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[skyscraperboy93]

Yes, I was looking up the Hotel and came across some of that interesting information. Its honestly a gorgeous building, but its a shame that it is in the state that it is in. I think that if there was money somewhere and effort it could be restored to some of its former glory. I wish that we had buildings in that style in my city, but sadly we only have abandoned buildings.

[eFalcone]

The Divine Lorraine has a bit of a cult following and that's why it hasn't been torn down yet. It's not uncommon for some Temple or UArts kids to talk about their journey to the top of the building. Even though it's abandoned people still go in.. so yeah, it's a but of a novelty to the area. As far as Temple's safety... stay on campus! Any block that is within the Temple boundaries (and you'll know when you go off of them) has a cop who sits in what is essentially a little box from evening til 5am. Housing off campus is not pretty. Most people have had their car broken into or have had some other negative experience. You are much better off moving off campus after your freshman or sophomore year to somewhere close to the Broad St. line (which will take you right to temple's stop). South Philly and Center City are both good options with great food and nightlife.

I currently go to Temple, so I know what's up.

[skyscraperboy93]

Thanks, I am now fascinated by the building and have been looking it up on the internet non-stop. I actually applied on monday to Temple, and now its a waiting game, and if i am accepted I am taking my mother to Philadelphia to see Temple, and show her the area, I think that as long as I use some common sense I should be okay. Hopefully I can convince her about Temple and I can get in, and everything works out.
I did ride the subway to center city, and I had nothing bad to say about the subway, it was just there, not too different from what I have seen in NYC and Boston.

[NJSeaStar]

I'm reading some of the older posts here about Temple U and the surrounding area. My daughter is interested in this school and we did visit in the spring 2011. The area surrounding Temple did look a bit sketchy but on campus we thought it was great. I'd like to hear from anyone who was attending recently about their experience, good or bad. For every person who tells us they were safe, loved it, etc there is another saying the truth is, you are trapped on campus because it is an unsafe city in general. Thanks for sharing opinions.

[JHG722]

Originally Posted by NJSeaStar

there is another saying the truth is, you are trapped on campus because it is an unsafe city in general.

That is utterly absurd. I'm a current Temple student and have never felt unsafe on campus. There is security and police everywhere. The campus is changing daily with $1.2 Billion+ in renovations ongoing. It's really going to be amazing in a few years.

[Marius Pontmercy]

Originally Posted by NJSeaStar

I'm reading some of the older posts here about Temple U and the surrounding area. My daughter is interested in this school and we did visit in the spring 2011. The area surrounding Temple did look a bit sketchy but on campus we thought it was great. I'd like to hear from anyone who was attending recently about their experience, good or bad. For every person who tells us they were safe, loved it, etc there is another saying the truth is, you are trapped on campus because it is an unsafe city in general. Thanks for sharing opinions.

I lived on campus for two years, then I moved downtown, first to Queen Village, now I live in Cedar Park. I never had any problems with my time on Temple's campus. It's actually probably one of the safest parts of the city. While I lived there I pretty much stayed on campus. If I went elsewhere in the city, I used the subway station at Cecil B. Moore on the BSL to go downtown. The neighborhood around the campus is varying degrees of sketchy. Some blocks are less bad than others, and many students do rent around the campus now. That said, there shouldn't be any reason to have to leave the campus unless its do go downtown, so as long as your daughter doesn't go wandering off into the ghetto, she'll be fine.