Carman Tilelli Community Center - Cherry Hill, NJ
N 39° 55.594 W 075° 01.826
18S E 497399 N 4419607
This is my local community center located at the Cherry Hill Municipal building.
Waymark Code: WMBVY6
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 06/25/2011
Views: 4
Our building is somewhat odd as someone got it in their head to make a pseudo Greek Revival structure. Yup, we have columns out front and a pediment as well. According to the gray cornerstone, on the end of the building, a few feet off the ground and built into the brick, our center was erected in 1956. I believe this was here before the municipal building as we did not incorporate into a town into the mid 60s.
I went inside and I saw some shuffleboard areas, some card tables, bathrooms, a stage. During the Memorial Day celebration we had on May 30, it was open for people to go inside and eat and get out of the heat. We also do vaccination programs here, have lots for the seniors and the kids, to. it is well used. There are also community groups such as the West Jersey Rose Society which hold their monthly meetings here.
As far as the name of the person who the building honors is concerned, that is VERY confusing. From what I could read, the man's name, which was Carman Tilelli, was changed to Joey Giardello, a famous local boxer from Cherry Hill. He was born in 1930. He married Rosalie, won the world championship and moved his young family to Cherry Hill, where Rosalie still resides today with two of her four adult sons. Giardello passed away in 2008. Rosalie, Carman and her youngest son Steven still live two blocks away from Town Hall and the Community Center, renamed the Carman Tilelli Community Center in 2005 in Carmen’s honor. There is no reason why he changed his name or why his family has his real name including his son Carman, Jr. SOURCE