Denton officials renamed the Civic Center to the Quakertown Civic Center and the city's day labor site to the Popo Gonzalez Day Labor Site following unanimous approval from city council at a Feb. 3 meeting.
Some background
City documents show council member Vicki Byrd submitted a proposal to rename the civic center in February 2024 in honor of the former Quakertown residents.
The building sits on land that once held Quakertown, a Black community that was forcibly relocated by the local government in the 1920s to create a park and distance the community from College of Industrial Arts, now Texas Woman’s University.
City documents state nearly 70 homes and dozens of businesses were torn down or forcibly relocated.
“Please consider this as a token of appreciation to the ancestors of the Quakertown citizens that continue to persevere and thrive in Denon,” Byrd wrote in the 2024 proposal.
What they’re saying
Former chair of the Denton Parks and Recreation Board Frances Punch spoke in support of the name change.
“Renaming the Civic Center to Quakertown Civic Center will provide the historical recognition to preserve the legacy that Quakertown deserves,” Punch said.
What else?
Council members also approved a name change for the day labor site located at 301 Fort Worth Drive. The site will be called the Popo González Day Labor Site, named after Emilio “Popo” González, a founding member of Denton’s first League of United Latin American Citizens.
González also worked with the city to create the day labor site, which started construction in 1996, according to city documents.
Former TWU and University of North Texas Professor Dr. Rudy Rodríguez originally submitted the name change request in August 2024.
“Popo would actually have his personal phone number on the emergency signs there at the day labor center, so when you call the number, it was Popo’s number,” council member Brian Beck said. “That’s just the sort of relationship [he] had with the community.”
One more thing
The city of Denton’s website currently refers to the Civic Center as the Quakertown Civic Center.
