Jun 29, 2009

Swing Low Sweet Chariot


Not that long ago, faith based volunteers from our All American City*, would congregate to bus south and help in impoverished towns. This past week, 250 volunteers came here to Allentown from North Carolina, how low and how quickly have we sunk. In 1953 Hamilton Street teemed with shoppers and the hit song was "Doggie In The Window". Now our Community Development is reduced to displaying art in empty storefront windows and abandoned pit bulls roam the city terrorizing residents. Our City is being governed by bureaucrats who are non-natives of the area, using resume building formula's which discard our history and traditions, even the iconic Park System is being revised. If this community was indeed progressing by any realistic criterion, I would relegate my regrets to the memory file and wish them well.

All American City: A designation given to those cities with a high quality of life.

photo from The Morning Call

Jun 26, 2009

Sign Of The Times


The new sign at Cedar Beach is about where the entrance will be for the new "Destination Playground". I think the park plan and the sign have much in common; they're both high tech and flimsy. Although printed on a fiberboard, the frame is reinforced to withstand a storm. Looking at it, I though of the Carly Simon song, You're So Vain; I suppose it was ordered before my bitching, but it does say fast sign on back. It was pricey, complete with photo images. It says the plans were made with extensive public input. (sorry, the sign is so new and shiny my camera flash bounced off those words) Considering they wanted "extensive public input" before the design, they should not mind some scrutiny now.
The sign is about 6 by 10 ft.
click on image to enlarge

Jun 22, 2009

A Week Too Long


These disposable table cloths were left on the Cedar Beach picnic tables on June 13. By tuesday the 16th, I began to wonder how long they would stay there? Although the trash can nearby was emptied on regular basis throughout the week, the cloths remained as a flag on relevant questions about the new park plan. How can the City really create maintenance intensive new park features when they apparently cannot handle the existing work load? Yesterday, eight days later, a park volunteer finally removed these eyesores.

Addendum: I have corrected the dates

Jun 21, 2009

The Unhappy Camper


One of the reoccurring themes on this blog is the unlevel playing field called Allentown. While one merchant is given a buffet of incentives, the rest struggle to pay their taxes, subsidizing their competition. Have you seen the commercial where one little girl is given a small toy pony, and the other a real one? The narrator says even children know when things aren't fair.

The dinner shown, at 9th and Linden, first was victimized by Allentown and Lanta doing away with the bus transfer stops. Add a few over zealous Parking Authority tickets and the city promotion of the chosen ones, low and behold, an unhappy camper. This dinner used to be a half block closer to Hamilton, right behind the PPL tower, before they built the annex. The dinner was moved in about 1970.

Jun 18, 2009

The General Gently Weeps


I, Harry C. Trexler declare this to be my last Will and Testament:
......into the Treasury of the City of Allentown, for the perpetual maintenance of said Park, (Trexler) as well as the Greenhouse thereon located. This bequest shall include all the plants and other contents of said Greenhouse (1929)

The City of Allentown was granted permission to demolish the Greenhouse by the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas in about 1995, obviously with the compliance of the Trexler Trust at that time.

Although the will provides to improve and maintain the parks, nothing remotely refers to recreation. We know that if the General had his druthers, he would prefer a Greenhouse over a destination playground.

Jun 17, 2009

A Hole Too Deep


This photo is a metaphor for the Park Plan. It shows that they dug the hole too deep and too fast, and are undermining the structure. (photo shows eastern end of pond, several bottom stones have already fallen along the southern side of the pond) A comment on the previous post mentions the lost of the Trexler Greenhouse. It shows what can happen when the Trexler Trust, for one reason or another, doesn't exert itself in the best interest of the parks. Today I imposed upon Park and Recreation Director, Greg Weitzel, for a short meeting. He is enthusiastic about improving the park system and the recreation venues within. My vision for the parks is totally different; I see maintaining the existing features as the highest goal. I see additional facilities as an imposition on something which was perfected years ago. Today I noticed that several flower beds in the old fashion garden have been planted in grass; it makes one wonder what will happen in the future, if and when city finances and the Trexler Trust, no longer wish to finance the on going upkeep for the new playground, pavilions and other aspects of this comprehensive makeover? Besides this destination playground, how do you feel about changes in the rose gardens? How do you feel about the new pavilions toward Cedar Crest College and the lighted walkways? Mr. Weitzel and I also disagree about the amount of public input these plans received. Although meetings may have been held, how much of Allentown was actually represented? Construction began today on the ponds; pond #1, shown in photo, is having the stones cleaned in preparation for stone masons.

ADDENDUM: Opening at top of wall in photo is supposed to be there, it is the spillway which takes the water from the last
pond back to the creek

Greg Weitzel, although aware that I am a critic of the park plan, was both courteous and forthright when I
imposed on him this morning.

Jun 16, 2009

Out To Fib


To those of us somewhat familiar with free-standing stone construction, the above photograph was alarming. The lower right hand corner clearly shows that the unseen pond on the right was under-dug, threatening the bridge integrity. Although the bridge structure has some mortar, the pond walls are free-standing. It gets worse. Yesterday's article in the Morning Call on the park plans was disappointing. The reporter chose to ignore the fact that there is growing opposition to those plans, and that many informed people believe the plans are detrimental to the parks. It gets much worse. Today I visited the ponds to inspect the progress; the reporter was told (last week) that the ponds would be refilled within a month. No work, what- so- ever, has been performed on the walls. I learned that the bidding process for such work has not even been completed. The ponds, because of the weather, are again partially filled. It is my hope that the ponds survive this so called " improvement". It is apparent to me that this park/recreation director is obsessed with recreation plans, but in way over his head in regard to safe guarding the gems of Allentown, the parks themselves. The reporter was clearly mislead in regard to the ponds being completed. Likewise, the Trexler Trust has comprised its long term reputation by placing blind faith in these plans. It's bad enough that the pond job is still out to bid, it's worse when officials are out to fib.

Jun 14, 2009

Supermarket Comes To Boom Town


The concrete monolith still stands five stories above Lehigh Street at the Parkway Shopping Center. Currently it sports a clock and a sign for St. Luke's medical offices. It was built in 1953 as the modernistic sign tower for Food Fair supermarket, which then was a stand alone store. Behind it, on South 12th Street was the Black and Decker Factory. The shopping center would not be built to decades later, connecting the former supermarket to the bowling alley built in the 60's. Food Fair was started in the 1920's by Russian immigrant Samuel Friedland in Harrisburg. By 1957 he had 275 stores. 1953 was a rough year for the butcher, baker and candle stick maker; the huge supermarkets were too much competition, even for the bigger independent markets, such as Lehigh Street Superette; it was further east on Lehigh, now the site of a Turkey Hill Market. The sign tower also remains at the 15th and Allen Shopping center, which was another stand alone Food Fair. That parcel remains an independent supermarket. Food Fair would eventually absorb Penn Fruit, which had a market on N. 7th Street, then turn into Pantry Pride. When the Food Fair was built, there was as yet no 15th Street Bridge. Allentown only connected to the south side by the 8th Street Bridge and the Lehigh/Union Street hill. (stone arch bridge, near Regency Tower, was route to West End) Allentown was booming and Mack Trucks were rolling off the line, a block east off Lehigh Street, as fast as they could build them. The factories on S. 12th st. are now flea markets. Mack Headquarters is being sold to a real estate developer. Perhaps those concrete monoliths are the monuments to better times, by those of us who remember.

OPEN MIKE


This posting is intended to provide an opportunity to comment on any topic, or on an earlier posting.

Jun 12, 2009

Crimes Of Lanta


NEW IMPROVED VERSION
Regular readers of this blog know I don't think much of Lanta. A couple years ago when they decided to sacrifice the Hamilton Street merchants for their own agenda, I got involved with that cause. Their board of directors is a case study in bureaucratic aloofness. From a alternative transportation idealist (currently not serving) to a professional politician in training, every wrong interest is represented, but the common shmo* who rides the bus out of economic necessity. The shmo used to be able to do his shopping, or fill his prescription, between buses on Hamilton Street. He now has been restricted to sitting on a cold bench or eating a stale donut while he waits. But there's big news for the shmo. Lanta has $9.3 million dollars in Stimulus money and now is squandering two of it on a GPS system. They refer to it as a "Monumental Step" toward improving conditions for bus passengers. Although the buses already have radio systems and cell phones for emergency communication, now Lanta will know where each bus is at every moment. Because the buses are on a fixed route with well publicized schedules, this is sort of like putting GPS on a children's ride at the fair which goes around in a circle.

This system will be monitored by the same guy who watches Allentown's crime cameras. He will take a taxicab back and forth between Lanta and Police headquarters. Back to the shmo; while waiting on the bench he will able to see a screen telling him where his bus is now, reducing his anxiety and improving his mental health. Lanta's buying these devices from a small company in State College, on a single bid. A review of their web site, between the lines, indicates they do not manufacture these devices. Can you take Chinese at Allen High? One would think with $7.3 million left over, Lanta might find an alternative to tearing down that baseball field.

* hapless victim of circumstance

Jun 10, 2009

Preaching To The Choir


Yesterday, Rendell came to Bethlehem to squeeze the udders of our new cash cow, The Sands Casino. Somehow, through interior design, this money vacuum cleaner is portrayed as having something to do with the former occupant of that parcel, Bethlehem Steel, which actually produced something. Already, we are being primed for table games; their fear is that some people may still have some money left when they leave the parking deck to go home. On the way to the ribbon cutting and his free steak dinner, Bam, he stopped to stroke Renew Lehigh Valley, progressive advocates for regionalism. The sermon was that somehow they and Rendell have a plan to save us money, down the line, by consolidating water systems and avoiding repetition of capital expenses in projected upgrades; and of course they would do all of this, cognizant of "smart growth". Last year, a chemical truck overturned on the turnpike entrance and contaminated a nearby well, one source of South Whitehall's water. Fortunately, our current "dumb growth" still had additional sources. By their recommendations, Trexlertown and Fogelsville could look forward to Allentown's fluoridated water. Now only if those old Dutchmen still had their baby teeth, the fluoride might have done them some good.

UPDATE: NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION

Jun 7, 2009

Allentown Baseball Ephemera


In early August of 1942, Alvin Butz attempted to prevail on the Detroit Tigers minor league team not to cancel their scheduled game with The Allentown Wings, minor league team of the St. Louis Cardinals. The game was supposed to be played on August 26th on Fairview Field, currently known as Bicentennial Park. Mr. Butz was president of the ballclub at that time and was also a major contributor of the current stadium built in 1975.

click on letter to enlarge

Jun 6, 2009

If Cows Could Talk


If this cow could talk, she would tell you she was made by Greg Weaver in about 1980. Although his wife Fran worked at Bethlehem Steel, most likely Greg secured the steel from one of two scrap yards on Sumner Ave, which graciously tolerated his foraging excursions. Most likely the cow was cut and welded at his Allen Street studio, just west of 9th Street. The building was an old wooden barn type structure, owned by Fred P. Kistler, and no longer exists. (it's a few parking spaces now) Fred didn't get much rent, but he does have some nice Weaver artwork. I recall gathering in the rose garden to celebrate the installation. I repeated the phrase "most likely" because the details blur with time, worse, too many of us there are no longer. The photo was taken by Andrew Kleiner and published on his blog, Remember.

RETRACTION; THERE WAS 'SOMETHING' THAT BOTHERED ME. THE COW IS VERY WEAVERISH, I REMEMBER HE PREVAILED ON THE PARK DIRECTOR FOR A LONG TIME FOR PERMISSION, I REMEMBER THE GATHERING, BUT, I DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY REMEMBER THE COW. I CONTACTED AN ASSOCIATE OF THAT ERA, AND HE TELLS ME THAT GREG INSTALLED A FLOWER SCULPTURE THAT DAY, AND LATER A GATE PIECE. I LEAVE THE POST, AND I BELIEVE THOSE OF US WHO KNEW GREG AND HIS WORK WILL THINK OF HIM WHEN THEY SEE THAT COW.

Jun 3, 2009

Baseball Memoirs


Bob Lamson saved the newspaper clipping all these years. On Oct. 31, 1975, The Morning Call reported that $200,000 had been raised to built the stadium. Times were different then, there were no KOZ's or cardboard checks from professional politicians. Bob is now 77, he played for the Patriots, and knocked on doors for two years to help build Bicentennial Park. Much of the construction was done by Vo-Tech instructors and students, who donated countless hours of their time. Contributors included the community leaders of their era; Van Schiver, Alvin Butz, and former Mayor Hock. The stadium opened in 1976 to host the National Fast Pitch Softball Tournament. Where will the plaque of contributors to Bicentennial end up thirtyfour years later; at a scrap dealer? Does Lanta really need the space, or does Allentown need the money? Would people again contribute their sweat equity, to build a field of dreams, only to see it torn down by a politician's fast pitch?