1951 was a good year for Allentown. Industry found the combination of location and work ethic conducive to production. Western Electric had built their new plant on Union Boulevard in 1948. General Electric joined Mack Trucks on the south side. General MacArthur himself visited the fair that year. Hamilton Street benefited from a retail genius, Max Hess. When the Allentown High basketball team won the state championship that year, the celebration took place late that night, at 7th and Hamilton. Although Lehigh Valley Diary was built in the late 1940's, there was very little way out on 7th Street. The Allentown Cardinals played at the stadium, Breadon Field, now occupied by the Lehigh Valley Mall.
In 1951 Mayor Donald Hock was considering leveling some buildings in order to build parking lots for the retail stores in downtown (these later became Park and Shop) but was criticized unmercifully by Molovinsky's grandfather in letters to the editor of the Evening Chronicle.
ReplyDelete(just kidding and I am gary ledebur, sorry scott for not using my name._
Sinking feeling the Soldiers Monument will be gone if the arena goes in.
ReplyDeleteThe monument, yes.
ReplyDeleteIt will be replaced by a likeness of King Koopa, I'm sorry I meant to say Eminent Domain ED.
Well I guess we all know King Koopa's, I mean Ed's, way to get rid of crime in Allentown, economic ethnic cleansing, darn I meant displacement.
I keep slippin up on my language today.
MM's post should be converted to a tv commercial for all the current population of the Lehigh Valley to see. Too many have no clue about how nice Allentown was in the post-war years. This, by the way, is the time in American history that the 60s generation (mine) ridiculed as 'boring.' Bring on more boring.
ReplyDeletemy2037
"Bring on more boring."
ReplyDeleteThis 'Lemme Get' Generation generates nothing of any value.
I offer American Idol as Exhibit A.
The self-serving Bureaucrats they elect generate nothing, either.
I offer their stewardship of a nation that just raised it's debt ceiling to 16.7 TRILLION as Exhibit B.
The Lemme Getters are dumber than dirt in spite of how much money they continuously pour down the Education drain.
The Bureaucrats are busy building playgrounds both large and small.
It's NOT a Wonderful Life here in The City With No Limits.
ANN B. ONYMOUS
They will replace the monument with a statue of the "GREAT" Mayor ed pawlawski, It's a shame what has happened to this once great city- Hess's gone Mack trucks - gone Western Electric - gone all of which employed many people at one time and what have we got now? Maybe a hockey arena that a few brave souls not afraid to risk injury to attend in downtown, well we're living here in Allentown and palawski's closing the merchants down......
ReplyDeleteBoring is good for the soul.
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe that some posters here continue to blame the bureaucrats when big business, who really runs this country, ships jobs oversees and shuts down plants here. The naive blame who they can see and they cannot see very far.
ReplyDelete10:44 - I could not agree more.
ReplyDeleteThere is no industry left. Consequently there are fewer and fewer jobs of substance from which individuals can support a home and family.
Also you will find in the Lehigh Valley some of our most esteemed corporations are systematically getting rid of older employees. Instead they are focusing on a much younger, less experienced, but most of all, cheaper work force.
Lower salaries, less benefits, fewer family health plans and relatively fewer health issues.
In the name of the bottom line, many organizations both profit and non profit have turned against the people that support them the most.
In health care, non profit is an oxymoron. The abuses of this status are rampant and can be seen at either 17th & Hamilton and Cedar Crest and I78.
Such a waste, while so many still cannot get health care or are subject to inferior health care.
Pawlowski did not handle the earthquake well. Was he on vacation? What a waste of an opportunity.
ReplyDeleteAugust 23, 2011 10:44 AM
ReplyDeleteAugust 23, 2011 12:51 PM
I'll bet neither of you have a business! It's mostly the bureaucrats that drove out business by over taxing and over regulation. Then there is the crime factor, much of it being produced by the democrat created welfare society thinking they should own everything they want. If they don't get what they want for free, they just take it! Now that the dems have created a monster they can no longer control, they want to "renew" Allentown in the hopes that the poor will move elsewhere. Yet, they keep welfare entitlements alive to get votes.
Keep blaming the business people and there won't be any business left! Bureaucrats don't create wealth or jobs, business does! Why is that so difficult for liberals to understand?
Stealth.
Great picture Mike. Is that store (Koch) the site of the present bank? (formerly 1st National?)
ReplyDeleteNote the reference to Community Chest along the top.
VOR
yes, that's the site of the current monument center building, formally the first national bank. it's getting increasingly difficult to use older photographs, because few have a frame of reference. consequently, i mostly use only those from the late 1940's onward, although even that's probably too old. glad you enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteA pretty good set of photos from the MC.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-historichamilton-111109-pg,0,967172.photogallery