Closing The Monument Building

One morning in early July of 2008, code enforcement descended upon the Monument Building like a swat team. Every officer, in every department in the city entered the building at the same time, and spread out looking for every possible violation. Under the previous owner, the same conditions with the same tenants, were lauded as a rebirth. Whatever motivated Pawlowski to pull the plug on the new owner, the tenants were lightweights, of no consequence. At that time myself and few other malcontents, like Lou Hershman, would gather very early in the morning for coffee at Jerry's Cafe, located on the first floor. The building had begun it's life as the 1st National Bank. After being closed for many years, it reopened as Corporate Center. The new buyer renamed it Monument Building. 645 Hamilton Street will now be torn down, to be replaced by J.B. Reilly's Two City Center. This series tells the story of the little people, who were disposed of along the way. Below reprinted from July 2008
The current issue of Lehigh Valley Latino Magazine contains greetings and congratulations from Mayor Ed Pawlowski, complete with his official photograph and the City Seal. The Magazine, along with 5 other minority businesses are being forced out of 645 Hamilton Street, with the city now telling the Morning Call they're just unlicensed nobody's. In April, Pawlowski wrote "I want to thank Valley Latino TV Show and Magazine for keeping the Latino community informed. Your dedicated effort shows a deep commitment...congratulations... I wish you great success!" This week the mobile cords from the Latino TV Show stage lighting were misrepresented as extension cords by the city. Along with the magazine and television studio, a graphic art designer, a festival promoter, and a security company were displaced. You won't hear them complain, they're being assisted and relocated by city hall. reprinted from July 2008