Apr 10, 2018

Stairway To Shame


In the mid 1930's, Allentown, and especially its park system, was endowed with magnificent stone edifices, courtesy of the WPA; Works Progress Administration. This was a New Deal program designed to provide employment during the aftermath of the depression. Stone masons from all over the country converged on this city and built structures which are irreplaceable. The walls and step structures in Lehigh Parkway, as the Union Terrace amphitheater, are legacies which must be protected. Pictured above is the grand stairway from Lawrence Street (Martin Luther King Drive) up to Jackson Street, built in 1936. The steps are in a state of disrepair. They lead to the great Jackson Street Retaining Wall, thirty feet high and two blocks long, which was completed in 1937. I call upon the Trexler Trust and Allentonians of memory, to insist these steps are re-pointed and preserved. The current Administration knows little of our past.  It's important to save the things in Allentown that matter.

The City of Allentown is embarking upon a $3.8 million dollar capital plan to change the nature of our parks, funded in large part by the Trexler Trust. Although a number of fads will be accommodated, not one dollar is earmarked to preserve the existing WPA treasures. General Trexler envisioned the parks as a reserve for the passive enjoyment of nature. Among the new Disney-World type plans are a wedding pavilion in the Rose Garden, and the largest playground in eastern Pennsylvania to be built in Cedar Park. The trail through Cedar Creek Park will have lights installed, and the picnic areas will be expanded. Anybody driving past Cedar Beach on a Monday morning sees the trash generated currently by only a few picnic tables. How many more park workers will be required to deal with the consequences of these new plans? The playground is being billed as a "Destination Playground", who will pay to keep that clean? Allentown should build and monitor numerous playgrounds throughout center city, within walking distance for children and parents. The Trexler Trust and The City of Allentown have a responsibility to first repair and maintain these iconic stone edifices which are unique to Allentown.

photo info: the dedication stone is on the Union Street wall. The steps shown in the photo here go through a tunnel in the wall and climb up to Spring Garden Street. They are in total disrepair. This posting is a combination of two previous posts, which appeared on this blog last September.

above reprinted from June of 2015 and years earlier

UPDATE APRIL 10, 2018: My campaign to save the WPA structures has been on going  for over a decade. About 10 years ago, I organized meetings at the library to bring attention to the neglect inflicted upon these structures. In the process I tutored Karen El-Chaar, from Friends Of The Parks, on the issues. She then was able to obtain a grant from the Trexler Trust,  and repoint the Fountain Park Steps. I organized efforts to dig out and reveal the WPA Spring Pond and Boat Landing, both of which were discarded decades earlier. Because of the neglect, the Lehigh Parkway wall collapsed, but has since been partially rebuilt, to allow use of the entrance road into the park. In cooperation with Friends Of The Parks,  I conducted tours of Lehigh Parkway, featuring its history and WPA structures. During the Pawlowski regime I offered my advice to City Council on the traditional park system and WPA, but it was rejected.  I again make the same offer to Mayor O'Connell and the new administration.

7 comments:

  1. As a former football player at Allen and Lehigh University I ran up and down those steps for conditioning. At that time, [in the early 70's], the steps were mostly intact and the vegetation was controlled by the Parks department.

    Sad to say that outsiders, who come into Allentown for City jobs, do not recognize these timeless pieces of art and they will not help to restore them. To them I guess it is an eyesore and doesn't deserve restoration. Very sad.

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  2. fire@8:20, this post essentially was written in 2008. As i indicated in the addendum, the steps are currently in the best shape they have been in for 20 years, having been repointed three years ago. that work resulted from my schooling Karen El-Chaar of Friends of The Parks, who in turn received the grant from Trexler Trust.

    Hopefully, O'Connell will instruct the Park Department to start spending at least a small portion of their budget on the structures.

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  3. I lived in Allentown for 30 years and never knew the staircase existed.Thanks for Your blog for bringing this treasure to my attention

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  4. william@10:09, there were two major industries there in the little lehigh ravine, Traylor engineering and MacK Truck. Hundreds of men from the center city rowhouses would use those steps twice a day to go to and from work.

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  5. "Michael I walk these stairs several times a week and have told the city about the sad plight of them. There on a middle level is a 8 to ten foot broken tar path way. Garbage is abound all along it as you climb. Two 8 by 4 by 10 ft. beams are at the top leading to a homeless encampment. The view from S 10th as you approach the stairs is an embarrassment to the City of Allentown . When you call the city and tell them if this was private property there would be code violations and sweep violations they placate you. By the way Michael this piece of Allentown History was on my to do list had I been appointed Mayor. My grandson age 4 has even critiqued the issues on these steps and shakes his little head that nothing has been done ! If a child sees it and knows what has to be done why doesn't the senior aged leadership of Allentown. I guess its truth to "and the children shall lead them" Good job Michael,thank you." Rev Everett E/ Erika Lynn Bickford aka Woman in The Know

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  6. Wow, amazing historical reporting.

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