Back in the day, when the town had three department stores, the major decisions affecting Allentown's future were made at the Livingston Club. Harvey Farr would meet Donald Miller and John Leh at the Club for lunch, and discuss acquiring more lots for Park & Shop. The bank officers of First National and Merchants Bank would discuss loans with the highly successful merchants, many of whom had stores in all three major Lehigh Valley cities. As the heydays wound down, likewise the exit plans were made there. The City of Allentown acquired the Park & Shop lots, becoming the Allentown Parking Authority. Leh's became the Lehigh County Government Center.
The new oligarchy consists of much fewer men, they could all meet at a small table in Shula's, and be entertained by watching street people arrested. The former 1st National Bank location is now a new Reilly building. The former Livingston Club building is now a parking lot, and future site to another Reilly building. Shula's is also a Reilly building....
reprinted from August of 2015
UPDATE: Dear readers, I found the demise of older Allentown depressing, and new Allentown painfully boring.... Shula's, referred to above, didn't last... of course referring to an alley as an Art Walk, didn't make it so. In spite of the Morning Call (now also a Reilly building) compromising its journalistic integrity to outright promote the NIZ district, it remains a sterile collection of new tasteless buildings.
I am not a pollster. But eveyone I ask tells me they enjoy visiting downtown Bethlehem. They enjoy the restaurants, the small shops, the oldest Bookstore, and the Hotel. That's a 100% positive poll.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, everyone I ask does not enjoy downtown Allentown. Some have tried a restaurant or two. But no one has mentioned enjoying walking around the downtown. That's 100% negative.
Again, not scientific, but definitely not just my opinion. Not even spending billions of dollars of other communities tax money has made downtown Allentown an enjoyable place to visit.
Sadly there is no light ahead under the present leadership.
ReplyDeleteray@6:18, after having experienced Pawlowski's arrogance and ambition for over a decade, I find the present leadership a welcome reprieve
ReplyDeleteIn the 1950's and 60's it was magical.
ReplyDelete"Not even spending billions of dollars of other communities' tax dollars has made Allentown an enjoyable place to visit."
ReplyDeleteSad but true. Anyone who patronizes downtown establishments on a regular basis knows this to be true, even if they typically flat out refuse to confirm as much in public for whatever political and/or reality-denying reasons undoubtedly exist.
I work in the city every single damn day. I spend my hard-earned money in the city every single damn day. Probably mostly because I continue to live in the city every single damn day, albeit hopefully for not too much longer.
Even when the great literary genius Bill White WAS working in the city, writing all those flowery and lovely NIZ pieces on behalf of his paymasters at The Morning Call, he still could NOT say he was actually living in the city every single damn day.
"Truth to power"???
Well, then, that famous heroic Socialist cultural folk musician Joe Walsh and I just want everyone to be able to keep things proper perspective, that's all.