Back in the day, the titans of Allentown would fill the five barberchairs of the Colonial Barbershop, 538 Hamilton Street. That was when the town had three department stores. That was when Wetherhold and Metzger had two shoe stores on Hamilton Street. That was when Harvey Farr would meet Donald Miller and John Leh at the Livingston Club for lunch, and discuss acquiring more lots for Park & Shop. By 1995 all that was gone, but Frank Gallucci, 82, would still give some old timers a trim. The Colonial Barbershop property, closed for many years, has been purchased by J.B. Reilly. It is my pleasure to present this previously unseen portrait of Gallucci, toward the end of his career.
photocredit:molovinsky
reprinted from September of 2017
Great photo of Frank. As a very young Investment Banker and Real Estate Developer with an office in the 500 block of Linden Street, I used to get my haircut at the Colonial Barber Shop. It was great, you could get a haircut, shave and have your shoes shined all in the same place. While I certainly wasn't in the same league with Harvey Farr and Donald Miller I saw them frequently at the Livingston Club for lunch. I had the very good fortune to work with Don Miller and Phil Berman on the development of the Allentown Hilton Hotel and Conference Center while working at the Allentown Economic Development Corporation. Great memories, thanks for sharing them, Michael.
ReplyDeleteTony Hanna
Mr. Molovinsky,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy when you post this article. I always admire the picture. Being a barber in a former life, I must comment how much that barbershop, from an equipment aspect, is the Cadillac of barbershops. I was never inside of that shop; admired it from the locked doors and windows of outside. The shoeshine chairs and all of those matching stations were fabulous. That shop would be today's version of a Taj Mahal. I often wonder what happened to the equipment in that shop. I can't imagine the price of building a shop like that with all of the tile, plumbing, electric, and equipment costs. Better times and great memories. alex joseph.