Apr 28, 2020

Allentown's First Black Bar


In a neighborhood that no longer exists, Allentown's first legal black liquor establishment had a short tortured run.

McLaughlin's Cafe was on the corner of Wire and Lehigh, at the bottom of the hill. Wire was the street that ran along the Wire Mill, another long forgotten part of Allentown's industrial history. By the mid 1950's, things were getting rough in the old bar. Police became a regular referee as fights and prostitution frequented the establishment. Finally the state liquor board decided to pull their license. 

The neighborhood had two complexions. There were the white descendants of the factory workers, and it also was the center of Allentown's small black population.

Hamp Webb was a popular figure in the black community. Just outside the straight and narrow, he was courted by the white officials for his influence with his community. Hamp operated unlicensed speakeasies with some success.

In the final days of McLaughlin's, they featured black entertainers from Philadelphia, and even referred to it as the Black & White Club. As McLaughlin's license was being revoked, he negotiated a sale to Hamp Webb.

The Morning Call reported that he fought to secure a license to provide a drinking establishment for his fellow Negroes, where they could congregate without being molested. After a court hearing, he was finally given the license in 1957, and Ham Webb Bar&Grill opened.

Hamp Webb was killed the following year in an automobile accident. While operation of the bar was taken over by his sons, they apparently didn't have local connections to deflect legal citations that came with operating a rough bar in a tough neighborhood. The property and license were liquidated at a tax sale in 1960.

2 comments:

  1. Joyce Coreen TibbettsSeptember 8, 2022 at 9:01 AM

    Hamp Webb was my grandfather. I want to thank you very much for this piece of history. I shared this information with his great great grandchildren. He passed when I was in first grade.(I believe) Anyway, he took in as a new born baby and provided care to me for months. Then again. I always wanted more of him. This article means a lot to me deep down inside. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  2. He is my Great Grand Father

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