Parkway's Keystone Deteriorating

When the wall along the entrance road to Lehigh Parkway collapsed, the entrance had to be closed, until they could construct a new wall. The closure wasn't because of the missing upper portion acting as a guard rail, it was because of the lower portion, which was a retaining wall holding up the roadway itself. In the mid 1930's, the road was built by the WPA, by cutting into the side of a steep ravine leading down to the Little Lehigh Creek. It was essential to shore up the exposed side of the road with a wall.

Halfway down the road is the centerpiece we call the Double Stairway. Steps from two sides lead down from the road, to the bridle path and creek below. Although very architectural, it too is an elaborate retaining structure for the road. This architectural masterpiece is in structural jeopardy. Although the vertical walls are in decent shape, the problem is the landings, both at the top and down each set of stairs. These flats surfaces have degraded, and water is seeping down into the steps below, undermining the structure from within.

The Double Stairway was designed in 1928 by one of the leading landscape architects in the United States. He was commissioned to design this masterpiece by General Harry Trexler. The stock crash of 1929 and the Great Depression put off the construction until Roosevelt's New Deal in 1935, when the WPA utilized the blueprints.

Allentown could never afford to create such an icon now, nor can we afford to lose it from neglect.

reprinted periodically since 2010

UPDATE OCTOBER 25, 2019: Although the years have passed, and now I even have a good rapport with the current mayor and park director,  the stair landings still have not been repaired and continue to deteriorate.  Worse yet, it is my understanding that there is money in the budget for the repair, but it is being delayed to study the problem. The previous administration studied the entrance wall, until it collapsed. What these stairs need is less study and some immediate attention from a masonry contractor.

UPDATE AUGUST 6, 2021: The study was completed, and the Trexler Trust paid to have the vertical walls of the structure repointed, but the problem landings remain in their deteriorated condition. This is the equivalent of painting the walls of a house, while ignoring a leaking roof. On a positive note, the remaining entrance wall, from the double stairwell down to the Robin Hood Bridge, is being repointed. It is my hope that the park department has the sense to repair the landings.  The landings and steps have further deteriorated, approaching being a hazard.

photocredit:molovinsky