The Shoe giant Wetherhold & Metzger started in 1908 on Hamilton street's south side. When business began to prosper, they moved across to the more prominent north side of Hamilton Street. Their store at 719 Hamilton was recently demolished, along with most of Allentown's mercantile history. It was a two story store, with the children's department on the lower level. This post originally was scheduled for sometime in the future, and was to include a Buster Brown poster. Today's Morning Call has a story on the
mystery radium 226 found in the debris of the former buildings, and I thought perhaps the
molovinsky on allentown historical division could help. Wetherhold & Metzer's
downtown store was quite the adventure for a kid. In addition to your mother's money being transported away in a tube system like the bank drive-ups use today, you could look inside your shoes and see your feet.
Needless to say, eventually these
shoe fluoroscopes were banned, but for many years one stood in the lower level of 719 Hamilton Street. Many a child, including myself, saw our foot bones in our new Buster Browns. Wetherhold & Metzger also had an uptown store in the 900 block of Hamilton Street.
reprinted from September of 2012
My grandmother looked after Mrs Metzger for many years after her stroke in their big Tudor house on 28th street. I recall very fondly being taken there, as an 8 year old and seeing the old but lovely interior. One of the mamories that caused me to return to Allentown.
ReplyDeleteMy mom bought my shoes there loved the flouroscope & I bought many shoes there as an adult. Ah the good ole days in Atown before they ripped all the beautiful buildings down. SHAME
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