In the 1930's, the "New Deal" was good to Allentown. As I noted on earlier posts, our park system was enriched by monumental stone construction under the WPA. We also received one of the architectural gems of our area, the magnificent art deco post office. Constructed during 1933-34, no detail was spared in making the lobby an ageless classic. The floor is adorned with handmade Mercer tiles from Doylestown. Muralist Gifford Reynolds Beal worked thru 1939 portraying the Valley's cultural and industrial history. This incredible 74 year old photograph is the contractor's documentation of the project's progress. The back of the photo states; Taken Sept 1 - 34 showing lobby, floor, screens, desks, completed & fixtures hung
Reprinted from Oct. 25, 2008
ADDENDUM JUNE 20, 2023:The post office, although an art deco masterpiece, remains for sale. Already the manificent lamp posts by the left front entrance have been looted. While Reilly's City Center Real Estate has purchased and demolished dozens of buildings on Hamilton Street, neither he nor other developers apparently have any interest in city architecture or history. Reilly has already built $One Billion dollars worth of tasteless buildings with our diverted state taxes. Allow me to also publicly criticize the Lehigh County Historical Society, Old Allentown Preservation, The Morning Call, Mayor Tuerk and the Allentown Art Museum for their silence on this crime against our local history.
Please share the history of what many are calling swastikas on the floor of the post office
ReplyDeleteThe swastika symbol for centuries has been a symbol of good fortune. It was adopted as the symbol of the German National Socialists after the party was formed after World War I. Unfortunately the legacies of World War II have turned it today into an undesirable symbol in the West.
DeleteAs the Post Office was built before World War II, it was included in its interior as a good luck symbol. It should be noted that the swastika symbol is still viewed in Japan and other Eastern cultures in its traditional form as a good luck symbol as well
anon@7:34: That is an age old design appearing throughout history in many different cultures, including Native Americans. In the post office it has no connection to Germany.
ReplyDeleteSadly, this beautiful building is extremely vulnerable. The paintings are in such sad shape due to decades of open-doors on to the exhaust and dirt from Hamilton Street. (They aren’t murals, they are stretched canvases made to fit each of the spaces.) The paintings were not part of the WPA but rather the Treasury Department as documented in The Archive of America Art of the Smithsonian. The lobby is not air-conditioned or humidity controlled. The sorting room floor isn’t prime for renovation due to the support posts that hold up the roof. The symbols used on both the interior and exterior are quite unique and predate ww2, the American Eagle’s wing position is much different than used following ww2. Unfortunately the building needs a savior with deep pockets and some interest in local architecture. I don’t see any evidence of that on Hamilton Street. It is a shame that the art museum or the historical society won’t join forces over this beautiful building, but their fiefdoms have their own problems.
ReplyDeleteIt will take a tremendous amount of money to modify the interior of the Post Office for business use. It could have a use for legal offices, as its proximity to both the federal and county court house. I suspect however, the land on which it is situated is worth more than the structure. It is likely to suffer the fate of the 1915 courthouse at 6th and Turner and be torn down and replaced with some steel and glass structure.
ReplyDeleteNot being from Allentown or the local area, I suspect Mayor Turek has little interest in historical preservation. All one has to do is look at the Parkway as the western half from Bogart's Bridge east to the Little Lehigh is essentially not, or minimally maintained by the Parks Department. Another example was his inaction to keep the Liberty Bell Shrine in Zion's Church, The Post Office is from Allentown's past, not of today and he likely will do nothing to stop its likely demolition and redevelopment
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts of the three cities- Allentown likes to tear things down, Bethlehem has preserved, and Easton, a combination. Too bad. Look at the condition of Bogarts Bridge. If only they would have kept it painted over the years.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yet again, I ask the question: where is the Trexler Trust money going???... remember, the outfit tasked with preserving the parks, one of the General's greatest legacies to our (once great- now long failed) city??? (OR, am I all wet???)
ReplyDeleteYes, a little paint goes a long way... I noticed some boards are rotting off the bridge. Growing up, the bridge was always well maintained... but I digress...
It's a shame that people don't care about the past.Building were made to last but we'll see what happens to the cheap garbage that crumbles in the next 10 to 25 years in what was Allentown .
ReplyDelete