The photo shown above appeared on a local nostalgia group. Someone asked, with a Pennsylvania Dutch name no less, where the photo was taken, nothing looked familiar to them. As a local historian and critic of the new Allentown, I found the question very disturbing.
The photo for the most part shows the previous buildings going up from Linden toward Hamilton. They have been replaced by the Strata apartments. Across Linden Street, those buildings have been replaced by the Hive apartments. Whole blocks in the NIZ district contain very few of the buildings there until recently. The whole square arena block only has two original buildings.
If this wholesale demolition of the former mercantile district is a positive or negative depends on your point of view. To my aesthetics, we now have a new urban office park pretty much devoid of architectural merit. Others see old decrepit buildings replaced with new and useful potential.
Is that Hieney's pet shop in the photo above or am I seeing things? Hess's also had a pet shop if I'm not suffering attack of alzheimers.
ReplyDeleteAlthough for some reason, that infamous 7-11 at 7th and Linden still remains standing. The north side of the 700 block of Linden has the old telephone exchange building. That must be too difficult to tear down due to the large number of land telephone lines with wires into the building
ReplyDeleteI'm confused. I don't recall that many retail businesses on any side street off of Hamilton. Also, if I'm standing on Linden looking up toward Hamilton, I don't recall seeing a church with a cross on the steeple. ?????
ReplyDeleteAnon@10:46: The photo is looking from Hamilton down to Linden. That block had businesses on both sides of 7th street. Furthermore, there were businesses off of Hamilton in both directions, towards Linden and Walnut Sts., between 4th and 10th Streets.
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