Old timers have noticed that the contractor's building on Hanover Avenue transformed into a community center for Overlook Park. But only the oldest, or train buffs, realized that the building was the freight depot and office for the Lehigh & New England Railroad. Lehigh & New England was formed in 1895, primarily as a coal carrier. The line ran from Allentown to Maybrook, New York.
In 1904 it was acquired by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. The line ceased operation in 1961. Among it's infrastructure were impressive bridges across both the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers, both of which were dismantled. Ironic that a remnant of our industrial era is being utilized by the successor of a public housing project.
reprinted from February 17, 2011
It's a beautiful building and Overlook Park, with its traditional urban design, is a wonderful neighborhood that Allentown can be proud of. Just about a mile east is the City Center Northridge project site, a poorly designed suburban sprawl development that no one will be proud of. With massive groups of apartment blocks, sprawling medical office buildings and segregation of uses, Northridge looks like it was designed in the 1940s east block USSR. Hats off to the designers of Overlook Park, a new community that borrows all the designs of our favorite urban neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteOverlook park is very nice and seems to be maintaining its charm.
DeleteThe conceptual renderings of the State Hospital are indeed underwhelming so far.
While it would be great if the new northridge site were an architectural masterpiece, the truth with urban development is that in many cases you take what you can get. Developers can only build what banks determine to be feasible. In truth the Northridge master plan solves many of the issues posed with 70’s-200’s traditional suburban sprawl that is plaguing areas like Macungie and Whitehall. We take what we can get.
DeleteWhere exactly on Hanover Ave--when you crossed the Hamilton Street was it before the y curve going east about 4 blocks up Hanover ave.
ReplyDelete