During the early 1970's, Allentown demolished the entire neighborhood between Union and Lawrence Streets. It was, in a large part, home to the black community. How ironic that we destroyed the cohesion of a neighborhood, but renamed Lawrence Street after Martin Luther King. The only remnant of the neighborhood is the St. James A.M.E. Church. Going up the hill today we now have a vacant bank call center on the east, and the Housing Authority Project on the west. A whole neighborhood existed in from both sides of Lehigh Street, including black owned shops. The houses were old and humble, but people owned them, many for generations.
reprinted from May 2011
ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 6, 2024:Although the houses shown in the photograph were over a hundred years old, the public housing project which replaced them has already itself been replaced.
It’s kind of amazing when you think about those public housing units being replaced already.
ReplyDeleteThe taxpayer pays top dollar (prevailing wage) for (primarily) union labor to expertly construct the buildings. Then the taxpayer pays top dollar to various agencies and administrators to manage and MAINTAIN the buildings.
Yet somehow those “old” buildings (if not demolished in the name of “progress”) are still standing throughout the city.
In addition, we constantly hear our leaders calling for MORE “affordable” housing, despite the fact that it doesn’t seem to last very long and is anything but “affordable”.
Only in a politician’s mind would such a proposal make sense!
YES... heaven forbid a needy person should live in an old run down section 8 building!!! Somehow, I tend to think section 8, or any public housing, is a scam played on the taxpayers. I'll bet the AHA makes out just fine and pays their employees a decent salary. You can be sure the top guys get top wages... another scam on the public taxpayer's back.
DeleteI recall when Hanover Acres was built... such a beautiful little development, which was turned into a veritable dump by the same people we taxpayers helped support and subsidize. Yeah, we rebuilt that, too!!! Where are OUR subsidies???????
I can't help wonder why they left the buildings at the top of the hill but bulldozed those at the bottom. Another taxpayer funded rebuilding project for another day??? SMH!!!