Allentown's Pending Cold Winter

2018 promises to be a cold winter in Allentown. The city is being governed by a mayor facing over fifty charges of corruption. He was elected by plurality in a three way election, mostly by Allentown's newer Hispanic population. If he is forced to resign because of a plea or conviction, Ray O'Connell expects to be selected mayor by city council.

The photograph shown above is from 1958. It was taken in Little Lehigh Manor, the 1940's era housing development located above Lehigh Parkway's south ridge. I had the pleasure of growing up in that neighborhood. In yesterday's post the hill favored by the kids of that neighborhood was featured. Other popular sledding hills in Allentown were behind Cedar Crest College, and Ott Street, between Livingston and Greenleaf Streets. Years ago a bridge crossed the creek by the park office at 30th and Parkway Blvd., with a parking area for sledders by the Cedar Crest hill.  The Ott Street hill was closed to cars by the city, as an accommodation for sledders.

None of these hills are now accessible to a kid with a sled. The current mayor has no memory of those times, and might be too preoccupied to care much about sledding this winter.

photo courtesy of S. Williams.

A Park Protestor From The Past

`Green' Curtain Blocks Sledding And The View
January 09, 1992|The Morning Call
To the Editor:

Hold your sleds girls and boys! Others, too, on the alert! With the planting of a dense cluster of 60 evergreen trees and the erection of a "No Sledding" sign, creating a veritable iron curtain, the park and watershed people have once again undertaken their repetitive effort of the past 45 years to eliminate a most popular sledding slope in Lehigh Parkway. The motive -- crass self-interest in defiance of public good. The effect -- an impassable barrier and concealment of a magnificent vista of "one of the finest valleys in Eastern Pennsylvania."

Children and adults from the 400 homes with longtime and easy access to the slope and others arriving in cars have enjoyed sledding here after school and into the night and throughout the day and night on weekends. Yet sledding is but one of the attractions of this enduring slope. In summer children and teachers from Lehigh Parkway Elementary School have enjoyed a walk down the slope and into the park for a break from book and blackboard. Birders, joggers, hikers and others on a leisurely stroll engrossed in their particular interest have found the slope irresistible.

For a host of others, this opening into the park after a long stretch of woods presents a charming vista and urge to descend. Interest is immediately evoked by the sight of a mid-19th century log house  and a historic wagon trail leading past the site of a lime kiln to tillable lands of earlier times.

The view takes in an expanse of meadowlands, now groomed, to the Little Lehigh River and up the western slope to Lehigh Parkway North. Indeed, a pleasant view to be esteemed and preserved for generations to come. It was distressing on New Year's Day to see a family and their guests intent upon a walk down the slope suddenly stop in amazement and shock as the closure became evident.

The cost in dollars through the years of the park peoples' fixation on destroying the Parkway slope must be staggering indeed without dwelling on other deliberate depletions. Typically, the placement of the 1991 "No Sledding" sign employed a team of four men with three vehicles -- a backhoe, a panel truck, and a super cab pickup truck, the latter furnishing radio music.

BERT A. LUCKENBACH
ALLENTOWN

Burt Luckenbach was a park activist, who wrote this letter in 1992. Few remember sledding on that hill above the Log & Stone house, but I do. The open hill was located at the end of Lehigh Parkway South, near the intersection with Coronado Street. The Wagon Trail has been blocked off for years by several large fallen trees. I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Luckenbach, but like to think that he would approve of my efforts regarding the parks.

reprinted from January of 2015

Blogging, The Last Watchtower

Anybody who buys The Morning Call on a Monday knows what slim pickings are. The paper is produced on Friday, with a one man weekend crew, to cover the police blotter. There's hardly enough paper to cover the bottom of a bird cage. That leaves the news junkies forced to read the likes of me.

 I'm fascinated with how much Allentown has changed within the last 50 years, and find the railroads  a good metaphor. In my youth the city was serviced by several rail branch lines with dozens of sidings, supplying many industries with raw materials to produce products distributed all over the country. Those industries fostered a large middle class, and a high standard of living. We were the truck capital of the world, we were home to the first transistors, and a retail legend. The tower shown above in 1963, and the gas tank in the background, were on Union Street. Although they are both now gone, this blogger will continue to combine history, news and commentary for those of us who still remember a different era.

reprinted from November of 2013

Molovinsky Christmas Tour

Yesterday I posted about Bill White's recommended Christmas Light tours.  I hope that caravans of  new SUV's are taking White's tours, because he publishes his recommendations every year.  Bill, after all these years,  has his job down almost on autopilot;  Christmas light tours,  Eating his way through Musikfest,  Cake contest at fair, Grammar columns,  Hall of Shame, Worst sentence writer. etc., etc.

Anyway, I recommend that nobody take my light tour,  it's in the hood in center city Allentown. Actually, the block shown has had its share of crime in recent years. The alley is narrow,  so there is no passing another car.  The double parkers get very annoyed if you beep your horn.  Best to stick with White's tours out in suburbia, with the inflated decorations that are flaccid during the day.  Personally,  I prefer the center city house decorations.  There is something so much more inspiring about decorating a low income house, many of which are rentals.  It makes me feel better and more hopeful about downtown.

Bill White's Christmas Lights

I was never on Bill White's Christmas Lights tour, but all I could think of was Chevy Chase, putting together the plug in his Christmas Lampoon Movie. I imagined that in Bill's mind, the more the better, aesthetics aside. Yesterday the newspaper showed photographs of some of the houses; Yep, I was right. Now, I understand the appeal of wattage, especially for children. As a child, my father would drive us by a house on Union Street, just beyond Union Terrace. It was a ranch house with easy access to the roof. This man did the whole shebang; roof outline in lights, Santa sled and reindeer on roof, and lots of lawn ornaments. As the gentleman and his display aged, less would appear each year. Fortunately for children, Santa, although no spring chicken and fat, never gets too old to deliver.

Blogger's Note: Christmas lights are enjoyed by people of all ages and faiths. Bill White and his crew have spent many hours locating those houses which best give what he calls the gift of WOW. Pictures and directions for the light tour can be found on The Morning Call Website.

reprinted from December of 2010

The Trains Of Allentown

As a blogger, at the moment, I need a rest from those bureaucracies which I find so exasperating, and perhaps visa versa. I suppose it would be a good time to stop and reminisce some more about trains, both model and real. Shown above was the real deal when the 0 gauge was king. Before I go too far, let me state that growing up I never had a train. For a few years I had a friend whose father, looking back, was rather obsessed with the hobby. He had the transformer shown. It was 275 watts, and could operate four trains and an assortment of accessories. For many years, Bloch's Hobby Store, in the 400 block of 7th Street, was a model train expert. Trains were also sold at Pollard's Firestone Tire Store, also on 7th Street.

I've presented a number of Barber Quarry branch line photographs in previous posts. The one below shows the siding at the former Traylor Engineering Plant on S. 10th Street, now owned by the AEDC. About 20 years ago the track was removed for the entire  length of the former rail line.
  photogragh by Mark Rabenold, 1987

reprinted from April of 2013

Christmas Time In Allentown

The other day Kenneth Heffentrager announced that he was interested in being appointed to the Redevelopment Authority. Ken has a dilemma; Such appointments are made by the mayor, and Ken is a grass roots street level organizer. Pawlowski historically has appointed certified yes men to his boards. It is for that reason that often one person will serve on several boards in Allentown. Although Ken is a founding member of the Allentown Tenant Association, he has also been somewhat of a thorn in Pawlowski's side, advocating for more housing inspectors. Although he is completely qualified for the position he seeks, this blog post isn't really about him.

Ken made his pitch for appointment on facebook. One of the readers wished him well, but then commented that she did not want to concern herself with such matters during the Christmas season. Politicians count on such reactions. Add in those that concentrate on Thanksgiving, Easter and their summer vocation, and you can end up electing an indicted mayor.  Another reader, who herself was appointed by Pawlowski to another commission, wondered if Ken would be able to function objectively,  considering his past tensions with the mayor.  I think that citizens should wonder if someone who is an avid supporter of Pawlowski could function fairly in such a position?

While my interest in local politics isn't reduced by holidays, the recent election results were very discouraging. Perhaps that is why this blog has been concentrating on its other component, local history. On that note,  I have used this old A-Treat Seasons Greetings as today's illustration. The A-Treat Company, after closing several years ago,  has been purchased and restarted by the Jaindl family.

The Butchers Of Allentown

Those coming here today looking for a story about sloppy civic leadership will be disappointed. This post is literally about butchers, more specifically, some butchers at Allentown Meat Packing Company. A few days ago, while at the Fairground's Farmers Market, I learned that Bobby had passed away. Bobby was the "kid" who worked at my father's meat market on Union Street. Bobby grew up in an orphanage, a hardship which my father respected. One meat cutter that I knew nothing about was Lamont, other than he lived at the WestEnd Hotel. He was a bear of a man, who could carry a beef quarter from the cooler with no effort. I never saw Lamont in the market portion of the shop, he always remained in the back, either in the large cooler or the adjoining cutting room. While my father insisted that people working on the counter change their meat coat and apron several times during the day, no such rule was imposed upon Lamont. Although he would look over the trays of meat before being taken out to the display cases, he never spoke. Last time I spoke to Bobby, he told me that he appreciated that my father had taught him a trade, which he used throughout his life.

reprinted from June of 2015

The Trains Of Union Street

Up to the late 1960's, Union Street, between the Jordan Creek and Lehigh River, was  crossed by numerous train tracks. In addition to the main tracks for the New Jersey Central and Lehigh Valley Railroads, the area hosted many sidings for the industries that once huddled along this historic river front area.  There was a small rail yard with five sidings between the UGI gas storage tank, which dominated Allentown's skyline, and Allentown Meat Packing Company.  The photo above dates from the late 1940's.  The map below from the early 1930's.



Small rail yard on bottom left of map. Allentown Meat Packing was the former H.H. Steinmetz Co. in 1932.

reprinted from June 2013

Irony In Pennsylvania

The Overseas Chinook was built in the Philadelphia shipyard by the Aker Company in 2010. The oil tanker shuttles between the Sabine Pass Refinery in Louisiana, and Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.   Credit former mayor/governor Rendall for advocating to continue shipbuilding at the former Navy facility.  It was a joint effort between the federal government (Jones Act), Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.  The shipyard provides high quality jobs, building real things which continue to serve our economy.  Pennsylvania is now trying to induce Amazon to locate their proposed east coast headquarters in Philadelphia.  Coincidentally,  the Amazon campus would be on the business park section of the navy yard.

Amazon has issued requests for proposals to American cities, claiming that the new headquarters might eventually employ up to 50,000 people.  Amazon sells things mostly made in China to American consumers over the web.  In the process they are essentially putting the brick and mortar retail sector out of business. The incentives offered to Amazon from Philadelphia alone are valued at over a $billion dollars.  While Philadelphia would benefit from Amazon,  I find it ironic that this virtual monopoly can demand subsidies, while decimating our shopping malls.

photo:  Overseas Chinook entering the cut to Port Everglades/molovinsky

Retail Meats, Wholesale Prices

In a previous post about my father's meat market, Allentown Meat Packing,  I give a brief history of the business. There were not many retail businesses on lower Union Street, before the Hamilton Street Bridge. The Orange Car was there because of a railroad siding, which could provide fresh fruit from Florida during the winter. Allentown Meat Packing had previously been a slaughterhouse and wholesale meat packer. A former cooler facing Union Street was converted into a store room. The ceiling still had the rails where sides of beef once hung. Although supermarkets were beginning to affect the butcher shops, the independents survived till the mid 1960's. He would place a small ad every week in The Morning Call. His customers came from all over the city, often having to wait 15 minutes as long freight trains crossed Union Street. In addition to meat, he sold some canned goods, lined up on shelves behind the meat cases. The hours were long and the work was hard. Today's supermarkets have once again installed butcher meat cases, in addition to the open self service displays. Those cases are there to make you think that you're in a butcher shop.

reprinted from October of 2013

Allentown Meat Packing Co.

My grandfather lived on the corner of Jordan and Chew, and butchered in a small barn behind the house. He would deliver by horse and wagon to his customers, corner markets. The house is still there, the barn, long gone. My father, and one of his brothers, acquired the H.H. Steinmetz packing house in 1943. Operating as Allentown Meat Packing, by 1950 they closed the slaughter house, and converted the front of the plant into a meat market open to the public. That continued to 1970, when it was leased to an operator who sold meat by freezer full packages. In 1975 the building was torn down, as part of a long term lease agreement with A&B, who wanted the space for parking. The photo was taken just prior to demolition.

reprinted from June 2013

A Supremo Christmas

While I've never shown much enthusiasm for J.B. Reilly's attempt to revitalize downtown through his high end shops, neither has the marketplace. Christmas day, I visited the new Supremo Market on 7th Street, occupying the former Levine's Fabric store. The market was attractive, large, well stocked and mobbed.

There is an old saying that there are more nickels than quarters. I suppose that it should be no surprise that in a city populated by a large percentage of low income people, a well run store geared for that demographic can prosper. What's interesting is that while the taxpayer ponied up a $Billion dollars, so far, for the NIZ, the thriving Supremo costs us nothing. While the Morning Call writes one promotion after another for Reilly's portfolio, there is nothing said about the real success story in Allentown.

Let me provide some history.  Once upon a time,  that was the busiest block on 7th Street. The building was built as a Sears and Roebucks in the early 1950's, using a plan duplicated in other cities. The store did well competing with the three local department stores, and was first to go suburban.

Talking of history, some may notice a new item on this blog's sidebar. It's a picture of a Mack Truck Magazine cover, which was printed each month. I have titled the new insertion, LOCAL HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE.  Hopefully, the local political shenanigans will slow down, so I can devote more posts to our rich history.

stock photo from Supremo website

above reprinted from December 29, 2015

UPDATE December 2017: Reilly's attempt at upscale has thus failed. Both the Moravian Bookstore and an upscale women's shop(s) have closed. This blogger continues to doubts the occupancy rates for Strata,  published by Reilly and his paper.

Sex and The Strata Tenant

Students of this blog know that I have a hard time taking City Center Realty and their press agent, The Morning Call, as gospel when it comes to reporting the occupancy rate of the loft apartments. Somehow, I think that the unique benefits of the NIZ incentivize Reilly to keep building, and worry about finding tenants later. A recent article said that retail will follow after a critical mass of tenants is reached. In other markets, residential usually followed trendy retail. At any rate, the crime and violence will not help attract the elusive demographic which they seek.

The elusive Strata tenants sought are singles with white collar jobs, in or near Allentown. The Allentown school system is a very hard sell to any young family with children. Let us hope that our Strata singles do not hook up with each other too soon.

A Personal Memoir

I'm not sure memoir is a good title, rather than facts and records, I have hazy recollections. Assuming my memory will not improve at this stage of the game, let me put to print that which I can still recall. In about 1958 my father built Flaggs Drive-In. McDonalds had opened on Lehigh Street, and pretty much proved that people were willing to sit in their cars and eat fast food at bargain prices. For my father, who was in the meat business, this seemed a natural. As a rehearsal he rented space at the Allentown Fair for a food stand, and learned you cannot sell hotdogs near Yocco's. He purchased some land across from a corn field on Hamilton Blvd. and built the fast food stand. In addition to hamburgers, he decided to sell fried chicken. The chicken was cooked in a high pressure fryer called a broaster, which looked somewhat like the Russian satellite Sputnik. The stand did alright, but the business was not to my father's liking, seems he didn't have the personality to smile at the customers. He sold the business several years later to a family which enlarged and enclosed the walk up window. Subsequent owners further enlarged the location several times. The corn field later turned into a Water Park, and you know Flaggs as Ice Cream World.

I'm grateful to a kind reader who sent me this picture of Flaggs

reprinted from August of 2014

ADDENDUM: Allentown and its environs have changed considerably in the last 60 years. While Yocco's is still a very viable business in the suburbs, the center city demographic changes no longer supported selling hot dogs at 625 Liberty Street. After 85 years, that store closed in the summer of 2016.  Flaggs (Ice Cream World), rather than being outside of town, is now on the way to Hamilton Crossings.

Watchmen For Jerusalem

Isaiah 62:6-7
Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the LORD in remembrance, take no rest,  and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

There is no shortage to the international sentiment always aligned against Israel. Yesterday we were told that Trump's intention to move our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could disrupt the peace process, and incite a violent pushback from the Arab world. As for the peace process, understand that Hamas controlled Gaza still calls for Israel's destruction. Understand that the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank financially rewards the families of their martyrs, when they kill Israelis. Violence in, and from the Arab world is a fact of everyday life, not tied to the peace process or our embassy's location.

Trump said in his statement on Jerusalem that he was acknowledging a reality. Another reality is that for 70 years Israel has been only tolerated, but never really accepted on the world stage. It survives in this harsh climate only because of courage.

Allentown's Growth Industry

Yesterday I went to the Social Security Office, across from the prison, to discuss my retirement options. I was given number 199. In addition to retirement, Social Security also dispenses money for disability. I would say from the gray hair, there were about three of us contemplating retirement, all the others were there for disability. A few middle age men were carrying their fake canes. The canes aren't fake, it's the disabilities. I saw one such gentleman walk in from the parking lot, clearly the cane bore no weight, and was merely a prop. Most of the people waiting were quite young, in their twenties. Disability has been expanded to include mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, additive personality and anger management. I will say many of them did look angry to me. It was hard finding a parking space. Business also looked good at the prison. If Johnny Manana's had gotten these crowds....

reprinted since 2008 using various titles

One Bedroom Apartment For Rent In Allentown

Someone commented on Friday, The post is about the decline of Allentown and complaints that the poor (and public housing) have basically ruined it...Sadly, this website's commentary often encapsulates the ignorance.... that has marked the worst of Allentown for decades, long before Mack left. While that reader is very politically correct, he is also very mistaken.

I ran an ad in The Morning Call seven days a week, for 35 years. While the ad stayed the same, the people responding to it changed drastically. Up until about 1995, virtually everybody calling already lived and worked in the valley.

When a prospective tenant called,  my first question was always inquiring as to where they worked?  Starting in the mid 1990's, more and more callers replied that they didn't work, but received disability. For most of these people,  that answer didn't reflect the economy, but was a lifestyle choice made years earlier. The transformation of Allentown was very real, and not a figment of a biased mind. Those looking to really find solutions to current problems in Allentown must not be so quick to assume prejudice by those who speak plainly about the issues.  The total population of Allentown hasn't changed significantly in 90 years,  but the crime rate, especially homicides, has skyrocketed.   It's too easy in our society to dismiss these problems by labeling such discussions as biased.  While such labeling generally curtails any dialogue,  the quality of life keeps declining.

Recently, when I referred to a person's endless praise of the NIZ as cheerleading,  he replied that the term was sexist and mysogynistic.  He was attempting to intimidate me with a socially unacceptable tag.  Likewise, there are those who will desire to tag and dismiss these observations as targeting one ethnicity or another. i reject the notion that negative changes in allentown's quality of life cannot be discussed, because some people might think that they are being associated with one group or another. Everybody here, regardless of where they came from, is a share holder in wanting a better city.

The Late Chronicle

Starting in early 2018, The Morning Call will be printed in Jersey City, N.J.. Although publisher Robert York states that plans are being made to assure quality of delivery, he cannot change the physics of the 90 minutes it takes to get the paper from A to B. In order to maintain their morning distribution schedule, the deadline for reporters will have to be 90 minutes earlier, or about 8:30. This change will preclude hardcopy subscribers from reading about last night's council meetings, and other evening activities. Most of the suburban meetings are covered by stringers, if at all, and they normally don't publish until a day later anyway. While the digital paper will be able to maintain its current schedule, there will be far greater time lag between it and the hard copy version,  in regard to local news.

As a disclosure, this blog is now produced from Panama City, Panama.

file photo from The Morning Call

ADDENDUM: I received the following message from The Morning Call;

 #1) While it is 90 minutes to Allentown from Jersey City, it’s a fair bit shorter to our distribution centers in Phillipsburg, Bethlehem and others supporting eastern region of our coverage area. It makes no sense for us to bring the morning papers to Allentown and then traverse the same route back to those locations so we will be transporting directly. Distribution of the morning paper is not as simple as adding 90 minutes to the equation. DC drop off times and a number of other factors including the size of routes are being rebuilt to ensure delivery next year is the same as today. #3) On several days of the week, the paper currently has one of the latest close times (when the paper goes to press) of any on the east coast. Next year once these changes take place, late council meetings, high school sports including football and basketball scores and stories will still be in the next morning’s paper. We may even sneak in a score from a Saturday night Penn State game – something we can’t do now.

They Shoot Landlords, Don't They?

When I ran as a long-shot independent for mayor in 2005, against Ed Pawlowski and Bill Heydt,  the first thing I did was take The  Morning Call reporter on a tour of the properties that I managed.  As an intercity landlord, operating apartments between 4th and 12th, Walnut and Tilghman Streets,  I knew that  downtown apartments could  become problematic for Allentown.  After the WW2,  it became fashionable to live in a twin or small ranch, and Allentown's row houses began being divided into apartments.  Those apartments were mostly occupied by singles or childless couples, and helped keep downtown and Hamilton Street vital, long past many of it's sister cities.  In the 1960's, despite the thousands of converted apartments,  center city was clean, and Allentown was the All American City.  Both the tenants and landlords were hard working and conscientious.  As the urban poor from New York and New Jersey discovered the clean streets of Allentown, and it's moderately priced apartments,  a steady influx of new residents arrived daily.  These changes were not encouraged by the landlords.  Nobody ever purchased a building hoping to replace their conscientious middle class occupants, with a poorer, more problematic tenant base.  Various social agencies staked many of these newcomers to the first month rent and security deposits.  Although politically incorrect, I said at the time that Allentown was creating a poverty magnet.  My phrase and analysis back then is now recognized as an unintended consequence of such programs.  During Heydt's administration, Allentown passed a Rental Inspection Law.  Some viewed  this as the solution to the rental problem, I didn't fully agree;  You cannot legislate pride of ownership. Bad operators could, and easily did, cross the T's and dot the i's.  Pawlowski's solution has been to tag buildings as unfit for habitation, so many,  that the process itself has created blight.  Halls of Shame, either by the city or private groups, only stigmatize both the property and owner, but don't produce a solution.  The programs in place, if applied with more flexibility, can work.  The school district is starting to show concern about the consequences of more apartments and students.  Recent zoning changes allowing the conversion of commercial space by right, rather than by variance, will be an additional challenge.  At the end of the day,  all landlords want to see their investment appreciate.  The city must learn to work with that basic incentive as a vehicle for change.

UPDATE:  The post above is reprinted from my archives.  I believe that my background enabled me to write a  concise, accurate synopsis of Allentown's downtown housing situation. Today (June 2015), we learn that Reilly's City Center and other employers and stakeholders in the NIZ are offering $10,000 incentives for their employees to buy houses in center city. I believe that if the plan is properly administered, it can be a useful tool for Allentown.

reprinted from June of 2015

A Baby Boomer Allentown

molovinsky on allentown is meant to intersect local politics and history. I grew up during a very prosperous era in Allentown's history. The post war (WW2) factories couldn't produce enough goods, despite some having three shifts. Local government was small, concerned mostly with infrastructure and public safety.  There was little concern with affordable housing and other social programs. Then, as now, there were always poor people. Eleanor Roosevelt visited Allentown for the opening of Hanover Acres, the public housing above the east side of the Lehigh River. For many residents of that project and Cumberland Gardens, the public housing was a stepping stone, not a lifestyle.

Hamilton Street was a thriving shopping district.  No subsidies needed there.  Those successful merchants handled their own parking system, no Parking Authority needed.  There might have been some nepotism and cronyism in city hall, but no need for FBI investigations.  Information and news came from your television screen and newspapers, but without agendas and misdirection.

A reader asked me why I made commenting more difficult.  Question.......isn't one of the purposes of your blog to foster discussion of the matters you raise? Purposely seeking to curb comment responses and possibly readership, seems counterintuitive to me.  Topics are not chosen in regard to expanding readership, nor do I count comments as a gauge of success. This blog is not monetized, directly or indirectly. I address those topics which are either under-reported, or misrepresented by the local main stream media. Consequently, I want the comments to be as relevant and responsible as possible.

When Walter Cronkite gave the news in the early 1960's,  he signed out each program by saying, "And that's the way it is."  

reprinted from July of 2016

Only The Best For Public Housing

For an Allentown historian with an interest in photography, the photo above is as good as it gets; Eleanor Roosevelt visiting Allentown's new public housing project in 1942, Hanover Acres. I snatched the photo off The Morning Call this morning; Paul Carpenter has a column where he brooded about public housing recipients complaining that they can't smoke, while living on our dime. I'll do him one better. They're now griping about it in new housing, Overlook Park. Hanover Acres and the newer project, Riverview Terrace, were both torn down several years ago to construct new townhouses. It's supposedly a mixed income project, with homes both for sale, and Section 8 rentals.

Over the years Hanover Acres became a "terrible" place to live, a crime-ridden eyesore. Overlook Park, the $88 million development that's sprung up in its place, however, is "beautiful." Daniel R. Farrell, executive director of the Allentown Housing Authority, described turning Hanover Acres into Overlook Park as "an amazing transformation."The development features 269 rental apartments and room for 53 single-family homes.

It was built by Pennrose Properties, which specializes in politically correct and politically connected housing for profit. They have done well in Allentown with Mayor Ed. Not long before Hanover and Riverview were demolished, they were completely remodeled, with high end kitchen cabinets and counters. Shown below is yours truly, in Little Lehigh Manor, built in 1944. Those brick houses of the same vintage are still new enough for home buyers today. Most of Allentown's existing row houses were built between 1895 and 1930. If Carpenter is upset about smoking, he should drive over to Overlook Park and see what they're smoking in.

reprinted from July of 2012

News From Mars In Allentown

Sometimes when I read The Morning Call, it's like I'm getting news from Mars. In an article about Small Business Day, the paper featured a store downtown that pays no rent, and sells donated women's fashion to lower income women, who are dressing for a job interview. I commend the store, its landlord and the concept, but it certainly says something unsaid about the state of small retail in center city. I suppose for the article's purpose, the reuse boutique is more prestigious than the pawn shops.

An article in today's paper refers to a developer downtown who received permission from the zoning board to build apartments on the former Croc Rock site. In the real world here on earth,  there is nothing new about J.B. Reilly being given permission from Allentown.  Real news would have been if he wasn't given the green light.  Furthermore, he isn't a developer, but The Developer.

Yesterday on social media, a rabid cheerleader for the NIZ referred to me as an 85 year old, who should fade away with my outdated incorrect assertions, and extremly underwhelming blog. As long as the news from Mars has to be translated into Earth language, this blog will continue.

Christmas Lights And Park Neglect

As people enter Lehigh Parkway to enjoy the annual Christmas Light Display, they drive past the top of the Double Stairwell, built by the WPA in 1935. It was designed as the signature structure in the park. While the top landing is degraded, the subsequent landings down the double stairs get much worse. One landing is in danger of collapsing, undermining the steps below it. I have been reporting the worsening conditions to the Park Department for three years. While nothing has been done to rehab this irreplaceable structure,  the department laid cement pads for the disc golf course this past summer. They are now planning to build a skate park, but still no repairs are planned on the WPA icons of the Parkway and elsewhere.

The Trexler Trust is a significant contributor to the park budget.  Furthermore,  the park budget is approved every year by City Council.  Both these groups fail to use their influence in regard to the park department's misplaced priorities.  Never the less,  I will continue through this blog to advocate for the WPA structures, and other traditional elements of our park system.

Allentown Archeology

When it comes to the history of industrial Allentown, the railroad buffs are among the current experts. Our heavy manufacturing base moved it's materials on the tracks of several railroads. The Front Street area was crisscrossed with tracks and sidings. The West End Branch ran along Sumner Avenue, crossed Tilghman Street, looped around 17th Street and ended near 12th and Liberty. The Barber Quarry Branch ran along the Little Lehigh until it then followed Cedar Creek. It crossed Hamilton Street near the current Hamilton Family Restaurant and ended at what is now the Park Department Building. The rail buffs are current day archeologists, looking for remnants of those glory days. Shown above is a portion of the Barber Quarry pier and track. This is at the bottom of Lehigh Street hill, near the former bank call center, near the former Acorn Hotel, in a former city still called Allentown.
photo courtesy of Mike Huber, Coplay
related posts
The Train of Lehigh
Parkway
The World of Mirth
Lehigh Valley Railroad Piers
Depot at Overlook Park

reprinted from April 2013

ADDENDUM: This remnant of the previous railroad bridge is part of the Wire Mill Bridge over the Little Lehigh, which will soon be closed for repairs.

Susan Wild Cutting Ties With Pawlowski

Susan Wild announced yesterday that she is resigning as Allentown City Solicitor to devote full time to her run for the 15th Congressional District. “I do not believe the demands of running a congressional campaign allow me to spend the time that is necessary to be an effective city solicitor,” Wild wrote. “I strongly feel that it is unfair to the taxpayers of Allentown for me to collect a salary and benefits for a job to which I will not be able to devote my full attention.” 

While Ms. Wild doesn't believe that she can effectively run for congress and perform as solicitor at the same time, apparently Ed Pawlowski thinks that he can be a full time mayor and a federal defendant at the same time. At any rate,  he will be pulling down his mayoral salary as he sits in court day after day.

The other day Michael Adams,  the former occupant of the Log and Stone House shown above, mentioned Ms. Wild in regard to his eviction from the house.  Many people have been upset about his departure,  especially since Pawlowski had the gardens ripped out that Mr. Adams had cultivated for a decade.  Ms. Wild came on Adams' Facebook page and commented that she had nothing to do with his ouster by the city.  I can believe that she wanted to be disassociated from that action,  and furthermore, I also believe that she wants to be disassociated from Pawlowski.

Lehigh Parkway Vendetta,  the original October post on Adams' eviction

Junkyard Train

Today, once again we ride a freight train of Allentown's great industrial past. In the early 1970's, the Redevelopment Authority tore down the neighborhood on either side of the Lehigh Street hill. At that time they had persuaded Conrail to move the the Barber's Quarry Branch line exclusively to the southern side of the Little Lehigh. The branch had crossed over and back to service the great Wire Mill. After crossing Lehigh Street, the train would proceed along the creek passing under the 8th Street Bridge. At the 10th Street crossing it would service another great industrial giant, Traylor Engineering.
In 2009 President Obama visited a successor, Allentown Manufacturing, which has since closed. The line would continue along the creek until it turned north along Cedar Creek to Union Terrace. After crossing Hamilton Street by the current Hamilton Family Diner, it would end at the current park department building. Nothing remains of the line, the tracks were removed. The Allentown Economic Development Corporation recently received a grant to rebuild the line to 10th Street, even though the plant Obama visited has closed. The neighboring former Mack Plant now houses a go cart track. How the money will be squandered remains to be seen. The top photograph was taken by local train historian Mark Rabenold in 1989. It shows the later relocated section of the track that was just east of the Lehigh Street crossing.

UPDATE: The County Commissioners recently denied a request by AEDC to grant KOZ status to the closed Metal Manufacturing building. Although the company never cited lack of rail service or property taxes as the reason for closing, the rail grant is still on the table. $Millions of $Dollars would be needed to lay bed and track from 3th and Union to S. 10th Street, to service an empty building; Truly, The Track To Nothing.

reprinted from March of 2016

A Former Factory And Neighborhood Of Allentown, Pa.

The Wire Mill was a sprawling industrial plant along 13 acres of the Little Lehigh Creek, just east of Lehigh Street, near the current Martin Luther King Drive.  An 1899 map of Allentown contains the footprint of various industries of the time, and the Wire Mill was the most prominent.  The Lehigh Valley RailRoad constructed two bridges over the Little Lehigh, to bring its Barber Quarry spur line into and out of the plant. Began in 1886, it produced wire and nails until 1943, and then sat abandoned for another twenty years. During WW1, it employed up to 1,200 men around the clock, producing barbed wire for the trench warfare in Europe. The factory sat on the south side of the former Wire Street, which housed narrow row houses on the other side of the street, and the neighborhood above it.



That entire neighborhood was demolished in the early 1970's, as Allentown embraced the modern urban renewal models of the time. The old, modest neighborhood of small row houses, between Lawrence and Union Streets, and on both sides of Lehigh Street, between 4th and 8th Street, were bulldozed away.  It was, in a large part, home to Allentown's black community. How ironic that we destroyed the cohesion of a neighborhood, but renamed Lawrence Street after Martin Luther King. The only remnant of that community and neighborhood still there is the St. James A.M.E. and Zion Church. A former vibrant neighborhood was replaced by a sterile bank call center, sitting alone on a large vacant hill. That building is now the new Building 21 city operated charter school. I would have complained about that urban renewal plan if I was blogging back then. Now, 50 years later, I still consider that plan a failure. Hopefully, future bloggers will have something better to say about Allentown's current revitalization.

The Wire Mill was at the bottom of the Lehigh Street hill, shown above

reprinted from March 2016 

ADDENDUM NOVEMBER 21, 2017: Mayor Pawlowski recently announced that the Lehigh Street bridge(Wire Mill Bridge) over the Little Lehigh Creek will be closed for repairs. Over the years I have written numerous posts about this historic section of Allentown. In subsequent years I combined some of these posts and reprinted them. In the next several days, current events permitting, this blog will revisit that section of our city.

Barbarians Sack Allentown

As Mayor Pawlowski stood last week across Hamilton Street from the former buildings, now reduced to rubble, I thought of the barbarians sacking Rome. The Knerr Building, constructed in 1892 at 707 Hamilton Street, had withstood many changes in the last 120 years. Built for John Knerr to sell groceries and confections, it's four floors served various businesses over the century. Although this past New Year's eve, the Mayor spoke of Allentown's 250th anniversary, it's a history for which he has limited knowledge and less appreciation. As a student of Allentown's architecture and past, I was offended to hear him and the other mayors boast about the 40 temporary demolition jobs. The wrecking contractor was astute enough to remove the monumental and historic Knerr facade ornamentation, before knocking the building down. He will sell it in some other city, where history is respected and valued.

photo of mayors/The Morning Call/Donna Fisher

photo of facade from former Knerr Building/ molovinsky

reprinted from February of 2012

ADDENDUM: The above post is reprinted from 2012. Although I accept the arena and NIZ as the new reality, there are uninformed progressives who believe  the demolition of that square block of Allentown was of no consequence. I know better; We lost some significant architecture and much history. One must wonder if the new structures will last 120 years.

A Former Proud Block In Allentown

When the north side of the 700 block of Hamilton Street was demolished in early 2012, this lone blogger was there early in the mornings and weekends to document the end of an era. Although Hess's ruled Hamilton Street in the 60's and 70's, the 700 block had the classic mercantile history and facades.

The new arena monstrosity looks pretty much like the renderings did, except those middle class people pictured in the illustration never materialized. I'm referring to the west end housewives with their baby strollers and disposable income. The apologists say wait, it takes time. It's only half done, wait until they build the mega towers on the south side of the street. The suburban housewives will still have no interest or motivation to come downtown.

 Reilly will build the towers. As long as Pennsylvania taxes are being used for his debt service, why wouldn't he?   Never mind that the state is so broke that they may have to put slot machines in elementary school cafeterias to harvest junior's lunch money.

Treasures Lost On Hamilton Street

                                                   click photograph to enlarge

The merchants who built Hamilton Street counted on architecture to attract shoppers into their emporiums. Large neon signs wouldn't appear for another fifty years. The soffit and fascia shown above, halfway between 7th and 8th on Hamilton, is one of the most elaborate facades in Allentown. One thing you can say about Allentown City Hall, they never let culture, art, or history get into the way of their plans. As successful cities come to value and profit from their history more and more, Allentown keeps using the standard catalog of proven failures. I know from other projects on Hamilton Street that Pawlowski isn't big on history. The Cityline Building in the 800 Block was permitted to stucco over beautiful brickwork. Sad that the puppies, who are directors at the Art Museum and Historical Society, remain silent on the planned destruction. It's hard to describe the magnificence of the skylight shown below, also in the targeted block. It's very large in three sections, in pristine condition. Should be quite a snack for Pawlowski's bulldozer.
The bulldozer prevailed, and the former architectural treasures of our mercantile history were not preserved, save for this blog's archives. Above is reprinted from May 2011

ADDENDUM:   This past weekend, a member of Old Allentown Preservation Association, and an active local Democrat, bragged on facebook about how he had recycled an old second floor office door from the demolished buildings in the arena zone. In truth, Old Allentown also turned a self serving, callous eye to the destruction noted in the above post. Although I'm glad the door was recycled, allow this post to note the irony and hypocrisy of the Association.

reprinted from January of 2015


UPDATE NOVEMBER 16, 2017: Although there's always some group bestowing some award on any new development, the Allentown NIZ is certainly no architectural destination.  Although I've taken hundreds of photographs in Allentown, including the ones shown here,  I have yet to buy film for any new building in the NIZ.

It's Raining Candy Sprinkles In Allentown

If you picked up the Morning Call on an airplane seat in Atlanta,  and were never here,  you would think that Allentown is the jewel of the northeast.  After all,  its new district with a $Billion dollars worth of new buildings just won a  Global Award of Excellence.  However,  if you decided to detour your trip to a real paradise to instead visit Allentown, you would be in for a rude awakening.  Walking down Hamilton Street you would find virtually no stores,  much less anything upscale.  Your few fellow shoppers would resemble the urban poor in the most depressed cities.

The Lehigh Carbon Community College, now on Hamilton Street, will be moving into the Morning Call Building, which is now owned by J.B. Reilly, along with most of the new buildings in the NIZ.  I suppose the students can study journalism and intern with the paper.  However, like the paper, they will have to be very careful what they write about Reilly and the NIZ.  Maybe their professor would allow them to intern with a blogger?

An Invitation To Pawlowski

Students of this blog know that I supported Nat Hyman for mayor, and have been a long time critic of  Ed Pawlowski.  I have even been critical of those who supported him. I see no benefit of continuing to beat that drum.  I believe that you will see a shift in this blog that will appear more conciliatory.   He will certainly be submitted to enough public scrutiny when the trial begins in January.  I don't think that you will be reading much about that, if at all, on this page.  I don't operate as a reporter,  but rather a commentator on local politics and history.

That is not to say that I won't be critical of the administration in regard to policy.  I will always strive to improve the priorities,  especially in regard to the park system.  I'm inviting Mayor Pawlowski to take a tour with me of the WPA structures.

When Allentown High Was Pennsylvania Dutch

In 1950 when 16 year old  Jayne Lichtenwalner made this plate in art class,  Allentown for the most part had a Pennsylvania Dutch demographic.  Jayne's family lived at 642 Chew Street.  The principal of Allentown High was Clifford Bartholomew.  After Bartholomew retired from being principal,  he later would go on to become mayor.

Move ahead seventy years, and the Pennsylvania Dutch student is an endangered species in the Allentown School System, perhaps even extinct. The new superintendent of the system is from Detroit,  and the mayor is from Chicago.  The dominant demographic in center city is now Hispanic, and they just elected the Chicago mayor for a fourth term, even though he's indicted for corruption.

I grew up on the south side near the Mack Truck assembly plant. I graduated from Allen in the middle 1960's, and remember when Bartholomew was principal and then mayor. I worked in center city when the stores died and the neighborhoods changed.  This blog was designed to be the juncture of local history and politics.  Because I find the politics at the moment so distressing,  I'll be conducting  more history classes.

Where's Waldo Molovinsky?

I have been a citizen participant in local government for decades.  Over those years I have championed for and against proposals by numerous mayors and councils.  Needless to say to those that know me, many of those efforts were in the against camp.

In 2005, I ran as an independent for mayor.  It was at that time I noticed some things about Pawlowski that differed from his public perception. In 2007, when I started this blog,  even fellow bloggers Bernie O'Hare and Chris Casey dismissed my complaints about Pawlowski as sour grapes from a losing candidate.  In 2014,  I ran as an independent for state representative against an eleven term  Republican incumbent and a Democrat. I received 13% of the tally in Lehigh County.

I'm not a people person.  The last organization I belonged to was the Cub Scouts in 1954.  I wasn't at any campaign parties on Tuesday night.  I don't play well with officials, bureaucrats or the press. I don't curry favor with any elected officials, nor do I regularly visit them with praise.  In recent years my attendance at  county, city or township meetings is usually to defend our history against political correctness and sacred cows.

I think that you will find the observations on this blog informative.   I only write about those issues with which I have experience and knowledge. I occasionally get calls from people researching a local topic or place that have found information about it here on this blog. My current efforts have gone toward saving historic structures within our park systems. Although I do not accept anonymous comments, comments may be made by pseudonym.  Registration for a pseudonym name is through third party entities, such as Google, and I have no access to actual identities. Your readership is appreciated.

A Statue Of Pawlowski

Pawlowski's upcoming fourth term may well be less than the full four years.  Although he won the election with 39% of the voters,  his next evaluation will be by a jury.  However,  I suppose the lesson from election night is not to underestimate Mr. Pawlowski's ability to overcome obstacles.

Ray O'Connell supporters harbor the hope that Pawlowski will either resign in a plea deal,  or be removed from office when found guilty in the upcoming trial.  It is their understanding that City Council will appoint O'Connell mayor until a special election can be held. At that point he could then run as the incumbent.

There will be much speculation about how the election may have turned out without the write-in and independents.  However,  such speculation seems less than productive at this time.  Although the upcoming trial may change the political dynamics once again, at this point Ed Pawlowski is mayor. The city and his distractors,  myself included,  can best proceed accepting that reality.

Ed Pawlowski was elected for his 4th term for the most part with the support of the minority communities. While I have referred to these voters as low information,  many in fact were aware of the charges against the mayor.   Although several of their members, with their own political aspirations, say that they think that he is innocent,  others are more blunt.  They simply don't consider criminal charges a deal breaker,  and certainly not charges pertaining to corruption.

It was a given for years in Allentown that you had to be an ethical Democrat to win.  Now perhaps  you no longer even need to be ethical.  In Washington D.C.  they are erecting a statue of Marion Barry.  Barry was re-elected mayor after finishing a federal prison term.  Perhaps a statue awaits Ed Pawlowski.

Post Election Revelations

Although I have previously recommended candidates,  my efforts towards yesterday's election were much beyond my normal.  I felt that whatever influence I may wield,  this was the time to use it.  The idea of electing a fourth term mayor who would immediately be completely preoccupied with a corruption trial was something which I had to fight against.  In the course of such combat I have been uncomfortably harsh against some other candidates and officials.

I've always had a good rapport with Ray O'Connell and considered him worthy of the mayorship.  However, as a write-in, I felt that he would siphon votes from Hyman,  who I considered the  preferred  alternative to Pawlowski on the ballot.

Probably the city official I have been most critical of is park director Lindsay Taylor.  This is because the park system is the part of the city I know and care the most about.  Although I believe that the department needs new priorities,  I do not believe that it needs a new director.  The city could benefit from Taylor's experience and growing familiarity with the large park system.

I have been critical of The Morning Call and their coverage of the election.  Although Emily Opilo co-authored many of those stories, I find her an excellent reporter,  whose efforts have benefited  Allentown.

Here in the local blogosphere,  earlier in the year I speculated that a commenter, Monkey Momma, might be Bernie O'Hare.  Recently,  Monkey Momma introduced herself to me.  Although I immediately disclosed the encounter to O'Hare,  it's also necessary to disclose it to my general audience.

Last night a woman told me that she voted straight Democratic as a protest against Donald Trump.  It appears that she was not alone with her inappropriate use of the ballot on the local level.  The anti-Trump sentiment could well have been a factor in many county races.  In the close Allentown mayoral race,  Hyman would have easily prevailed, had he been alone on the ballot with Pawlowski.  Ray O'Connell may well end up mayor as Allentown's Trial Of The Century starts in early 2018.

The Last Hurrah

Sunday was the last hurrah for The Morning Call trying to shape the election;  the paper's circulation is much less on Monday and Tuesday.  Ed Pawlowski must have been very pleased with the article.  It said that he shepherded in the new downtown development. Although it happen on his watch, and Brown and Reilly let him to cut a few ribbons,  he was less than incidental.  Actually, he tried to use those backdrops as his ticket to ride out of town. with campaigns both for governor and senator.   The paper also said  "In October, he triumphantly opened the city’s long-shuttered Cedar Beach Pool for a one-weekend event, weeks after the rest of the city’s pools closed for the season."  There was no mention of the overcosts, or that he knew that the pool was leaking, but went ahead with the pre-election ploy anyway.

In addition to glossing over Pawlowski's indiscretions,  the article took a shot at Hyman, saying that he spent less than what was anticipated.  Anticipated by whom? Considering that Pawlowski and Hyman raised about the same amount of money, and presumedly will spend about the same, the statement about Hyman was pejorative.

 I suppose from a newspaper point of view, a sitting mayor on trial for corruption is about as juicy as it gets.  However,  for those of us who have a stake in Allentown's  future, let us hope that Hyman prevails.

Parasites For Pawlowski

                                           artwork by Mark Beyer

Readers of this blog know that I don't have much respect for those who support Pawlowski.  I think that they are limited to low information people, and those who put their own self interest above that of the community.   They might want to consider that all this pay to play occurred when he was interested in running first for governor,  then for the senate.  Although Pawlowski is now claiming to care so much about Allentown,  he was doing his best to use the town as a stepping stone.

What bodes poorly for Allentown's future is that Pawlowski might just win the election.  The fact that segments of the population would consider using their vote in such a fashion helps explain the crime and violence.

This is a critical juncture for Allentown.  It's time for completely new leadership.  It is essential that people of character come out,  cross party lines,  and vote no to the corruption.  I support Nat Hyman because he has the qualities to restore Allentown's pride, and allow the new construction to become  truly a revitalization.

artwork by Mark Beyer 

City Hall As Campaign Machine

Although incumbents always have the advantage, Pawlowski is exploiting the taxpayers in an unprecedented fashion. While City Council reacted to a town hall mailing,  it pales in expense to his other exploits.  The street department has been concentrating in the deep West End,  where Pawlowski hopes to wedge away a few votes from Hyman and O'Connell.  However, unlike with the minority demographic downtown,  I doubt that this ploy will yield many votes.  The Cedar Beach Pool stunt cost the city millions of gallons of water and overtime for dozens of employees.  That dog and pony show also involved the sodding of the grass and other items not in the original pool budget.  The Park Director has been acting as no less than a hand maiden for the Mayor's campaign.

We must understand that ethics are no longer a factor to Pawlowski.  He faces 54 criminal counts,  and at this point he could care less about any perception of misusing city hall.

Political Strategy and Blood

A few weeks ago when I reported that the new Cedar Beach Pool was leaking, a media production guy who has done work for Pawlowski criticized me for negative speculation.  When Allentown Public Works confirmed the leak five days later, needless to say the filmmaker had nothing to say.  A public relations guy from NYC is now saying that Pawlowski is innocent.  Pawlowski's lawyer has asked that the indictment be dismissed.  Both these news releases are just last minute attempts to deflect from the gravity of the charges against him before voters go the polls.  The Morning Call took the bait and put an alert breaking news banner in red across the top of their website. They used an out of context distortion as a sub headline.  WFMZ also treated the political ploy as a legitimate news story, and even went farther.  They taped Pawlowski's attorney making his case that Pawlowski is the victim of an over zealous prosecution. His attorney could well have a second career as a political strategist.

Meanwhile, back in Dodge City, aka Allentown, the bullets and knives have been flying.  Pawlowski's paid mouth pieces can deny the criminal charges against him, but the blood and bodies speak for themselves.