Allentown's Real Estate Market

If you sold your house in the last two years, the current real estate market is a wonderful thing.  However, this post is about the future, and what I can only forecast as buyer's remorse.  The amount of remorse will be regulated by the neighborhood.  

With row houses in Old Allentown going for north of $250,000, the remorse will be painful. For those in West Park and farther west, time will heal your wound sooner.

This blog post will offend both current buyers and sellers, and the middle men in between. However, offending people is not outside of this blog's wheelhouse.  There are numerous feel good publications to soothe you on numerous topics, but I have neither the disposition or time for such things.

The street shown above is not meant to reference any particular street, and certainly not any particular property.

Pip The Mouse Assaulted

Pip the mouse was victimized over the weekend by a car highjacking and possible sexual assault.  Although Allentown police chief Charles Roca confirmed the carjacking, he declined to comment on the assault. Mayor Tuerk said that he/she and his/her administration wish Pip a speedy recovery.

City council-person Ce-Ce Gerlach told this blog that she expects to be called about it by the Morning Call today (Tuesday), because the paper no longer works over the weekend. Ce-Ce is a Morning Call Go-To person.  Council-person Joshua Siegel said that he still favors defunding the police, and diverting money to Hasshan Batts, who promises better neighborhoods. 

It has been a rough week for Pip.  His home at Zion Church is up for sale.  Apparently, none of the thousands of new residents of the Strata complexes have joined the congregation, which can no longer afford to maintain their historic church.  Plans are under way to relocate Allentown's Liberty Bell to the former Shula's Steakhouse on the Arts Walk.  Building owner J.B. Reilly said that although the restaurant operator changes frequently, the bell should be secure there.

photo of people watching Pip perform in more innocent times

An Allentown School Primer

While Morning Call readers learned yesterday that Allentown School superintendent Russ Mayo would not be seeking another contract, molovinsky readers already knew that since early last week. However, today's post is a lesson in recent history. Before Mayo, the superintendent was John Zahorchak. The board that hired him thought very highly of themselves for that choice. Zahorchak was former Secretary of Education under Rendell. What the board didn't realize was that while the Rendell administration was a case study in cronyism, it was not concerned with expertise. Zahorchak came to town and turned the school system inside out, and upside down. He instituted every new concept ever written in the education magazines. Among one bad move after another, he transfered Allen High's very effective principal to desk job on Penn Street. In wake of the mess, the board was then glad to hire Mayo, who was familiar with the system before the chaotic changes.

Allentown School System has been suffering from the same problems which affect all urban systems with high poverty rates.  Why the board thinks that a new superintendent will change the parameters of that reality escapes me.  The district just announced that there will be another year with no tax increase, which would be considered welcome news in most communities.

Now some older history;  Shown above is Dorothy Taliaferro, as pictured in the 1920 Allentown High School yearbook.  Dorothy was a vocal supporter for woman suffrage, and hoped to become a doctor. She was the first black girl to graduate from Allentown.  Although Dorothy did not fulfill that career ambition,  she had two younger brothers who did become physicians.  The family lived at 450 Union Street, which was later demolished in one of Allentown's misguided urban renew projects.

Thanks to Dan Doyle for loan of the 1920 Comus.  

reprinted from 2016

Time Moves Slowly In Easton

Reprinted From November 23, 2009: Business, in the center cities of the Lehigh Valley, is a fragile thing at best. Even Bethlehem, considered the most successful, is more charm than dollars. Essentially, these prior centers of commerce have been reduced to three separate economies. The upscale restaurants serve a clientele, mostly in the evening, that has absolutely no interaction with the surroundings. The tourist venues, fixed or seasonal, also provide little revenue for the surrounding shops. Last, but not least, you have an urban population and the bus people. Bethlehem has managed to maintain an upscale demographic living in it's center city, but this post is about Easton. (Allentown only has one such person living on Hamilton Street, she is the Community Development Director)

The Morning Call has published three stories about the High School Sports Hall of Fame, which will occupy part of the new parking deck and Lanta Terminal, several blocks south of Center Square in Easton. Easton Mayor Sal Panto, perhaps hoping to once again see his high school picture, has been cheerleading this effort. Although there is no question that this is a moronic idea doomed to failure, grants are available, and Panto can't resist a grant. The pending failure of the Sports Museum is the good news; the destruction of the bus people economy is the real consequence. Allentown should have taught Panto an expensive lesson. (Lanta doesn't care about lessons or merchants) People waiting to transfer buses, as they do now at Easton's Center Square, will shop if the store is very close and convenient. They will not walk. They will not make an additional stop and wait for another bus. They don't buy much, but there's many of them. Now, they will sit on benches at the Easton Lanta Transfer Terminal and watch school children come to the Al Bundy Museum on field trips. Panto will wonder why business died on Northampton Street.
reprinted from November 23, 2009, then titled Selling Easton's Soul

UPDATE: Over four years later, Al Bundy and Sal Panto have announced that they're canceling their long planned date. The parking garage and Lanta Terminal will now house Easton City Hall.  I first started writing about Easton's planned parking deck when it was scheduled to be behind the Wolf Building, going back to last century. I understand now why Panto supports Pawlowski for governor, time and projects move very slowly in Easton.

 

above reprinted from 2009 and 2013 

UPDATE JANUARY 14, 2022: Time really does move slowly in Easton. Panto is still mayor, and still talking about parking decks and grants. Mayor Pawlowski has been in the big house for several years already, so he won't be much help to Sal after-all. However, there is a new opportunity from Allentown for Easton...Pip The Mouse is looking for a new home. Allentown's privately owned, publicly financed NIZ favors new construction, and there's no appetite for old or historical. If Sal plays his cards right, Allentown will throw a replica of the Liberty Bell in with Pip. I hope to update this post in 2032, and let you know how Mayor Sal is doing with his parking deck project.

The Language Police Never Sleep

Although this blog has been downsizing our political staff, and concentrating on our history bureau, a current story is too ironic to ignore. 

Self proclaimed local Democrat leader Mark Pinsley was reprimanded in a wokefest by his elected peers for using the word ghetto, while complaining about the new redistricting plan in Harrisburg. In trying to explain away his indiscretion, he babbled about being Jewish and the Warsaw Ghetto. I learned about his faux pas from the WFMZ news site. His promoters, aka Morning Call editorial staff, made sure that the story didn't appear on their pages. Expect the paper to shortly host a damage control editorial by Pinsley. 

Although Lehigh Valley's rich history continues to be our current focus, resources will be assigned to monitor Minority Opportunity Zone eggshell walking contests.

Bernie O'Hare also notes Pinsley

UPDATE JANUARY 18, 2022: A Morning Call article on January 8th featuring Lisa Boscola's comments on the new mapping, did mention Pinsley's ghetto comment toward the end of the article.

Moving Allentown's Freight

The Lehigh Valley Transit, in addition to moving people on the trolleys, also moved freight. In Allentown, the freight house was behind Front Street, near the former A&B meat plant. The Kutztown and Reading Trolley Company also had a freight house in west Allentown, which would decades later become the home of former mayor Joe Daddona, at Union Terrace.

UPDATE: Forty five years later, in 1951, we're back at the freighthouse. Notice that a window has been added on the building's side, with only the memory of the earlier sign still present. In another year, both passenger and freight service are gone, with the end of the trolley era.

reprinted from December of 2013

Temporary Inconvenience

Urban renewal projects are nothing new to Allentown. Every couple decades some Mayor thinks he has a brighter idea. In a previous post, I showed the historic Lehigh and Union Street neighborhood, totally destroyed by city planners. Today, an under used Bank calling center sits awkwardly alone on that Lehigh Street hill. The picture above shows another hill of merchants and residents, fed to a mayor's bulldozer. The picture is from 1953, and shows Hamilton Street, from Penn Street down toward the railroad stations. At that time we still had two stations, The Lehigh Valley Railroad and The New Jersey Central. The current closed bar and restaurant occupies the Jersey Central. Everything on Hamilton Street, west of the bridge over the Jordan creek, with the exception of the Post Office, was demolished up to Fifth Street. Government Center would be built on the north side of the street, and a new hotel on the south, to accommodate the many anticipated visitors. Recently we had to remove and replace the facade of the county courthouse, which leaked since it was constructed. The hotel is now a rooming house.

Unannounced plans are underway for a new hotel to service anticipated visitors to Pawlowski's Palace of Sports. It will be up to some future blogger to document how that hotel becomes a rooming house.

reprinted from July of 2011 

UPDATE JANUARY 11, 2022: When I wrote the above post over a decade ago, I didn't foresee the wholesale destruction of the mercantile district into an urban office park. I did however report that the office park was being essentially owned by one man. After J.B. Reilly dominated the NIZ office park,  that legislation was relaxed to also allow his apartment complexes. While those apartments were hyped for young office workers by the Morning Call, reports on the ground indicate a less affluent clientele. That tenant base, for better or worse, will determine the success or failure of this latest urban redevelopment in Allentown.

Allentown Or Zombietown?

When I think back to the excitement and pride which was Allentown this time of year, back in the day, I cringe at what we have become. Although there's a little buzz about the arena, when you divide the state taxes diverted by the people who will attend, it's a very expensive ticket. Circumstances have conspired against Allentown; Demographically, center city keeps becoming poorer. We have become a one party town, not benefiting by a meaningful civic discourse. What was once a powerful local newspaper is now in an idle mode, waiting for another consequence of corporate takeover. This blog will continue to write about both history and politics, but will never blend them together into some sort of artificial smoothie.

above reprinted from December of 2013

UPDATE JANUARY 10, 2022: Our new mayor claims to be excited about Allentown having a majority of women on city council.  While I have no problem with their gender, I'm very nervous about their disposition.  One of the women, Ce-Ce Gerlach, participated in the march to defund the police. Another one, Cynthia Mota, worked for Hasshan Batts, whose organization would most likely receive any diverted funds. Batts writes...

Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley is a Black-led, anti-racist, liberation-based grassroots organization focused on healing and wellness through leadership development, violence prevention and reentry, racial justice and health equity and community capacity building. 

I applaud Matt Tuerk's diplomacy, but I can only hope for the sake of Allentown that he realizes that rather than defund or divert police funding, the police department needs to be bolstered.

Jennie Molovinsky Was A Quiet Neighbor

For nearly a hundred years the Wenz Memorial Company had a tombstone factory at 20th and Hamilton.  Their parcel extended from Hamilton Street back to Walnut Street, across from the home of former mayor Joe Daddona.   Years ago, large granite slabs would be delivered by railroad, using the the Barber Quarry spur route.  During the Phil Berman era,  the facilities were also used to produce large stone sculptures.  Behind the office and production building, most of the property was used for storage of tombstones.  Some of the stones were samples of their handiwork, and others were old stones that had been replaced with new ones, by family members.  Such was the case with my great grandmother's first stone, which has laid at Wenz's for several decades.  The row houses and their front porches on S. Lafayette Street faced this portion of Wenz's, and it was very quiet, indeed.

Some readers may have noticed that Wenz's has been demolished, and the parcel will now contain a bank,  Dunkin Donut, and Woody's Sport Bar.  The residents of Lafayette Street,  experiencing complete quietness for all these years, attended the zoning hearing as objectors.  Their previous view, a dark, quiet lot, would now be replaced with a lit parking lot, with bar patrons coming and going.  Although I will not comment on the zoning issues,  residents were supposedly told by the zoners that the development would improve their quality of life.  It's one thing to have the quality of your life degraded,  it's another to have your intelligence insulted, to boot.  Perhaps the zoners need some training in sensitivity.

reprinted from May of 2016

Jenni Molovinsky Still Teaching Me History

Many years ago my advocacy for Fairview Cemetery resulted from a search for the grave of a young Jewish woman who died in 1913.  During the search I learned about Mt. Sinai, the small Jewish portion of Fairview.  The search ended on Fountain Hill, where I inadvertently also found the grave of my great grandmother, Jenni Molovinsky, buried at Agudas Achim's cemetery.  

Mt. Sinai predated the synagogues in Allentown, and the men's society which founded it was a precursor to the current Kenneth Israel Congregation, which now has its cemetery on Walbert Ave. 

Another Jewish Fraternal organization, the Emil Zola I.O.B.A. of Allentown, also established a cemetery on Fountain Hill.  Zola was a French writer who championed Alfred Dreyfus, a Jew falsely accused of treason in 1894.  The lodge established a burial ground on Fountain Hill in 1898,  near the other Jewish cemetery where Jenni Molovinsky was buried in 1913.

photocredit: J. Nasta

Allentown Becomes A Monarchy

Park and Shop Lots

Downtown Allentown boomed for about 100 years. During the prosperity years following World War II, the two car family emerged. Several business leaders of Allentown realized both the parking problem and the potential to enhance sales. Park and Shop was begun by Harvey Farr, Donald Miller and John Leh. The current small parking deck at 10th and Hamilton, above the current uptown police substation, was the first deck in the country. To make the parking lots, shown in the postcard above, houses were purchased and torn down. Although the gentlemen mentioned in this article profited from their influence, they always provided solutions for the betterment of the community. They seemed to be a benevolent oligarchy. As the viability of the Park And Shop enterprise declined along with the intercity shopping, The Allentown Parking Authority was conveniently formed by local politicians, and it purchased the lots using Municipal bonds; The process allowed the aforementioned gentleman to land on their feet, in a downward market.

Flash ahead thirty five years to another downward market, and we have one gentleman, J.B. Reilly, buying up center-city with municipal bonds backed by state taxes. Reilly has purchased far more property than ever owned by Park and Shop. He has purchased virtually the four square blocks surrounding the arena, a significant portion of the Neighborhood Improvement Zone(NIZ). Again the process was facilitated by our elected officials. Let us hope that the new monarchy will be as benevolent as the old oligarchy.

reprinted from November of 2012

The Wagon Trail

Most of Lehigh Parkway lies in a deep ravine. The slope up to Lehigh Parkway South, across the creek from Robin Hood, is very steep, about 60 degrees. Unknown to many people, there is a diagonal trail on part of the slope, which comes out halfway up the hill behind the Stone and Log House.

We kids, who grew up in the Parkway, called it the Wagon Trail. I believe it was part of the Kemmerer Farm (Stone and Log House), which dates back to the late 1770's. In the 1950's, the foundation of a small kiln was still visible on the trail. The subsequent years had not been kind to the old trail,  and it is no longer maintained by the Park Department. About halfway between it's entrance and exit on the hill, the trail has been blocked by a large fallen tree. People had dumped debris on the trail, and it remained there for years.

In April of 2010, I organized a cleanup.  The park director at the time cooperated on the project. I agreed that no power tools would be used, and he arranged for the city to pick up the rubbish.

It is my hope that the new administration will realize that our parks are more than just space to cram more recreational gimmicks.  They are steeped in history, and places where children can explore.

reprinted from previous years

A Better Time For Allentown's 9th Street

Allentown's latest shooting fatality (as of Jan. 1, 2022, 5:00AM), collapsed in front of the ice machine shown above.  Apparently the 300 block of N. 9th Street has more than its share of drug activity, and a few suspects (not necessarily related to the shooting) were escorted by the police out of homes on the block. 

Unfortunately, shootings and drug activity are nothing recent to Allentown.  What brings us to today's post is the particular storefront pictured.  Those familiar with Allentown's past recognize it as Emma Tropiano's store.  Those familiar with Allentown's past remember when the Morning Call thought Emma and her complaint about sofas on porches was the biggest problem in Allentown. Their reporters would attack her, and their columnist mocked her.  

In retrospect, when she was behind the store's counter it was truly better days for 9th Street and Allentown.

Visiting Easton

Being one of the last warm days of the year, I thought we would visit Easton. I thought perhaps it would be more interesting to do the trip circa 1948. Lehigh Valley Transit had a trolley that went from 8th and Hamilton, through Bethlehem, to the circle in Easton. In the photo above, we're coming down Northampton Street, just entering the Circle. The Transit Company was using both trolleys and buses, until they discontinued trolleys completely, in 1953. At this time, Hamilton, Broad and Northampton Streets were the shopping malls of the era, and public transportation serviced the customers. The Transit Company, now Lanta, currently serves the Allentown population from a prison like facility at 6th and Linden Streets; It just needs a fence. Easton mayor Sal Panto is now also abandoning the merchants for a remote transportation/correction facility, which will entertain the inmates with the Al Bundy High School Dropout Museum. Hope you enjoyed the trip.
reprinted from November of 2011

UPDATE March 2015: The above post was written in 2011, but it's taken Sal Panto longer than expected to build the Lanta Transfer/Parking Deck. The planned Al Bundy Museum is now being replaced instead by Easton City Hall, where Sal is expected to wear his high school football uniform. As it turns out, Sal and I have something in common, we both worked at our fathers' meat markets in Easton. My father's market was called Melbern, and was on S. 4th Street, catty corner the Mohican Market. During the early 1960's, on my way to lunch in the circle, I would stop and visit a friend who worked at Iannelli's chicken and coldcut counter in the 5&10 on Northampton Street. The meat markets and commerce on Northampton Street are long gone, but Easton's Center Square is having a revival as the place to dine.

UPDATE DECEMBER 31, 2021: A decade later and Panto is still mayor of Easton, but they're saying that even that new parking deck is now outdated.  I still enjoy visiting Easton,  which continues to improve from its organic growth, as opposed to Allentown's NIZ induced building frenzy.

Cannibal Valley

During the summer of 1952, Lehigh Valley Transit rode and pulled its trolley stock over to Bethlehem Steel, to be chopped up and fed to the blast furnaces. The furnaces themselves ceased operation in 1995, and are now a visual backdrop for young artists, most of whom never saw those flames that lit up that skyline. Allentown will now salvage some architectural items documented on this blog, and begin tearing down its shopping district, which was serviced by those trolleys. As young toothless athletes from Canada, entertain people from Catasauqua, on the ice maintained by a Philadelphia company, Allentown begins another chapter in its history of cannibalism. 

photo from August 1952, showing last run on St. John Street to Bethlehem Steel

reprinted from November of 2011

Hispanic Identity Politics

Some of the new state house districts in Pennsylvania,  especially for Hispanics in Allentown,  are ethnic mapping by design.  Although it is Hispanic political affirmative action, it's still not enough for some activists.  Local Spanish radio guru Victor Martinez complained that there are too many other minorities in the new third Allentown District as proposed.

I suppose that in the world of Enid Santiago and Martinez, only Hispanics would run and vote, ensuring Enid's victory.  After Enid lost the primary last time, in addition to contesting the vote, she ran as a write-in against her own party's elected winner.  Her crew even managed to strong arm support for the effort from some incumbent Democrats.

Because the new state map was purposefully drawn with eight minority opportunity districts,  the local Hispanic community and others will succeed in electing more representatives to the state house. However, whether such a preoccupation with identity politics really serves the best interests of any community in the long term is questionable.

Allentown Postcards

I have often used old postcards of Allentown on this blog. Most of the cards have a similar coloration, and were photographed by Harold Becraft in the early 1950's. Becraft was a photographer from Suffern N.Y., who produced many of the images used in the postcards of Allentown's parks. These cards were produced locally by E.H. Scholl Co. In addition to Becraft's name on the front, they're also marked Kodachrome. Although Becraft did many park scenes for Schall, the image shown above is one of his few cityscapes.

reprinted from May of 2013

The Morning Call Delivery

I've been a continuous Morning Call subscriber for 34 years, every day, seven days a week. I think that might well be some sort of record. Even other dinosaurs, occasionally, have let their subscriptions expire, to take advantage of some promotion. Not me, full ticket, paid by the year. The last couple of years, as their delivery system broke down, I have taken to pay semi annually. Quarterly will now be the prudent choice. I no longer attempt to complain about a missing paper. Waiting to speak to somebody in India is detrimental to my blood pressure. molovinsky on allentown opens early, but the paper keeps coming later; Even mcall doesn't refresh itself until about 5:45 a.m. I no longer get the paper in time for my morning coffee, the pot is long empty by the time it arrives. I suppose soon I'll have to get my news from the City Web Site.

reprinted from December of 2011

Allentown 1950

Sixty years ago downtown Allentown hummed. It was fueled by the vision of people who developed empires, not cookie cutter ideas from the National Magazines for Bureaucrats, like the arena. Shown here is the Transit Office and depot at the side of 8th and Hamilton. General Trexler had been a principle in the Trolley Company, which also built the 8th Street Bridge, to connect Allentown with points south, all the way to Philadelphia. In addition to being the terminal for the Philadelphia bound Liberty Bell, it also fed the merchants of Allentown with thousands of shoppers from its many Allentown routes. The shoppers now sit on the cold steel benches at the Lanta Detention Center on 7th Street, as the non-visionaries prepare to demolish the center of town, to build a monstrosity. 

The light and shadows reveal that this is an early morning photo. In a few hours 8th and Hamilton (behind the trolley) would be clogged with shoppers

above reprinted from December of 2011

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 24, 2021: In the decade since the above was written, downtown Allentown turned into an urban office park. While there are a few stores, it no longer aspires to be a shopping destination. The first floor retail space in the new apartment buildings are to justify the NIZ financing requirement, not to meet any market demand for storefronts. Criticism of the new center city is limited mostly to this blog. Other voices, such as the newspaper, have either profitted from the NIZ, or are indifferent.

The Clown And The Landlord

Yesterday's Morning Call had an article by Dan Hartzell on Sunday's Halloween Parade. Dan wrote "Last minute financial donations from community activists saved the 2005 parade..." Hartzell goes on to write about the candidates present and the weather conditions, but who were the community activists? He then writes "City Parks and Recreation Director Greg Weitzel said the parade is no longer under threat of extinction- a good thing, since the event dates to 1905 and could be the oldest Halloween parade in the country." But who were the community activists? As a boy growing up in the 50's, the Halloween Parade was one of the biggest events of the year. My family would watch from around 15th and Hamilton, avoiding the packed crowds further down in the teeming shopping area. I remember Hopalong Cassidy riding his horse in the parade. In 2006, another TV icon from that era, cowgirl Sally Starr, participated in the parade at age 83. I don't know how many people in 2006 had any idea who Sally Starr was? Now in 2010, not only is Sally Starr forgotten, so are the community activists who saved the Oldest Halloween Parade in America(Inc.)*. Saving the parade was organized by Everett Bickford, aka Apples the Clown, and Heidi Unterberg. The parade was able to occur because of a donation from John Chapkovich, at the time a 23 year old landlord. Thanks Everett, thanks Heidi, thanks John, for keeping a 105 year old tradition going.

*Oldest Halloween Parade in America Inc. is copyrighted by Everett Bickford

reprinted from November of 2010

Branding Candidate Molovinsky

An article on Wehr's Dam referred to me as a blogger running for State Representative. Before that label sticks,  please allow me to identify myself. I'm a long time community advocate, who in recent years has used a blog to help shine light on issues. Long before I had a blog, or even a computer, I was a contributor to the community dialogue. Although a life long proponent of historical preservation, in the late 90's I organized homeowners who felt an unnecessary proposed historic district infringed upon their property rights. Among many other issues in recent years, I turned my attention to the preservation of the WPA structures gracing our communities. Although the article referred to me as a member of the group defending Wehr's Dam, I actually started that effort. Even though Allentown is not part of the 183rd District, I continue to publish molovinsky on allentown, because it is an archive on my activism during the last decade. However, that activism started long before the blog. 

above reprinted from September of 2014 

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 22, 2021: I have always considered state government in Pennsylvania dysfunctional, and self serving for those incumbents elected here for life. With that conviction, I ran as an independent in 2014 against eleven term incumbent Julie Harhart, even though the Northampton area dominated the little sliver of South Whitehall in the 183th District. It is my understanding that the proposed new map places the township in one district. I wonder if South Whitehall would now be ready to be represented by a trouble maker like myself?

The New Bloggers

One thing about the blogosphere, with the cost of operation, free, it's always expanding. There are several new blogs I would like to bring to the attention of both my readers. By now, both of you have probably noticed that I added a blog link list last month. Blogspot, which hosts this blog, offers several options for the list. I settled on the most simple, arranged in alphabetical order. Although this post will mention a couple others, I will not be updating my list at this time. Send In The Clowns is published anonymously, as most blogs are, and has been taking some of our elected officials to task. Allentown Parking Authority has a bone to pick with the Allentown Parking Authority. Clancularius Introspective has been in business for about a year now, publishing over 53 posts alone in October. IronPigPen is a sport's buff smorgasbord, with an attitude. Unfortunately, the blog is for sale; Personally, I hope the deal falls through, and the current owners stay stuck with the chore. For those of you who prefer less controversy, Lehigh Valley Transplant spotlights the valley with fresh, innocent eyes. The logo used at the top of this post has no affiliation to the mentioned Clown blog, I simply like the image.

reprinted from November of 2009

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 21, 2021: Although twelve years have passed since I wrote the above piece, not much has happened in the local blogosphere. Both Bernie O'Hare and I continue to offend daily. Reillyville, formally downtown Allentown, continues to build bland buildings. Today the paper published their Road To Nowhere article about the new unnecessary road connecting Jaindl's good fortune with the less fortunate to their north. Quoted in the article were Morning Call experts Hasshan Batts and Ce-Ce Gerlach. When the experts are done squandering our share of the Infrastructure Money, let's hope they at least widen Route 22.

Was Guridy First Latino Council Member?

A Morning Call article on Saturday described Julio Guridy as Allentown's first Latino council member. Recently, Matt Tuerk was described as our first Latino mayor by the paper. If Tuerk's Cuban grandmother qualified him as a first, then certainly Martin Velazquez's Puerto Rican father made him the first Hispanic council member in 1994.  

In fairness to the paper, Velazquez's terms were many years ago, and the "First Latino" was missing from both the headline and article by Sunday. Guridy and Velazquez were both motivated to run in opposition to Emma Tropiano, especially her sponsored ordinance on English as the official language. Marty also became a candidate for mayor, and beat Emma Tropiano in the primary by one vote. 

I do agree with the article about Julio's contributions to Allentown. Although he and I over the years had some heated discussions, both in the council chamber and on the street, Allentown has certainly benefitted from his devotion to the city.

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 this 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 post reprinted every December since 2015 

Allentown School District

One of the most amazing things about Allentown is that the population, despite the problems, has remained about the same since 1928. That was the year Allentown celebrated reaching 100,000. Today, we are about 106.000. Although the numbers stayed the same, the demographics have changed drastically. We are now officially a minority city. When I grew up, there was a saying, If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much. How's that for political correctness? Today, if you want to see a Pennsylvania Dutchman, you have to look at the picture on a bag of pretzels. During my school years, a delinquent was a kid smoking a cigarette in the alley. Today, we have machete attacks, and parents beating someone else's kid in a classroom. In this environment, should we be concerned about math scores in Singapore? There is a disconnect between the discipline problems and the preoccupation for better scores on the standardized tests; Increasing civility is much more important. If we could get that math score up, will the public overlook the machete attack? We'll build a new school next to Jackson Elementary, move the students, and put the machete attackers in the old Jackson. Then, we'll take the real achievers and put them in an academy of excellence. Let's hope not too many parents insist that their child belongs in the academy. Let's hope that the prison school works out. We all agree that all the students are a precious commodity. What we really need is safe classrooms, conducive to learning. We need supervised streets, conducive for getting to and from school safely. Isn't it interesting that a child can leave Central Catholic at 4th and Chew, and be safer than a child leaving William Allen at 17th and Chew? The photograph, from the late 1940's, shows a kindergarden class before Lehigh Parkway Elementary School was completed. One of the twin houses served both as the neighborhood school and church. 

above reprinted from December of 2010 

UPDATE DECEMBER 16, 2021: Much has happen, and much hasn't, since I wrote this piece a decade ago. We have some new school buildings, with a middle school finally on the drawing board for the east side. We have been through a series of superintendents. We now have an unwritten requirement that he/she must be a person of color. Recent progress in our system, along with the rest of the nation, has been stymied by the pandemic. I remain blunt and devoid of PC.

Allentown's Managing Director Position Superfluous

In 1996 when the current city charter (home rule) was approved, Allentown had decided against a manager, choosing instead to stay with the strong mayor system.  However, when Ed Pawlowski assumed office in January of 2006, he appointed a managing director anyway,  even though the position had never existed before in city hall. City Council at the time erroneously approved the redundant position.  I might point out that the particular director ended up being indicted by the FBI on his second round in that position.

When Leonard Lightner complained the other day that he was picking up the slack for the currently unfilled position, someone with more institutional memory might have informed him that at best he was just performing the duties originally intended for his Community Development position. 

I commend city council for putting the position on hold for now. I suggest that both council and Matt Tuerk reference the charter, so that they might become more familiar with which positions are actually mandated. Furthermore, I suggest that all discretionary positions be phased out, so that the police department can be expanded even beyond current recommendations. Perceptions of public safety and livability are quickly eroding.

postcard showing the new city hall in 1962

Nagy Novelty Company

In Downtown Allentown's commercial years, stores extended 3 blocks out from Hamilton Street. The only remaining remnant of that era is the parking meters, which apparently haven't noticed that the stores have been gone now for over 30 years. A magic shop mentioned in the previous post was on 9th Street, between Linden and Turner. On 8th Street, also a couple blocks off Hamilton, was the Nagy Novelty Company. The dictionary defines novelty as a small, often cheap, cleverly made article, usually for amusement. The Nagy's had thousands of them, floor to ceiling. There were little jokes and gags, sometimes risque, passed around parties in the 40's and 50's. When you pulled " Miss Lola, The Snappy Bubble Dancer" leg's out, your finger got snapped. 

The Nagy's, an ancient father, son and dog, stayed open till around 1980. I was never sure which one was the son. To me, as an aficionado of the old and curious, the store was a shrine. Items which they sold for a few cents, now sell on ebay for many dollars. They manufactured their own greeting cards. Shown here is the front and inside of an embossed card probably dating back to the 1920's.

reprinted from December of 2008

A Reflection On Christmas Lights

When I was a child, when it came to Christmas lights, more seemed better. I recall my father taking us to see a house out on Union Street, beyond Union Terrace, which decorated lawn, house and roof. The home owner continued that tradition for many years, until he became too old to perform that labor of love. 

When I became older and more visual, I found less decorations more tasteful. Not only was I drawn to less, but also older. Over the years my camera would turn to the retro decorations, especially those faded and shopworn. The film elmusion has held up better than my memory...I can only guess where the photo above was taken. 

Today's inflatables are not, in my opinion, camera worthy.

reprinted from previous years

A Bastard Blogger And Christmas Lights In Parkway

As dusk falls, cars start entering Lehigh Parkway to enjoy the annual Christmas light display.  In the darkness 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. In daylight they would see that the top landing is breaking up, and the subsequent landings down the double stairs are even in worse condition. These cracked landings allow seeping water to undermine the steps below them,  jeopardizing the entire structure.  I have been reporting these deteriorating conditions to the Park Department for six years. While nothing has been done to rehab this irreplaceable structure, the department is actively seeking grants to build another new park, near the old incinerator plant off Basin Street.

As a long time public critic of the former Pawlowski administration,  his park directors may have dismissed my criticism of park policy as political discontent. However, with the current mayor and park director I have a long time rapport, but to no apparent avail.

When I drive through the park I don't see the pretty lights, but a sad situation. I see crumbling WPA structures. I see neglect and misplaced priorities.

reprinted from December of 2019 

UPDATE DECEMBER 2020: The Park Department did repair the vertical surfaces on the stairwell structure this past summer through a Trexler Trust grant, but not the landings. Because the landing surfaces are essential to maintain the structural integrity, I will keep up my campaign for such repair.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2021: In a few weeks we'll have a new mayor, but this old blogger will to continue to focus on the same shortcomings to our park system. Rather than seeking outside grants for the WPA structures, they must become main park budget items. They must be given the priority their place in our history deserves.

Jennie Molovinsky, Part 1

I was at a party where the host recently acquired a lawn sculpture. Unknown to him, a section of it was comprised of an old Jewish tombstone, of a wife and mother, M. Azrilian, who died at the age of 25 in 1918. It's a beautiful carving of a branchless tree trunk, symbolizing a life ended prematurely.
I became concerned as to where this stone had come from. Who would know if their great-grandmother's stone was taken? I had no idea even where my great-grandmother was buried. I searched for this young woman's grave. Finally, Rabbi Juda from Bethlehem directed me to the old Agudath Achim Cemetery in Fountain Hill. There I found the woman, M. Azrilian, with a new grave marker. Next to her I discovered Jennie Molovinsky, my great-grandmother.

My thanks to Rabbi Juda and M. Azrilian (1893-1918)

I  wrote the above paragraph in July of 1997.  In searching for M. Azrilian, I first became aware of Mt. Sinai, the small Jewish portion of Fairview Cemetery on Lehigh Street in Allentown. Early posts on this blog deal with my advocacy for that cemetery, and the history of the Mt. Sinai portion.  When Jennie died in 1913, the former Agudath Achim Synagogue on 2nd Street in Allentown had just consecrated their new cemetery on Fullerton Avenue. Jewish tradition requires that the first burial be a man, so Jennie was buried in the old cemetery, on Fountain Hill.

reprinted from June of 2014

Using A Bad Lesson Well Taught In Philadelphia

Back on May 4th, before the death in police custody in Minneapolis, I wrote about Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.  She instructed the police force not to arrest for minor infractions, like theft and prostitution, during the virus crisis. Large groups of young people were running amok in center city Philadelphia convenience stores,  scooping up everything their backpacks could hold. Meanwhile at City Hall, woke mayor Jim Kenney stayed silent about this decline in civilization. Only after a couple weeks, after a merchant and citizen backlash, did Outlaw and Kenney finally reverse policy.

Philadelphia inner city kids were taught a bad lesson by their police commissioner and mayor. 

Perhaps with that lesson fresh in their mind, some of them may have graduated to the looting this past weekend.

My first reaction to the looting on Walnut and Chestnut Streets was that the police must have stood down. How could looters smash windows and enter a Wells Fargo Bank without being stopped? How could all that theft and destruction only result in 13 arrests Saturday night?

I realize that there are a limited number of police and that Philadelphia is a large city. While I can't pass judgement on the police response, I will on the looters shown above. I do not believe that their thinking centered on George Floyd and institutional racism, but rather about what they could steal.

Here in the Lehigh Valley, the mayors and police chiefs conveyed their commitment to social justice.  But more importantly,  the local protestors expressed their hopes and solidarity in a lawful manner.

photocredit:Steven Falk/Philadelphia Inquirer

above reprinted from January of 2020

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 8, 2021: Yesterday, liberal Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner tried to convince the press that citizens or tourists shouldn't worry about the record 521 homicides, because some other crime statistics are down. He said this nonsense despite more and more innocent victims caught in the crossfire.

Lehigh County recently had a smash-and-grab incident at Hamilton Crossings. Fortunately, I couldn't imagine local DA Martin echoing Krasner's sentiments.

The Lehigh Valley At War

If you lived in the Lehigh Valley during either World War, you knew that those victories required an enormous amount of equipment. Mack Truck was under control of the War Department during both conflicts, starting in 1915 and then again in 1942. The Queen City Airport on Lehigh Street is a vestige of the second war. Mack Truck and Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft joined forces to produce planes and plane parts. Mack's biggest contribution was its trucks during WW1, establishing their reputation for durability. The naval gun shop at Bethlehem Steel was one of the largest in the world when built. With barrels up to 16 inches, it was capable of providing up to 30 guns a day.

Mack Trucks for War Department 1918

above reprinted from January 2013

UPDATE May 2, 2018: Mack Defense, a division of Mack Truck in Macungie, was just awarded a Defense Department contract for $82 million to produce trucks through 2023.

A Messy Transition For Allentown

There is no going back to 50's and 60's for downtown Allentown. There's no going back to the strawberry pie in the Patio Resturant at Hess Brothers. There was somewhat of a classist element to the removal of the recent former businesses on Hamilton Street. While there was nothing there to appeal to a more well heeled west end crowd, there was nevertheless quite a bit of business.  So now we're out with old, but as of now, not much new shopping has replaced it. The transition was rather messy, and not reported upon by the Morning Call and other more main stream local media.

I became very much involved in the transition. I met and championed for the former merchants. I attended meetings with them at city hall. On this blog I documented their plight. I noted the irony that while they were considered a blight on Hamilton Street, they were then lauded as a success story for 7th Street. 

Several years ago while the Morning Call was pumping out one press release after another for the new NIZ, this blog remained with reporting the other side of the story. The newspaper itself is now reduced, with their building sold to the NIZ Czar, and their reporters working from home. 

I too remain working from home, with my old Kodak camera and Smith Corona typewriter. I hope to continue documenting that other side of the story. 

Shopping Around The Corner In Allentown

Needless to say that when I was a kid downtown Allentown was bustling. There was nothing that you couldn't find or buy on Hamilton Street. The mercantile district was so vigorous that it could support stores and businesses two blocks out in either direction. Across the street from the Earl Theater on 8th Street, the Look Steak Shop did a hardy business. Also in that block was Stangl's Jewelry, Goodin's Optical and a hearing aid business.

It is a little difficult to recognize those businesses in the photograph above. While the city and newspaper was lauding the progress of the upcoming arena, I was documenting the demolition of the city's history. The buildings were not the only victims. The last group of owner operators were also roughed up by the city...I also documented that.

I apologize to those of you who are happy season ticket holders at the new arena. While you can read about the progress at numerous other sites, including the city web page, City Center Realty, and The Morning Call, this blog commemorates the past.

reprinted from previous years

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.

above post reprinted from previous years.

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 2, 2021: In the decade since I wrote the original portion of this post, most of the historical buildings in the former mercantile district have been replaced. While architecturally significant buildings, owned by different people have been lost, they have been replaced by unremarkable boxes, mostly owned by one man. Young people moving into these new apartments will not remain,  there is no urban environment to enjoy... Today's new apartments along Walnut and Linden Streets will be tomorrow's tenements. 

Double Down (Towns)

People often speculate as to why Bethlehem now is a destination, while, too often, Allentown is considered a place to avoid. The long answer will not fit within this short post, but here may be a few reasons. Bethlehem had two downtowns, on both sides of the river. While downtown Allentown certainly was the premier shopping area for the Lehigh Valley prior to the malls, it may have become a victim to over-planning. In the late 60's, early 70's, Allentown attempted to compete with the suburban malls by building a canopy on Hamilton Street. The viability of Hamilton Street was extended for a few years, but the magnetism of Hess's could well have been the reason. Bethlehem also built a pedestrian mall on Broad Street, but the historical quaintness of Main Street remained. Although the commerce in its southside business district languished, the architecture remained. By the time Allentown removed the canopies in the late 90's, the architecture of its buildings had long been bisected and altered. As historical became chic, Bethlehem profited from having done less in the past.

Its southside business district is a time capsule, architecturally unchanged since the turn of the last century. It now is becoming a mix of boutiques and bistros in a fashionable historic setting. Last, but not least, Bethlehem benefited from consistency of developmental leadership. While Allentown has had a succession of Economic Directors, Tony Hanna, with benefit of his institutional memory, has led Bethlehem for many years.

Shown at the top is pop up photo matches from the 1930's, promoting Julian Goldman's Fine Clothes For The Family on the South Side, East Third Street. Also shown is Tony Hanna, along side of the former Goodman Furniture Store.

above reprinted from July of 2012

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 28, 2018: Allentown lost most its historical mercantile district with the arena, and new NIZ office towers. They are without architectural merit.

ADDENDUM DECEMBER 1, 2021:When I wrote this post in 2012, I  had no idea Allentown would lose almost all its vintage buildings on Hamilton Street. Someone recently commented on social media that they're glad some older buildings were retained on the southside of the 700 block. Actually, those buildings were financial holdouts from Reilly's City Center Real Estate offers, not historical planning.  When Reilly's real estate portfolio is completed, Hamilton Street will be unrecognizable from 2012.

The Allentown Parking Authority

The Allentown Parking Authority Officer shown here is by far the most productive person they have, he may well be the most productive city worker period. I estimate he easily writes over a $half million dollars a year by himself. He spends the day hopping from one fertile hot zone to another. You can see him everyday, several times working Chew Street, between 16th and West. That block, because of the hospital, has time restricted parking. He's like a fisherman, a very good one, who knows the good spots. For those less familiar with this blog, please use the search engine on the upper right; type in parking authority. Along with taking them to task numerous times, I documented fictitious data they provided to City Council to justify doubling the meter rate and fine structure. I also 

"They're acting like a vampire sucking the blood out of downtown," Molovinsky said of the authority.

conducted a news conference, covered by Channel 69, on unnecessary parking meters as far out as 10th and Chew. Those meters were finally removed, only this year. Some comments on the previous post suggest that there is justification for the Authority and their policies. As a student of this bureaucracy for years, I can tell you that it has actually had a negative affect on center city commerce. It's simply a back door tax, mostly on those who can least afford it. The cars shown are being ticketed for not moving for street sweeping, despite the snow.*

*photographs from 2007, Parking Authority supposedly no longer gives "sweep tickets" during snow storms.

This is a reprint from September of 2010 and March of 2014.   I was told by the former Authority director that although the regulations haven't changed, they now use discretion concerning enforcement during snow hardships.

Welcome To The Vendig

In 1933, with the end of Prohibition, my grandparents(maternal) started operating the Vendig Hotel. They were the working partners, another immigrant family, here longer, were the silent backers. The hotel was directly across from the current Main Street Depot Restaurant in Bethlehem, which was the old New Jersey Line Terminal. With my grandmother cooking, they became well known for crab cakes and other shelled seafood. What wasn't known, was that she was strictly kosher, and never even tasted anything she prepared. As some may recall, my grandparents came from Hungarian Transylvania (now Romania) in the early 20's. Family lore* says Bela Lugosi visited the hotel. Lugosi was born in the same area of then Hungary, and started his acting career playing Jesus in Passion Plays. In 1931, after immigrating to America years earlier, he got his big break playing Dracula. Typecast as a villain, Lugosi was reduced in later years to drug addiction and playing in low budget monster films. He died in the mid 50's and was buried in his Dracula cape.

*My uncle, who as a boy lived above the hotel, had no recollection of Lugosi. The partner families would later merge through marriage, and 40 years later come to own the old vaudeville theater in South Bethlehem known as The Globe. It too is gone.                                                      

reprinted from 2008

Defending Monocacy Park

I have often explained to people how Allentown WPA projects came to benefit so much from Harry Trexler.  In the late 1920's Trexler commissioned Franklin Meehan, a leading Philadelphia-based landscape architect, to design the park system for Allentown. When the depression hit in 1929, Trexler put implementing those plans on hold.  In 1935, when the New Deal WPA came to town,  the city was shovel ready with plans commissioned years earlier by Trexler. 

In the last decade (and before) I have been an advocate for maintaining the WPA structures within our park system.  While Allentown can boast of numerous magnificent structures, Bethlehem also received the royal treatment with the construction of the elaborate dam complex in Monocacy Park. 

Unfortunately for Bethlehem, the Wildlands Conservancy still has its sights set on demolishing that and all other dams. Although they publicly state that they respect a municipality's decisions on such matters, they never stop moving forward with their agenda.  They poison the well behind the scenes with state agencies, which have regulation over dams.  In South Whitehall, their scheming with counterparts in Harrisburg has driven the cost of keeping Wehr's Dam from $50K to $750K.

While I cannot actively take on the mission of protecting the Monocacy Dam, the least I can do is sound the alarm.  If there are people out there who realize that Bethlehem will never again be graced with such a magnificent park,  they should start organizing to defend it.

Sledding In Allentown

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. Our sledding hill of choice was above the Log and Stone House. 

Other popular sledding hills were in Allentown's west end,  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.

photo courtesy of S. Williams

reprinted from previous years

ADDENDUM THANKSGIVING 2021: Allentown is sledding into a new era, with a new mayor set for January. The Allentown of my youth, in the 1950's, is melting away. This blog, printed every weekday, is a chronicle of the past and a commentary on the present. My other project, Facebook group Allentown Chronicles, provides a venue for more participants.

Matt Tuerk's Transition Team

Matt Tuerk announced his transition team with pronouns after every name (he/him, she/her).  The pronouns concern me a little, because there are issues at city hall which should not be eclipsed by a preoccupation with political correctness. Missing on the transition team was yours truly (he/him), but rest assured that the new mayor will still receive my advice, probably in a much more public fashion than he would prefer.

Tuerk also announced that city hall personnel will stay as is. Many of those positions were filled and advanced by Pawlowski on less than the best practices, and were then left in place by O'Connell. Consequently, in some positions of authority there is still a reflection of Pawlowski's imperial attitude.  I can understand Tuerk wanting to start the journey with an experienced crew,  but I'm hoping to see some changes as time passes. We can no longer--for example--have a property owner targeted for amusement or revenge. We can no longer have supervisors who condone such bullying.