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.

UPDATE MAY 29, 2023: In the original post above from 2011, I lament the loss of architecture for the arena.  At the time I couldn't imagine that they would go on to demolish virtually all the buildings on Hamilton Street, only to construct new bland boxes for offices and their workers.  What brings back this post is that a local NIZ cheerleader last week stated that the demolished buildings were old, tired and in need of replacement. That of course is nonsense...  One hundred and twenty years for a building is nothing. The same cheerleaders delight in visiting Europe, staying in two hundred year old hotels, and shopping in three hundred year old shops. 

Save for this blog, none of the cultural or historic institutions of this city utter a peep about our lost treasures. Rather, these baby birds remain dutifully silent, hoping to be rewarded with another grant.

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 its 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

The Livingston Club, Allentown's Benevolent Oligarchy

Back in the day, when the town had three department stores, the major decisions affecting Allentown's future were made at the Livingston Club. Harvey Farr would meet Donald Miller and John Leh at the Club for lunch, and discuss acquiring more lots for Park & Shop. The bank officers of First National and Merchants Bank would discuss loans with the highly successful merchants, many of whom had stores in all three major Lehigh Valley cities. As the heydays wound down, likewise the exit plans were made there. The City of Allentown acquired the Park & Shop lots, becoming the Allentown Parking Authority. Leh's became the Lehigh County Government Center.

The new oligarchy consists of much fewer men, they could all meet at a small table in Shula's, and be entertained by watching street people arrested. The former 1st National Bank location is now a new Reilly building. The former Livingston Club building is now a parking lot, and future site to another Reilly building. Shula's is also a Reilly building....

reprinted from August of 2015

UPDATE February of 2019: Dear readers,  I found the demise of older Allentown depressing, and new Allentown painfully boring.... Shula's, referred to above, didn't last... of course referring to an alley as an Art Walk, didn't make it so.  In spite of the Morning Call (now also a Reilly building) compromising its journalistic integrity to outright promote the NIZ district, it remains a sterile collection of new tasteless buildings.

UPDATE MAY 25, 2023 5:36PM: The Morning Call has become considerably less subservient to the NIZ, and filed Right To Know requests during the past year concerning tax revenue information. 

The Misconception Of Hamilton Street

There's not many mid size cities that can boast having two national chain stores within one center city block, Allentown could. Not too many cities could say that one of those stores was one of the biggest producers in a chain of over 7000 stores, Allentown could. There's not many cities that are ignorant enough to tear down their most successful block, a virtual tax machine, Allentown is. This horrible mistake took a combination of political arrogance and public misconception. The arrogance is well known, so let me concentrate on the misconception. The perception was a few undesirable people, buying cheap things. The reality is Family Dollar sells the same merchandise in their suburban and rural stores. Rite Aid fills the same prescriptions and sells their standard merchandise. The new upscale stores, visioned for the arena front, will never produce the sales tax produced by Family Dollar and Rite Aid. The arena will never have that amount of employees, nor produce that much earned income.* The traffic congestion and lack of parking for arena events will destroy the new restaurants. Welcome to the white elephant, welcome to the ghost town.
Shown above and below is the early morning delivery to Family Dollar, every week of the year.
*sales tax and earned income currently going to city and state will now go to debt service for arena
reprinted from December 5, 2011

ADDENDUM DECEMBER OF 2018: While The Morning Call promotes Allentown's new NIZ zone, only this blogger documented the reality of the former Hamilton Street. While the Moravian Book Store could have been restocked from a small hand basket once a month, the previous Family Dollar Store needed a full tractor trailer every Sunday.  Retail is virtually destroyed on Hamilton Street. Over seven years later, and the Morning Call is still deceiving about Hamilton Street, and this blog is still delivering the truth.

ADDENDUM MAY 24, 2023: Another five years and Hamilton Street remains a dead zone, despite over a 1000 new apartments. Why these new tenants are never seen, and where they eat and shop remains an unsolved mystery. Why does the centerpiece arena only have a few shows a year?  What sort of state tax eating monster is the NIZ that Reilly can keep building his empire with no signs of street life? What sort of  State Representatives do we have who do not ask or answer these questions?

The Demolition Of Hamilton Street

In addition to three major local department stores, Allentown also sported three national chain five and dimes. Two of these emporiums stood side by side on the 700 block of Hamilton Street; F.W. Woolworth and McCrory. Those discount stores of their day sold everything, including souvenirs of Allentown and even Hamilton Street. The large buildings remained intact all these decades, still hosting national chains. Although Family Dollar and Rite Aid have other locations in Allentown, their demolition closes the chapter on Allentown's retail history. The two photographs were taken from the same location, sixty years apart. Click on images to enlarge.

above reprinted from February of 2012

Toying With An Allentown Authority

When the Redevelopment Authority acquired the former Allentown Toy Company, the intention was for a non-profit to use the first floor, with affordable housing on the upper stories.

However, two of its four board members now want the parcel to go to the Islamic Society of Greater Allentown, chaired by Hasshan Batts.  One of these board members works with Batts, and that member made a sizable payment to the other board member, for work on a political campaign.

Hasshan Batts is a gift to Virtue Signalers.  If being a rehabilitated former convict wasn't enough, he is also a Muslim. Not only does Batts have these cards in his deck, he plays them.  When the Redevelopment Authority failed to turn over the former Allentown Toy Company building to the Muslim Association, Batts said.."I get the impression they don’t want us there,”  Already every government official throws money at his organization, Promise Neighborhoods. So far in recent memory he has received $1.5 mil from Susan Wild, and another equal wad from Gov. Shapiro. 

Mayor Tuerk will be appointing a fifth member to the Redevelopment Authority.  I hope the new member has more real estate expertise and less conflicts of interest.

shown above a teddy bear, manufactured for and distributed by Allentown Toy Company

Light Rail, Circa 1935

The Lehigh Valley Transit Company ran a trolley between 8th and Hamilton and just outside Philadelphia between 1901 and 1951. In 1913 the company completed the 8th Street Bridge, which remains one of Allentown's icons to this day.



The Liberty Bell functioned as a trolley as it stopped in Coopersburg, Quakertown, Sellersville and the different towns along the way, but approached speeds of eighty miles a hour on the open track between them. At the last station in Upper Darby, passengers could transfer to a different company to complete the ride into center city Philadelphia.










Here in the Valley the company transitioned to buses by the early 1950's, and became part of Lanta in 1972. Lanta and Easton officials might take notice that the Allentown Ticket Office, shown in above photo, is only 75 feet from 8th and Hamilton, which was the center of the business district. The intercity rail beds are pretty much gone now. The same people who now advocate light-rail, couldn't wait to tear up the tracks and make bike paths.

reprinted from May 4, 2010

Coffee With Emma And Ce-Ce

This blog did not take any overt positions on the recent primary election. Instead of profiling any candidate, I reprinted my piece on Emma Tropiano, The People's Candidate. I believe that Emma has a kindred spirit in Ce-Ce Gerlach. Now, I understand that a lot of people will take exception to my comparison, maybe even Ce-Ce herself.

Because of inaccurate media reports, Emma was falsely portrayed as bigoted. Her memory now unjustly bears that misconception. Most people today who repeat that slander never knew her. Emma was immensely popular, and easily won reelection to city council, election after election. Ce-Ce Gerlach was the top vote getter this primary, receiving almost double the votes of her fellow candidates.

As someone who knew both women, there are many similarities... Both being extremely accessible, down to earth, and making people comfortable.

Emma was energized to work hard for Allentown, as is Ce-Ce. Emma was passionate about the issues she championed, so is Ce-Ce.

I sat in diners having coffee with both of them, many years apart. I think that they would have understood and liked each other.

above reprinted from May 28, 2019

ADDENDUM MAY 18, 2023: Once again Ce-Ce Gerlach was the top vote getter on Tuesday.  That result does not surprise me...Nobody has knocked on more doors in the last 15 years than her. She is well liked in all sections of the city. Although I did not endorse her for re-election because of her progressive agenda, that agenda suits the majority of the current population. I believe that she knows that my congratulations on her victory is sincere.

Grooming And Litter

Years ago in downtown Allentown there were about a dozen barbershops and virtually no litter. Today, with the same population, there are about 60 shops and tons of litter. Apparently there is no longer a correlation between nice appearance and good manners. In the past men would wait their turn. Many of the new shops seemingly have an express system. A doorman with a walkie talkie informs the "barber" who is coming, and the patron can receive his service in less than a minute. Over the years I photographed most of the shops now gone. Although I'm sure many of the new proprietors are hardworking honest people who would not tolerate any criminal behavior, the days of taking my camera into barbershops has passed.

photocredit: molovinsky

reprinted from January 7, 2009

Before Musikfest

In 1909, Bethlehem city fathers decided it was time to improve on the Broad Street Trestle Bridge built in 1871. The new concrete arch bridge was a major project, still serving Bethlehem well, 101 years later.

reprinted from August 13, 2010

The Landed Gentry

One of the popular misconceptions in our granola society is that our open space is threatened. Consequently, in addition to welfare and corporate welfare, we now have landed gentry welfare. We purchase land, at almost market value, and even allow the owner to keep it. Although there is a deed restriction prohibiting development, who can guarantee it will be enforced in future generations? In every case I'm personally familiar with, the owner never had any intention of development; In one instance, the owners were compensated over $1million.

In some cases the owners are working farmers, in many, just gentlemen farmers with country homes. An article in Sunday's Morning Call laments the reduction in the farmland preservation funds. Nothing in the land preservation compensation really guarantees continued farming, that would be somewhere between indentured servitude and slavery. In 2006, Pennsylvania spent $102 million in Growing Greener handouts. Although the program has been cut back in recent years, there is a long list of applicants hoping to get some of this handout. The granola eaters should drive across Pennsylvania. There is a lot of open space even in this heavily populated state, over 8 million farm acres. While we close mental hospitals and sell nursing homes, we pay yuppies playing weekend farmer, development rights on land they never intended on subdividing anyway.

reprinted from August 9, 2010

Waterfront By Jaindl

While I was at the Lehigh River to scrutinize the Neuweiler money pit, I decided to check on Mr. Janidl's project, just slightly upstream. 

As subscribers know, I'm not a fan of the NIZ. That prejudice aside, my compliments to the Jaindl Company. They have built an impressive building, nicely situated on the river.  The riverscape has been enhanced with artifacts from Lehigh Structural Steel, which was the river's previous longterm tenant.

This first building will be joined by more commercial and residential opportunities. American Bank, Jaindl owned, already has an office there. That may well mean that the bank's payroll is now going through an NIZ address, allowing Janidl to harvest the state taxes for debt service on the new building.  The same shenanigans are taking place up on Hamilton Street, with the LVHN payroll servicing Reilly's empire.

At least Janidl's river project is aesthetically pleasing. Wonder how he would feel about a blogger as tenant?

The Neuweiler Money Pit

People love nostalgia, and they hate thinking about the mechanisms of government.  That combination has already wasted untold $millions on the Neuweiler Brewery, but just a drop in the bucket compared to what is to come.

I have criticized development, or the lack thereof, at the brewery for almost a decade. Pawlowski bagman Mike Fleck ushered in the first developers to the brewery. That group was given the option on the property, with no actual experience in either operating a brewery or real estate. They were, however, proficient in website building, and did manage to raise money with their option.  They were also given a couple $mil to modernize the distribution portion of the building, now recently demolished.

The current option owners do have experience in real estate, and are rehabbing a nearby former factory into apartments. The problem with Neuweiler is that the building is in such poor condition, especially the upper portion with the iconic dome. However, being an NIZ project, money, aka our diverted state taxes, is no issue.  Allentown will end up with a very expensive nostalgia parcel.

City Council Charms Public About Parking Victims

Last Wednesday evening City Council passed a few reforms in regard to the Parking Authority.  Changing the curb parking distance from 6 to 9 inches doesn't seem very meaningful to me...Actually seems more like an off color joke.  Likewise, eliminating jail sentences for overdue fines just does away with debtor's prison. To this blogger the real issue was the alley parking. Although the Parking Authority proposed allowing parking under certain conditions,  city council declined to pass that reform. That failure to reform takes me back to the beginning of this controversy, and my issue about city council members also being on the Parking Authority Board.  Was there any real reform, or just another Allentown performance?

If the APA doesn't relax enforcement in the west end, and continues its crass harvest of revenue, City Council participated in nothing more than another dog and pony show to placate the public.

ADDENDUM:The current director of the APA and the current board of directors should ALL be removed...when an Authority in a city the size of Allentown writes 250,000 tickets in just one year, and they don't think there's anything wrong about that, it's time for them to move on. 

photocredit:Coney Island snake charmer by Arlene Gottfried

Another Dam Election Endorsement

As an advocate of Wehr's Dam since the Wildlands Conservancy conspired to demolish it in 2014,  I'm grateful to two current  candidates for re-election as South Whitehall Commissioners,  Diane Kelly and Jacob Roth. They did not become commissioners to save the dam, rather they first become involved in local government to bring transparency to the township because of the Ridge Farms Development.  The same former commissioners who pushed through that development also conspired with the Conservancy to ignore the referendum to save the dam. 

As advocates for new honesty and transparency in township government, Kelly and Roth recognized that the referendum to save the dam must be honored.  I'm personally happy that all the former arrogant  commissioners who conspired against the wishes of residents are gone, and proudly endorse Diane Kelly and Jacob Roth for your vote on May 16.

photo by Y Tree Photography.com

King Charles' Grandmother

Long before Charles' coronation in Westminster Abbey, his grandmother, Princess Alice (Princess Andrew of Greece), walked there during the wedding of her son Phillip to Princess Elizabeth. Princess(Alice) Andrew, later at the Coronation of Elizabeth, wore the habit of a nun. An extraordinary woman, she had founded a nurses order composed of nuns in Greece. She modeled the order after one started by her aunt and mentor in Russia, whom she had visited many years earlier. Born Princess Alice of Battenberg, she married Prince Andrew of Greece in 1903, assuming her new title.
During the Second World War, she hid a Jewish widow and her children in Athens, saving their lives. In accordance to her wish, she is buried in Jerusalem, next to her cherished aunt Duchess Fyodorovna, in the Russian Orthodox Church of Maria Magdalene. 

When Prince Charles attended Simon Peres' funeral in Jerusalem in 2016, he visited the church and his grandmother's tomb.

The first version of the above post dates back to 2011

Growth Industry In Allentown

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 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, addictive 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 from Nov. 18, 2008 

ADDENDUM MAY 5, 2023:This was a very politically incorrect post when I wrote it fifteen years ago, and it remains so today. At the time, Johnny Manana's was a short lived restaurant in the new PPL Plaza building. Now, in our NIZ era, that building couldn't compete with the tax subsidized new buildings and went to foreclosure. Although there is a new owner from a tax sale, I don't think it's doing very well. We have become a poor town with a distressed school system, and quality of life issues.  I remain politically incorrect and continue blogging.

The World Of Mirth

Allentown at one time had two very productive railroad branch lines... The West End, and the Barber Quarry. The Barber Quarry, for the most part, ran along the Little Lehigh Creek. It serviced the Traylor Engineering plant on South 10th, and continued west until it turned north toward Union Terrace. It lastly serviced Wenz's tombstone at 20th and Hamilton Streets. Previously, it had crossed Hamilton Street and ended at the bottling company on Linden Street, which later became the park department garage until demolished. The West End, for the most part, ran along Sumner Avenue, turning south and looping past 17th and Liberty Streets. It proceeded east, ending at the current small shopping center at 12th and Liberty Streets.

The photograph above shows the World of Mirth train at 17th and Liberty. World of Mirth was the midway operator at the Allentown Fair during the 40's and 50's. In the background is Trexler Lumber Yard, which burnt down in the early 1970's. The B'nai B'rith Apartment houses now occupy the location.

photograph from the collection of Mark Rabenold

reprinted from November of 2010

City Council Endorsements

It would be my preference that Allentown was having a robust primary election, with half a dozen candidates on both tickets... That Allentown no longer exists. Once again there are no Republican candidates. 

I'm a conservative, who is recommending the candidates I perceive as the most traditional in terms of city policy. They are the candidates who commit to give the police department the most support.

Candida Affa has been a voice in Allentown for decades.  Of all the candidates, she has the most institutional knowledge of an older Allentown.

Tino Babayan is an advocate for youth in the city, especially in the Ward. This is his second attempt for a seat at the dais.

Santo Napoli is a stakeholder in the new Allentown. As a merchant on Hamilton Street, he has a realistic view of 2023 Allentown.

Although I would prefer that they were still serving strawberry pie in the Patio at Hess's, that Allentown isn't coming back.  I recommend the three candidates listed above for your consideration on May 16th.

Landlords For A Better Allentown

Santo Napoli operates a men's clothing store and is also a landlord.  As a candidate for City Council, he has some proposals for land lording.  He does not sell the shirt shown above, I sincerely doubt if there still exists another like it.

In 2000, then mayor Heydt proposed the current Rental Inspection Law.  A number of landlords, normally  loner types, met together a couple of times to discuss our reaction to the proposal.  Allentown's most controversial landlord at the time, and perhaps still, asked to address us. He told us that he very much favored Heydt's proposal. He figured after he crossed the T's and dotted the i's on inspection reports,  that his units would then have the same legitimacy as ours. Our take away was that you can stigmatize the good landlords, but you cannot legislate pride of ownership with the bad ones. 

Twenty-three years later a candidates for city council, despite the Rental Inspection Law, still campaigns for better landlords.

shown above a former landlord and current blogger, with his shirt from a small, short lived organization

When Alleys Aren't Alleys

The most intractable issue in the Allentown Parking Authority controversy is alley parking. Although the Authority itself offered a compromise on that issue, at least two members of council, Candida Affa and Daryl Hendricks, won't budge. They see the topic as a slippy slope. They find the 12 ft. proposal too unenforceable... one person may perceive the width as 11ft., and another 13ft.

As a lifelong resident, I know that all alleys are not created equal.  An alley in center city with houses actually fronting on it is a very different animal than the alleys farther west. 

Past 17th Street, there are no houses in the alleys. Past Ott Street, there's not even many garages in the alleys.  In the deep west end, many former alleys no longer exist.  While the city accommodated some owners by vacating certain ones, others were just appropriated. People put private driveway signs and gates up...others were absorbed into lawns.

Leaving the alley ordinance as is leaves the issue up to the discretion of the parking authority. That discretion, or lack thereof, is what brought this current controversy to the front burner in the first place.

Show above was a "private" alley with gate. Before the gate, it was a public alley.  Farther downtown the same alley has a street name and even houses. The gate has since been removed, and it's now a garage driveway.

A Friend In Code

There is a business on Allentown's western edge that has a mess piled up to its building for over a decade. This pile of debris is on the front side of the building, visible from two streets. 

Several years ago I defended a homeowner on the east side, who was being harassed by code. Her offense was complaining about another messy business, which was also friendly with a code inspector. The Pawlowski administration weaponized code over his several terms. As a former property manager, I was well familiar with complaints about unequal treatment from the code department. 

That department has gone through some major changes in personnel. With the new administration, I was hopeful that there would be more equitable treatment of property owners. Apparently that new day in code is slow to arrive.

Parking Authority Rehab

I wasn't at the meetings yesterday, but I have been wrestling with the Allentown Parking Authority for over twenty years. Yesterday their spokesman said...

... "It's not the parking authority's job to legislate, that city council's province. We have heard the customers, the consumers, the resident's complaints and we have tried to take the lead on legislation that would mitigate a lot of these issues if these archaic ordinances were changed,"

As a long term observer of the Parking Monster, I will take a wait and see attitude before any celebration. I'm suspicious of the Authority referring to archaic ordinances.  They themselves proposed the ordinances, and some, especially the 24 hour patrols, were only instituted rather recently.  Another question is the disclaimer that they will still respond to complaints 24/7.  

The only thing more reluctant to change than the monster, is the monster's keeper, city council...Its deliberation on the more minor issues is stretching on for a month.  Council, as a whole, will not bend on the alley parking issue.  I do believe that enforcement will be more equitable than before. Tuerk has made it an issue, and he would suffer political consequences if he deserts the cause. Nevertheless, don't suppose that the monster is napping.

We Got A Complaint

The Parking Authority's excuse for ticketing at a recent food bank was that they received a complaint.  Actually, they receive a lot of complaints, and many of them are from the same people, over and over. 

I applaud Mayor Tuerk for publicly questioning in whose best interests the Authority is operating?  

While he stated that he'll both appoint and/or dismiss people from the APA board to achieve reform, there are those who doubt his motivation about this, beyond lip service.  My hunch is that he is sincere, but there are rubs to the whole situation.  The parking decks created a huge debt service to meet. Parking bans in narrow center city alleys, especially those with houses, must be enforced.

The Authority at the April 12th council meeting seemed to put forth reasonable compromises to the problems. Assuming council can approve those proposals, despite some resistance by some council members themselves, a more citizen friendly Authority might emerge. I italicize the might, because change will require an attitude correction, which will remain to be seen.

Council will vote on the Authority proposals this evening

Black Friday

Once a upon a time, Allentown didn't have the benefit of current regulations. City Hall didn't have the vision it does now; they just let the merchants put up large neon signs without extensive guidelines and approval procedures. We didn't have the benefit of a Parking Authority; Allentown Park and Shop, one of the first in the nation, irresponsibly gave free parking just to encourage business. We didn't have the benefit of a remote Lanta Terminal; shoppers and buses clogged the street and sidewalks. Prosperity is over-rated, appreciate today's vision in The City Without Limits; Bon Appetit.
watercolor by Karoline Schaub-Peeler

above reprinted from November 26, 2010

High Culture-Free Admission Art Show

Morning/mixed media/5'x5'

I have been tasked with finding appropriate homes for Jessica Lenard's (1950-2016) remaining artwork. Jessica started painting in 1970, and lived in Allentown from 1975 until 1985. Her work is known for frankness and laid bare emotions.  These large (5'x5',4'x6') iconic paintings are nominally priced at $500 each. Other pieces also available. Those interested in acquisition can leave a comment with their name and phone number. Contact information will not be printed or shared.

The Family/mixed media/4'x6'

Weeping For The Willows

Fans of the Allentown park system see that the willows are in their last years.  Planted in the mid 1930's, they have served both the parks and citizens well.  Harry Trexler commissioned the leading landscape architect of his era to design the parks. Meehan Associates of Philadelphia specified that willow trees be planted thirty feet apart along the creeks.  The shallow, extensive root system of the Willows prevented erosion, and provided shade for the creeks and citizens.

Riparian buffers have become fashionable in current ecological circles.  Their intent is to filter out nitrogen from lawn fertilizer entering streams.  They were instituted in Allentown parks in 2006 on that false pretense, and seen by the park department as a way to also reduce mowing. However, in Allentown the reality is different. The storm water system is piped directly into the creeks, under these buffers. Worse, the buffers incubated invasive species, whose removal is much more labor intensive than simply mowing the grass. The park department is now realizing that the buffers are not Allentown park appropriate.  

I recently suggested to a park official that new willows start being planted along the creeks. The reply was that willows are not indigenous, that's another new ecological buzz term. Willows however remain recommended for bank erosion. 

The parks are not indigenous, nor are the swimming pools or the basketball courts.  The willows do however provide erosion control, are not invasive, provide shade for both people and fish, and are beautiful to boot... Not a bad idea Mr. Meehan had back in the 1930's.

I think that the park department need remember that they are managing parks, not indigenous species conservation districts.  More important is that these parks are for people to enjoy. A child playing by a creek bank is an experience now lost from Allentown, that we need to get back.

Weeping For The Allentown Park System

When Harry Trexler commissioned Frank Meehan of Philadelphia to design the Allentown parks, Meehan was considered the leading landscape architect in America.  It was because of Meehan that Allentown was shovel ready when the WPA started in the mid 1930's.  It was because of Meehan that our park system became the envy of cities everywhere.  

Throughout the park system he planted Weeping Willows thirty feet apart along the creeks. Their shallow, spreading root system provided the Little Lehigh, Cedar and Jordan Creeks erosion protection for almost a century. It provided both fish and fisherman beauty and shade along the creek banks.

Move ahead seventy five years, and in 2006 the from out of town new mayor Pawlowski combined the park and recreation departments, and hired a recreation major for department head. The new director turned over many park management decisions to the Wildlands Conservancy. The Wildlands introduced riparian buffers, even though the storm sewer system is piped directly into the creeks. As the Willows neared their lifespan and started dying out, they were not replaced. Rather, other trees were planted, back from the creeks, doubling down on the buffer concept.

We now realize that the creek banks are eroding, and that the buffers are incubators for invasive species. It is now the department's intention to seek outside consultants for recommendations. Rather than go outside again for advice, they should go back in history...Weeping Willows should be again planted along the banks. HOWEVER, the department REJECTS this suggestion, because willows are not indigenous. 

When I was a boy I lived above Lehigh Parkway in Little Lehigh Manor. My father's uncle worked for the park department cutting the grass along the creek. I'm saddened by the state of the overgrown creek banks, and the stubbornness of the city to not see the best solution.

Many of the original Willow trees have died, and the remaining ones are on their last legs.

above reprinted from May of 2022

More on the Willows tomorrow

Picnic Pavilion Blues

For the last decade the picnic pavilions below Cedar Crest College have been in a state of benign neglect. The park department stubbornly wants to replace these older pavilions with their lightning-friendly metal expensive replacements. 

Common sense would say why not just reshingle the older ones, and give them a fresh coat of paint. They have served the city well for eighty years, and still are eager to serve. However, the metal replacements have been put into the schedule years ago, and the bureaucratic way is to let the older ones decay until they're replaced with the scheduled new ones. 

Somehow I suspect that the replacements, when they finally do appear, will not last a fraction as long.

Students of the blog know that years ago I was very critical of Pawlowski and his succession of park directors, which were all of the same mold (Penn State recreation program) and hired by the same city manager. Had the FBI's menu been longer, they might have looked into some of those decisions and contracts.

I actually have a rapport with the current park director, and have not yet totally burned all the bridges with the new mayor. However, it is my avocation to champion for the traditional park system and the WPA. To that end, I will not compromise the mission with polite cordiality here on the blog.

above reprinted from June of 2022

ADDENDUM APRIL 19, 2023: Since the above post was written less than a year ago, there's yet another new park director, but I'm hoping to maintain a channel to that office.  However, as always, my mission remains the parks, not polite cordiality.

While I'm still advocating that the current picnic pavilions be saved, another important park feature has just been discarded.  Before the expensive (10k each) PlayWorld novelty exercise  kiosks were installed, the park had old school exercise stations. A classmate of mine from the mid 1960's would finish his daily walk with pull-ups.  While these time proven exercise stations were in good condition, this park system apparently still prefers gimmicks from catalogs.

Last, but not least, this year's duckling forecast...  You may have noticed very few ducks on the Rose Garden side of the park, but there are a few pairs. Unfortunately, their propagation chances again look slim. The park department did not mow the creek bank on the first cutting, and the poison hemlock is already thriving. If they cut down it before the ducks hatch, as they have for the last four years, once again no ducklings will survive to swim the ponds. The window for the bank cutting has closed, and they must now wait until after the ducklings are hatched and on their own.

Allentown Operating Vehicle Inspection Trap

Thanks to the Morning Call and their right to know effort, we have learned that Allentown dispensed 49,000 tickets last year for cars being out of inspection.  I use the negative word trap, because that is exactly what it is.  Many years ago, Coopersburg ran a speed trap... There was a borough cop actively waiting for traffic on Rt. 309.

Although I'm very conscientious about my car, I have been late for inspection several times. There are only fourteen states in the country which do inspections annually.

Entertainment venues, such as the arena and Symphony Hall, might want to consider how this aggressive beast affects their long term attendence.

I think it's becoming apparent that the current operation of the Allentown Parking Authority might not be in Allentown's best interest.

ADDENDUM 1: The APA stated that they're surprised how few tickets were issued for double parking.  I have never driven through downtown WITHOUT seeing double parkers.  So,  the APA could find 250,000 cars last year to ticket, but not see the double parkers?  They are not even improving the quality of life, just churning out tickets for their cash flow. Who are the real criminals?                                                     

ADDENDUM 2: Auto inspection has a history of abuse in Pennsylvania. It wasn't that long ago when they had inspection TWICE a year....Imagine the TAKE the APA could make from that!!! It's time to send some people at the Parking Authority packing.

Examining The Parking Authority's Appetite

I suppose that nobody can call me a newly hatched critic of the Parking Authority. I have been on their case since before I started this blog in 2007. In 2005, as an independent candidate for mayor, I held two press conferences about that monster's appetite, even back then.

The first conference was at 10th and Chew Streets. I wondered why the Authority still had parking meters out there, when the business district had shrunk to a couple blocks of Hamilton Street decades earlier. The Morning Call was actively suppressing my candidacy, and did not cover my conferences. For my second conference in front of the Authority's office, the paper instead interviewed the APA director at the time, promoting her policies. 

There is a long back story between the Morning Call and The Allentown Parking Authority.  The Authority was started to bail out Park & Shop, when their lots became less profitable. One of the three Park & Shop owners was Donald Miller, owner of the Morning Call.  The Parking Authority started as the handmaiden of the connected in Allentown, and has remained so to this day. 

During the following decades those parking lots have been sold off to a few connected developers, giving them already cleared, inexpensive, ideally located building sites.  The Authority then proceeded to build expensive parking decks, creating a massive debt service. Divide that debt service by the average fine of a parking ticket, and you'll know how many people a month that monster must eat to survive.

In addition to being a critic of the Parking Authority, I have become a critic of the NIZ.  While the NIZ uses our diverted state taxes to finance a few privately owned real estate empires, the APA provides the parking for those NIZ tenants. The APA is financed by tickets placed on the windshields and backs of the citizens. 

The Parking Authority in Allentown can certainly be an appropriate asset, with the current parking congestion and violations. However,  a more equitable funding source, rather than overly aggressive ticketing, must be employed.

shown above Park&Shop postcard, showing the former parking lots

City Council Foxes Guard Parking Authority Henhouse

On Wednesday evening, optimistic victims of the Parking Authority went to City Council hoping for relief from the current punitive ticketing.  Although an elaborate dog and pony show was staged, relief was never in the cards.  Three of the Council members sit on the Parking Authority Board, and helped that agency design the current citizen punishments... the quintessential fox guarding the henhouse.  

Council will never be able to safeguard citizens if they remain on the Parking Authority Board.  Although that provision goes back to the Authority's creation in the early 1990's, it is now time to provide oversight, not complicity.

Matthew Tuerk, who preaches inclusion and diversity, slipped out of the meeting before the citizens realized that only disappointment was coming their way. Those who receive the most tickets are the poorest among us.  He knew the evening's coming script, and had the police and fire chiefs there to defend current Authority policy.

While the Authority touted their new mini lot on 7th Street, they forgot to mention all the surface lots they sold off, for the gain of several developers. 

Matt Tuerk talks a new day in Allentown, but as an old activist, I can tell you it is business as usual.

photo of Betty Cauler, whose efforts brought the reform attempt forward, trying to convince a stubborn city council.

Parking Authority Monster Stays On Same Diet

Last night City Council hesitated to change the Parking Authority's diet, from its usual mix of mostly poorer residents, with just a sprinkle of westenders.  Since at least three of the council members are on the Authority Board, this reluctance to change is of no surprise.  They're scheduling another delay/meeting to further discuss the matter.

Candida Affa has been on the Authority Board for well over a decade, long before being elected to City Council.  She expressed concern about fire engines operating in alleys.  Not all alleys are the same in Allentown.... Downtown the alleys are narrow with row houses. In the west end the alley's are wider, with no houses. 

A hard working center city restaurant owner explained to the City Council/Parking Authority Board members, (one and the same),  how he and his customers are harassed with tickets. His plea fell on deaf ears.

ADDENDUM: Last night was the first council meeting I attended in a few years. Attendance is detrimental to everybody's blood pressure, both mine and councils. While some of the council members were new faces, the nonsense remained the same.  The contention by the Authority, the administration and the council that the evening calls to the authority would overburden an already overburdened police department, were contrived.  Eleven o'clock at night people call the  police department, not the parking authority, if there is commotion or a situation.

Allentown must turn out in force for the next meeting, and let those council members, also on the parking authority, who happen to be running for re-election,  know that they want reform, not just another meeting.

Allentown's Historic Syrian Community

When my grandfather first arrived in Allentown he lived in the Ward, on 2nd. Street. It was around 1895 and the neighborhood was full of immigrants. Some groups came from the same area in the old country, most noticeably the Syrians, from the village of Amar*. They were Antiochian Orthodox, a minority in a Muslim country. The congregation of St. George's Church on Catasauqua Ave., largely is descended from those immigrants. Well known names in Allentown, such as Atiyeh, Haddad, Hanna, Makoul, Koury and Joseph are among their members. They were among one of the first groups to organize, and those organizations still exist. The photo above was organized by the Syrian American Organization in 1944. Note that Jewish, on the left, is treated as a nationality.

click on photo to enlarge

UPDATE: The above post is reprinted from March of 2010. I have repeated the post several times since over the years, and have written other posts concerning Allentown's historic Syrian Community as well. Although I didn't grow up in the Ward, I grew up with their children, who had by then also lived in other sections of town. Throughout the 1950's and 60's, the organized Syrian community wielded considerable strength in local Democratic politics. On Sunday Allentown recognizes the Syrian community with a flag raising at city hall.

The Train Of Lehigh Parkway

This holiday season, as people drive over Schreibers stone arch bridge to get in line for Lights in the Parkway, few will be aware of the industrial past surrounding them. The Barber Quarry railroad branch line crossed the road, just beyond the bridge. On the left was the Union Carbine's Linde plant, the concrete loading dock is still visible. Although the last train ran in the early 1980's, the wooden railroad trestle is still there, to the west and south of the bridge. The area is now used as part of the disc golf course. The photograph was taken by Dave Latshaw in 1976, and is part of the Mark Rabenold Collection.

above reprinted from December 3, 2010 

ADDENDUM APRIL 11, 2023: Although the former Union Carbine loading dock was visible for many decades, it now has been replaced by new apartment buildings on the parcel.  Also different is the intersection just uphill from the bridge, the long standing triangle island is no longer there. 

A Different Past For Baby Boomers

Little Lehigh Manor was built for the returning GIs after the War. It was a self contained development of several hundred brick twin houses, nestled between Lehigh Parkway and Lehigh Street. It had its own elementary school, and nearby grocery stores. Although this development may have been more idyllic than some older areas in Allentown, it shared its best feature with the rest of the city... It was a neighborhood. I hear these same memories from people in my generation who grew up on the East Side, across the river in the Ward, or center city at 9th and Chew. Great mentoring occurred at the Boys and Girls Clubs, and another dozen organizations devoted to the community's youth. Although there were economic differences and poverty, they seemed to have less of an effect on quality of life and opportunity than now. Perhaps it was the massive number of children from the Baby Boom that created a communal sense of caring among the parents and organizations, but something special seems missing today.

reprinted from January of 2013

picture dates from around 1949. An enterprising photographer brought a pony around the neighborhood as an alluring prop.

The Sunday Drive

My family wasn't much for recreation.  My father worked six days a week, from early morning until early evening.  We did go for a long car ride on Sundays.  Back then gasoline was cheap, and having no destination wasn't thought of as wasteful.  Children were more content to sit in the back seat and look out the window, now they want a video screen in the vehicle.



Even children's play then involved more imagination and interaction.  Howdy Doody was just a puppet on strings,who spend most of his time talking to an adult, Buffalo Bob, can you imagine?

 Sitting in that back seat in the mid fifties, I might well had



my "coonskin" hat with me.  Fess Parker was a genuine American hero.  It mattered little if he played both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, both were king of the wild frontier.  The ride probably lasted for two hours and then we would go to a restaurant to eat dinner.  Compared to now, there were very few restaurants.



My mother would cook all the other meals that week, and we probably ate out more than most.  Supermarkets were the new rage in food shopping, but the butcher, baker and candle stick maker were still going strong.  If my father headed west or south, chances are we ended up at Shankweiler's Hotel, famous for chicken and waffles.   They were at the intersection of Old 22 and Route 100.  The building still exists and currently is a bank.  The family also owned another hotel on Route 309, which operated an adjoining Drive-In movie.



If my father headed north or east,  we would end up at Walp's, which was on the corner of Union Blvd. and Airport Road.  Walp's was a much more urban place.   While Shankweiler's was an old country inn,  Walp's was built as a modern restaurant.  I enjoyed those rides, they were a learning experience.

reprinted from March of 2010 

A Road Runs Through It

Once there was a time when gasoline was twenty five cents a gallon, there was no internet, and a family would go for a drive on Sunday. There was no traffic congestion or road rage. The cars were large, and they all came from Detroit. You could drive through a park, even an amusement park. There was no rush to get back to the television; It was very small, with only a few channels. Life now seems to revolve around small silicon chips, I preferred when it was large engines.

photograph shows the road through Dorney Park

reprinted from December 10, 2010

Say Now

Say now, do you remember when Neuweilers was a brewery on Front Street, not a redevelopment project? Say now, do you remember when Park and Shop validated your ticket for free parking, not a Parking Authority that fined you for coming downtown? Say now, do you remember when Hamilton Street was filled with neon signs and shoppers, not ordinances and vision plans? Say now, do you remember when City Hall didn't have all the managers, planners and directors we have now? Say now, we must have been stupider then or something.

reprinted from December 20, 2010