A Store From Allentown's Past

In 1934 Clyde Minich and his bride opened a jewelry store on the side of the elegant Americus Hotel. The post depression years weren't that easy for a merchant in luxury goods, but they had faith in Allentown. They were rewarded by Allentown's boom years during the 50's . In 1981 a robber entered the store, pushed Mrs. Minich to the floor, then shot and killed her. The Minich family carried on with their Allentown business. Their nephew, who witnessed the tragedy, took over the store.

One by one, in Scranton, Easton, and Wilkes-Barre, hotels of the Americus vintage, closed and were boarded up. The Americus, a white elephant, although a dollar short and a day late, stayed open. Enter new Mayor Ed Pawlowski, self-designated real estate expert. He decided because the hotel owner was controversial, and had been demonized in regard to other properties, he could execute a forced sale. In 2007 Pawlowski erected a scaffold around the building, declared it unsafe, and ordered the existing merchants to vacate.

photocredit:molovinsky

reprinted from April of 2008

ADDENDUM JULY 31, 2023:In 2009 Albert Abdouche secured the building by tax sale.  He has preservered and the landmark is up and running, both as apartments and a hotel. While new merchants now occupy the old 6th St. storefronts, there are those of us who remember a jewelry store from Allentown's past.

Local NAACP Falters

The Morning Call had to alter its headline about Mayor Tuerk and the local NAACP several times.  It evolved from the NAACP accusing Tuerk of racism, to him tolerating it at city hall, to the leadership of the chapter disavowing knowledge of the accusatory letter. 

Chapter president Walt Felton, and VP Dan Bosket, promise to look into both the letter itself and the procedure employed in sending it, apparently done by other board members.

I confess to some hesitation about writing this blog post. However, as a local political blogger, I cannot shy away from thorny issues. Even Tuerk himself, while knowing early that it was less than an authorized letter, set city hall on a discrimination alert. I find the accusation more of an indictment against the local chapter's organizational procedures, rather than being inappropriate behavior by the mayor or administration. In these times the word racism has the ability to cling and falsely accuse. It is a weapon which should never be wielded with such causal abandonment.

King Of The Gypsies

According to my mother, a Gypsy king was buried in Allentown in around 1960, she knew about such things. She was born in Galgo, Hungary, an area of Transylvania, now part of Romania, near present day Gilgau. In Galgo, the Jews and Gypsies lived on the edge of town. In the early 20's, my grandparents, along with their Gypsy neighbors, came to Bethlehem to work at the Steel. On weekends, to make extra money, my grandparents would open their house and show Hungarian movies. None of their relatives, Jew or Gypsy, save one cousin, survived the nazi's; even the cemeteries were desecrated. As you can see from the document above, my grandfather earned his citizenship the hard way.

REPRINTED FROM DEC. 23, 2007

UPDATE: My post above is from 2007. The Morning Call had a story about the Gypsies coming to Allentown. Apparently, a Gypsy prince drowned, and a memorial service was held in Allentown. I suspect my mother had the details correct, and my memory was at fault.

Carry In/Carry Out Doesn't Work For Allentown

The current national park philosophy, adopted by Allentown, is Carry In/Carry Out.  In our environmentally woke time, the belief is that people will take their trash with them, after they guzzled their sports drink.  Allentown accordingly removed most of the trash containers from the parks, instead installing larger capacity containers, which only have to be emptied once a week.  While previously one man and a pickup truck removed the bags, now a dump truck, two men and crane are used to extract the 8ft. long bags from a pit below the containers. 

It all sounds wonderful, until you drive through downtown Allentown any Monday morning...It looks like there was a parade every weekend.  The litter in Allentown is astounding...Many throw their trash down even if there is a container within several feet.  Parents throw down their trash in front of their children.

Rather than less trash containers in our parks, we should have installed more.  There is nothing Allentown  can learn from national park bureaucrats.  Our traditional park system was second to none.

above reprinted from August of 2021

ADDENDUM JUNE 7, 2022: Early on Monday mornings, a park employee fills large containers gathering all the trash tossed down on both sides of Cedar Park over the weekend.  Although the department did add some containers back since the above post was written last year, littering is a reality in the new Allentown. As the department adds new events and recreational features to our parks, this problem will only increase.

ADDENDUM JULY 26, 2023: Mayor Tuerk, in keeping with both your inclusionary and bi-lingual policies, please don't be bashful about Do Not Litter signs in both English and Spanish, No Bote Basura.

Morning Call Wonders

Another person, who we will probably learn was turning his life around, shot at police officers yesterday. The Morning Call wonders why city council is balking at throwing more money at Promise Neighborhoods ... really?? 

Hasshan Batts' Promise organization received more funding from Harrisburg than he ever hoped for. If that wasn't enough, the school system gave him even more.  Credible messengers are now going to be paired up with middle school kids to discourage them from taking the wrong path. Maybe if we had more police officers they could volunteer time to PAL, instead of being needed for overtime.

Allentown is fortunate that there are two former police officers on council.  The time may be fast approaching when council will be more progressive, and buy into defunding the police.

Natural Born Promoter

Hamilton Street was hot and barren on Saturday afternoon. When the elevator opened onto the fifth floor of the BreW Works, I entered the world of cool and hip; It was Alfonso Todd's Fuzion 2012. Hundreds of people mingled, listened to music, and saw what was new in the Lehigh Valley. Unfortunately, when I left, the cool and hip didn't stick with me.

photocredit:molovinsky 

above reprinted from July of 2012

ADDENDUM JULY 24, 2023: Promoter Alfonso Todd has been putting on Fuzion events for over a decade. This year's event occurred this past weekend at Riverside Park in Easton.

A Small Meat Market In Easton

A lot of posts on this blog start out as an extension of my own experience and/or interest in local history.  Some of the posts grow out of my interest in my family's history.  In addition to this blog, about a year ago I started a facebook group named Allentown Chronicles. Although there were several existing groups based on local nostalgia,  I foresaw a group which went beyond who has the best cheesesteaks.   Enforcing the group guidelines has alienated some people,  but I believe others appreciate the intent.

While the facebook group does have some material seemingly lifted from wikipedia,  original pieces have also been submitted. Among my favorites are people's personal snapshots of growing up in Allentown, or the greater Lehigh Valley.  Where I'm headed to is a post about my father's meat market in Easton, unfortunately with no corresponding photograph.

I often tell younger people that they should ask questions of their older relatives, because the answers will not be around forever. My father was a workaholic, who had no interest or time for such questions.  Although I have researched the history of his Allentown meat market, the one in Easton has proven much more difficult.

The market in Allentown was in the front of a larger building,  with the back portion being a former meat packing house.  The Easton shop, called Melbern, was a small market contained in the first floor of a former row house. The name came from my father Melvin, and his brother/partner at the time, Bernard. It was located at 34 S. 4th Street, near Pine Street, which was then a very narrow alley.  On the corner of Pine was John's luncheonette, which also served Chinese food. Next to John's was Melbern.  The buildings were later  demolished to make Pine into a wider street.  Two partners in another meat business,  Drucker and Young, set up the shop for a meat market. However, they were taken to court by another butcher named Brill, who had purchased their former market on Washington Street, with a non-competition clause.  I surmise that they were forced to not open their new market on S. 4th, and sold the operation to my father and uncle.  Drucker and Young also operated for many years in the Nazareth Farmers Market.

I worked at the Easton market on weekends and summers during high school. Needless to say, I never inquired about the store's history, nor did my father ever mention such things.

The photograph above is of the Allentown meat market, taken after it was closed, but prior to being demolished. To my knowledge, no photograph of the Easton market exists.

reprinted from June of 2020

108-110 Union Street

When the illustrated map of Allentown shown above was marketed in 1879, 108-110 Union Street were already long standing twin houses. Behind the houses was the western channel of the Lehigh River, which went around Jeter's Island. Years later the island would be called Kline's, and become the city sewage plant. In the mid 1960's, that portion of the river would be filled in and no longer exists. While maps now indicate that the Little Lehigh joins the Lehigh at the southern end of the former island, previously it joined the channel on the western side of the island.

When the map was produced, 108 was owned by William Goetz, and 110 was owned by the Remaley family. Over the years the two sides appear to have been occupied by a number of families,  as both owners and tenants.

In 1921, both houses were purchased by H.H. Steinmetz, a former meat manager for Swift Packing. Steinmetz built a modern 10,000 ft. addition, opening his meat packing plant in 1922. Steinmetz Meat Packing supplied the chain of Economy corner markets with meat and provisions.

In 1941, the packing house was purchased by the Molovinsky family, and renamed Allentown Packing Company. While wholesale operations ceased in 1949, the business continued as a retail meat market until 1970. The plant was demolished several years later to provide parking for A&B Meats. The vacant parcel was then purchased by the neighboring commercial property.

reprinted from April of 2020

The Butchers Of Allentown

photograph by Bob Wilt

A&B (Abogast&Bastian), dominated the local meat packing industry for almost 100 years. At its peak, they employed 700 people and could process 4,000 hogs a day. The huge plant was at the foot of Hamilton Street, at the Lehigh River. All that remains is their free standing office building, which has been incorporated into America on Wheels. Front and Hamilton was Allentown's meatpacking district. Within one block, two national Chicago meatpackers, Swift and Wilson, had distribution centers. Also in the area were several small independents, among them M. Feder, Becker Brothers and Allentown Meat Packing Company.

reprinted from February 2013

Two Butchers From Allentown's Past

Those coming here today looking for a story about sloppy civic leadership will be disappointed. This post is literally about butchers, more specifically, some butchers at Allentown Meat Packing Company.

A few days ago, while at the Fairground's Farmers Market, I learned that Bobby had passed away. Bobby was the "kid" who worked at my father's meat market on Union Street. Bobby grew up in an orphanage, a hardship which my father respected. One meat cutter that I knew nothing about was Lamont, other than he lived at the West End Hotel. He was a bear of a man, who could carry a beef quarter from the cooler with no effort. I never saw Lamont in the market portion of the shop, he always remained in the back, either in the large cooler or the adjoining cutting room. While my father insisted that people working on the counter change their meat coat and apron several times during the day, no such rule was imposed upon Lamont. Although he would look over the trays of meat before being taken out to the display cases, he never spoke.

Last time I spoke to Bobby, he told me that he appreciated that my father had taught him a trade, which he used throughout his life.

reprinted from 2014

Hasshan Batts' Luck Machine

If you're into good luck, I suggest rubbing up to Hasshan Batts, director of Promise Neighborhoods.  Pa. Lt. Governor Austin Davis thinks that Batts and his mentors are the answer to Pennsylvania's crime, and has already steered over $2 million Batts' way, with more to come.  Davis wants Batts to have the funding to expand his program state wide, and he is in the position to make that happen.

Never mind that so far Allentown shootings this year exceed the total last year. When it comes to solutions, wokeness won't allow Pennsylvania to let results get in the way.

Photo* above shows Davis at Promise headquarters on Union Street. 

*photo by Kurt Bresswein/lehighvalleylive.com

Morning Call Keeps Spinning Reilly's NIZ

The Morning Call has spun Reilly's NIZ since before it began. The newspaper, whose building was included in the NIZ map even though it was on the wrong side of Linden Street, has acted as a virtual press agent for Reilly's NIZ, aka City Center Real Estate.  A half dozen reporters, who have come and gone, have written a hundred articles promoting every new building in Reilly's empire. 

Yesterday's article concedes that the vendors have turned over in the Market place, but reports that now it's a hopping success.  It's nice for Reilly that he never had to hire a publicist. He in turn bought the Morning Call building for a cigarette warehouse.  As if the state taxes diverted for his debt service wasn't enough, Pat Browne sweetened Reilly's pot with the state cigarette tax.

While this blog covered the story of the displaced former merchants of downtown, the newspaper never had a word to say about their plight. You may not be able to read about Reilly's Art Walk Market place, that article is a treat for Morning Call subscribers only.

ADDENDUM: The previous Morning Call Reilly promotion on Wednesday told us that Allentown developers poured millions of dollars into office space. The article did refer to a unique tax plan, but didn't elaborate on how unique it is. There has always been tax incentives for center city, at least since the 1970's. Those incentives, such as the KOZ (Keystone Opportunity Zone), gave developers reduced taxes. The NIZ actually takes employee state taxes and gives them to Reilly for his debt service on the buildings...So we have privately owned buildings being paid for by the public. We taxpayers then also have to pony up or give up for other state services. This year Pa. held back on $100 million which was going to be used for school vouchers. Over $70 million went to Reilly's debt service, you do the math.

Monopoly Allentown Style

The Allentown Parking Authority, at the Mayor's bequest, is playing a high stakes game of Monopoly using the real money of citizens. Make no mistake, it's our money. If you received one of the hundred thousand plus parking tickets last year, or pay to park on a lot, or had a parking meter swallow your quarters, it's your money. The Authority has declared the North Lot "excessive" and is preparing to sell it for townhouses. This lot provides safe, convenient parking for the adjoining Verizon Building workers, and is three quarters occupied. The large "Germania" lot, on south 7th Street is virtually unused. Perhaps no lot in the Authority's inventory is more used and important than the "North" lot, yet in spite of a petition from Verizon workers, the Authority persists in selling it to a partner in the Mayor's vision. Although completed townhouses would indeed provide an impressive backdrop for the Mayor's re-election, let us not forget that Verizon has been providing over 200 jobs for decades and the true mission of the Parking Authority.

UPDATE: The Board of Directors passed the sale proposal with no discussion today by a 3 to 1 vote. Linda Rosenfeld, Malcolm Gross and Larry Hilliard voted for, Michael Donovan voted against. (Candida Svirzovsky was absent) 

reprinted from April of 2008 

ADDENDUM JULY 13, 2023:Although the buyer did not complete the lot purchase on N. 7th St., many of the APA surface lots were sold off to connected developers, contributing to the current residential parking woes.  This blogger has been on the Parking Authority's case for a long time.

My Grandfather's Horse

My grandfather lived on the corner of Chew and Jordan Streets. He butchered in a barn behind the house. The house is still there, 301 Jordan, but the barn is gone. He would deliver the meat with a horse and wagon. On the weekends, when the family wanted to visit friends, the horse insisted on doing the meat market route first. Only after he stopped in front of the last market on the route, would he permit my grandfather to direct him.
I managed rental properties between 4th and 12th Streets. I developed a route between the buildings, utilizing many alleys because of the one way streets. While on my route, I got to know many people living in Allentown, and the circumstances of the different neighborhoods. I would often take pictures of people and things I considered photographic. Although I no longer have the managing job, like my grandfather's horse, I continue on the route. But things have changed. Doing street photography has gotten difficult, people are defensive and paranoid. The streets are meaner and the people are harder. Just making eye contact can be uncomfortable.

Don't blame me, as a rental agent I always put the neighbor's comfort ahead of finding tenants. Don't blame me, as a citizen I ran for office and bluntly said what needed to be said.

reprinted from May of 2008

 

ADDENDUM JULY 12, 2023: Don't blame me, as a blogger I continue to say what needs to be said.

Inclusivity Can Be All Wet

Prior to the current administration, the parking lot along Cedar Creek behind the swimming pool was closed off when flooding was anticipated.  The new administration felt that gates sent a  message of unwelcomeness, and they were ordered removed from various locations throughout the park system.  These gates had been installed over the years to prevent damage from flooding, or to allow for proper snow removal during winter storms. 

When I first learned of their removal last year, I was offended by the waste of infrastructure.  Now I realize that it is actually a public safety issue.

This blog in the past has been critical of the Tuerk Administration's wokeness and obsession with being inclusive.  While I have become less critical about the mayor's agenda,  I will not hesitate to speak out when appropriate. 

The flooded car shown above belonged to a couple who decided to take a long stroll in the rain. Unfortunately the creek rose faster than their return walk, but at least they didn't feel unwelcome.

Gems Of Hamilton Street

Philmore and Rose Tucker opened their first yarn store on N. 7th St. in 1949. The Tucker Yarn Company has been at it's current location at 950 Hamilton Street for over 50 years. For knitting enthusiasts the endless inventory is legendary. Phil recalls how even in May, traditionally a slow month for the industry, Hess's annual flower show kept Hamilton Street and his store busy. A busy Hamilton Street is a memory now shared only by a couple of surviving merchants. Although many of Tucker's customers are elderly, the business is much more than a time capsule. His daughter Mae, nationally known in the trade, gives classes and operates a large mail order web site, TuckerYarn.Com 

reprinted from May 4, 2008 

ADDENDUM JULY 10, 2023: No businesses of Hamilton Street past, including Tucker Yarn, still exist. There are several new businesses, mostly clothing, that constitute Hamilton Street current curtailed retail.

Grant Us Some Wisdom With The Grant Money

Lehigh County inter-governmental agencies are so awash in leftover Covid Funds, their elaborate websites are chocked full o'nutty ideas.

Becky Bradley of  the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is so excited about landscaping the right of way along route 22.  That right of way was supposed to be new lanes to abate the congestion, until Pat Browne redirected the funding into a new exit for a new Jaindl industrial park just west of Allentown.  So now as you sit in the 4:30 crawl, you'll see new bushes between the road shoulder and fence.

Here in Allentown itself, we're trying to create a bottleneck around the statue in Center Square, by reducing the lanes on both Hamilton and 7th Streets. However, prance for joy at the new pollination garden to be installed in the former traffic lane.  Other genius plans are center city bike lanes.... As if the predators who cannot afford low loud cars will use them. You don't see a lot of spandex and bicycle helmets downtown.

Not The NIZ

7th and Turner is a block away from the NIZ, actually now only half a block, with the lines redrawn to include his latest apartment project, The Hive. That monstrosity faces the infamous 7-Eleven at 7th and Linden, and the hapless Lanta transfer terminal behind it. 

Back at 7th and Turner, it's symbolically the longest half block you can imagine...no delusions of sharing the wealth. I've been photographing Allentown for over fifty years, and the gap has never been more apparent.

It's not because money hasn't been spent outside of the NIZ,  because $millions have.  Grants have been given, and facades have been renovated.  People have been made store owners, complete with inventory, yet poverty permeates. The dispersing agencies have grown large and influential... We have succeeded in building a growing  poverty industry.

Allentown Memories

click on photo to enlarge
From low income sections of center city, to expensive suburbs, Allentown and the Lehigh Valley is becoming home to more and more outsiders. I'm afraid the time will soon come when local memorabilia will have little appeal. Fortunately, for those interested, some impressive collections still exist. This past year Robert Bungerz published Allentown Remembered, documenting his outstanding collection of historical postcards and other objects. David Bausch, former County Executive and authority on Automobile Art, is also a expert on things Allentown. Then there are the many small collections, home of the hidden treasures. Above is an early aerial photograph of the Allentown Fair. Those interested in the recent commotion concerning the 19TH Street Theater District may find the upper right of the photograph interesting. There is no theater, there are no houses on Saint George Street and most of the buildings seem to be garages and automobile in nature (don't tell Auto-Zone). This gem is probably from the late teens or early 20's, and comes from the Thomas Reed Collection. Thomas is aka Z1pyro, long time expert shooter for Zambelli Firework Company. He retired several years ago, and we who appreciate fireworks, notice his departure.

reprinted from July 9. 2008

ADDENDUM JULY 5, 2023: I've seen this photograph recently on another group page. It is even offered for sale by a stock photo agency. It actually comes from this blog. I photographed the original mural size print, about 4'x5', at Tom Reed's house in 2008. I failed to evenly light the mural, and the lower right side ended up washed out somewhat. He was given the photo-mural by the Fair Association years earlier. There is a later aerial photo with Allentown written on the grandstand roof. Over the years several photos have been borrowed from this blog without attribution, along with numerous story lines on local places.

A Tailor From North Street

The Allentown Housing and Development Corp. recently purchased a home at 421 North St. That block of North Street was destroyed by fire, and the agency has built a block of new houses on the street's south side; it will next develop the other side of the street. The deed transfer caught my attention because Morris Wolf lived in the house in 1903. Wolf signed up with the Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry on July 18, 1861, in Philadelphia, when he was 22 years old. He was a private in Company A, of the 3rd Cavalry. This unit was also known as the 60th Regiment and was later called Young's Kentucky Light Cavalry.It defended Washington, D.C., until March 1862, then participated in many of the war's most famous battles: Williamsburg, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. Wolf had signed up for three years and was mustered out Aug. 24,1864.

Recently, to commemorate Memorial Day, the local veterans group placed more than 500 flags at Fairview Cemetery. If that wasn't enough of a good deed, the group also set upright more than 300 toppled grave markers. Visiting Fairview recently, I saw they had not overlooked the graves of either Mr. Wolf, or another veteran, Joseph Levine. I have concerned myself with Allentown's Fairview Cemetery for the last few years. I first became interested in the small Jewish section, called Mt. Sinai. This was the first organized Jewish cemetery in Allentown. Currently, all the synagogues have their own cemeteries, and Mt. Sinai has been mostly unused for many decades.

Mr. Wolf lies next to his wife, Julia, who died in 1907. Morris would live on for 30 more years, passing away in 1937, at age 98.
Mr. Levine, a World War II veteran, and his wife, Ethel, were the first and last people to be buried there after almost 25 years of inactivity. When Ethel died at age 93 in 2000, it was the first burial at Mt. Sinai since 1976. Joseph was 103 years old when he passed away in 2006.

The Housing and Development Corp. and North Street are now part of Allentown's new neighborhood initiative called Jordan Heights.Although soon there will be a new house at 421 North St., there is a history that will remain with the parcel. Once a tailor lived there who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg.

reprinted from 2010

949 Hamilton Street

Street number wise, the new hotel and entertainment complex at 10th and Hamilton will be known as 949 Hamilton St... Number wise, it encompasses the the original 947 to 959 Hamilton Street. Over the decades it was mostly known as the Rialto Theater complex, housing an ornate theater and a long lobby, along with various storefronts. The front lobby portion of the theater was the scene of a catastrophic fire in 1946, and then rebuilt. Perhaps the most memorable storefront was the Up-Town Wetherhold & Metzger shoe store. The theater space itself was demolished forty some years ago, to accommodate an expanding PPL. 

The former complex was actually several different buildings from different periods. Architecturally, the new construction will be an upgrade...That's something I never said before about a new NIZ building. Although I don't understand what the market will be for the hotel rooms, and the music venue will compete with Symphony Hall, it's not my investment. Wait, actually it is! Debt service on the NIZ projects is met with our diverted state taxes.

The Last Fight

When Abe Simon stepped into the ring at Madison Square Garden on March 27, 1942, it would be his last fight. He had been recently married, and promised his wife that he would stop fighting. One year earlier he had fought Joe Louis the first time, and endured a tremendous beating for thirteen rounds. Fighting since 1935, ranked 6th by Ring Magazine, a shot at the title was something a fighter cannot pass up. Many fight historians consider Louis the hardest hitting heavyweight of all time. Because of the publicity Simon gained from these Louis fights, he was offered a lucrative cross country boxing tour, which he declined. It was also Louis's last title defense for four years, until fighting Billy Conn in June of 1946. After the Simon fight he joined the U.S. Army, where he would fight 96 exhibition bouts at bases throughout the country. Shown above, Simon got knocked out in the sixth round.

reprinted from February 2010 

In December of 2012 I published twenty three boxing posts from the Joe Louis era. 

Molovinsky Marches On City Hall

Yesterday morning activist/blogger Michael Molovinsky briefly took over Mayor Matt Tuerk's 5th fl. office in Allentown City Hall.  He reportedly was distressed about the city's plan to redesign center square. 

Molovinsky agreed to surrender to Police Chief Roca if WFMZ would televise a brief statement by the septuagenarian.  Molovinsky's proclamation was rather rambling and incoherent. He was arraigned before District Justice Michael D'Amore and committed to Lehigh County Prison, in lieu of $200 bail.  

At this time it is unknown whether or not he remains incarcerated.

posted by the staff of molovinsky on allentown

ADDENDUM3:51AM:I was released at 3:30AM, gratitude to A-Town Bail&Bond. I've been informed that the mayor has invited city residents to 7th and Hamilton today for their input on redesigning the square. I know that the former merchants of Hamilton, Linden, 7th and 8th Sts. had no input when their property, business and dreams were taken. I know that residents of hazardous intersections were always told that stoplight placement was a state issue. Disappointing that Tuerk would stoop to the old public input dog and pony show to change the town square. After recent history, if they give the contracts out honestly, that's all we can ask for.

UPDATE JUNE 30: The main elements of the square redesign is funneling Hamilton's two lanes around the statue into one, and 7th Street's three lanes into two lanes. This merging, combined with Allentown's inconsiderate drivers and chronic double parking, will create induced congestion on both streets. The solution finds a problem!

Allentown's Folly

J.B. Reilly's NIZ is pulling the Lehigh Valley down, and nobody says a word, save for this blogger. While every city is facing an office vacancy dilemma,  Reilly keeps building, using our diverted state taxes.  Until now the consequence of his scheme has been to poach office tenants from the surrounding suburban office parks. However, now he has induced PPL to exit their iconic tower and take up residence in one of his mostly vacant buildings. 

What has been the pride of Allentown for almost a hundred years may end up being the tallest white elephant in the country. While Allentown is hoping that the tower becomes residential rather than just vacant, he can't fill his new apartment houses that he has already built. 

As someone who spends time on the streets adjoining the NIZ, I can tell you that the street life is becoming grittier than ever. Between the wokeness and delusion, there is no plan in place to  realistically address the problems. We know from the past that lipstick on a pig, or paint on a building, only lasts so long.

Allentown On My Mind

I'm a baby boomer. I was born in December of 1946. As soon as my mother climbed out of the hospital bed, another woman climbed in. I grew up in the neighborhood now called Little Lehigh Manor, wedged between Lehigh Street and the top of the ravine above Lehigh Parkway. That's me on our lawn at the intersection of Catalina and Liberator Avenues, named after airplanes made by Vultee Corporation for the War. We had our own elementary school, our own grocery store, and the park to play in. On Saturdays my older brother would take me on the trolley, and later the bus, over the 8TH Street Bridge to Hamilton Street. There were far too many stores to see everything. After a matinee of cartoons or Flash Gordon, and a banana split at one of the five and dimes, we
would take the bus back over the bridge to Lehigh Street.





Not that many people know where Lehigh Parkway Elementary School is. It's tucked up at the back of the development of twin homes on a dead end street, but I won't say exactly where. I do want to talk about the photograph. It's May Day, around 1952-53. May Day was big then, so were the unions; Most of the fathers worked at the Steel, Mack, Black and Decker, and a hundred other factories going full tilt after the war. The houses were about 8 years old, and there were no fences yet. Hundreds of kids would migrate from one yard to another, and every mother would assume some responsibility for the herd when it was in her yard. Laundry was hung out to dry. If you notice, most of the "audience" are mothers, dads mostly were at work. I'm at the front, right of center, with a light shirt and long belt tail. Don't remember the girl, but see the boy in front of me? His father had the whole basement setup year round with a huge model train layout. There were so many kids, the school only went up to second grade. We would then be bused to Jefferson School for third through sixth grade. The neighborhood had its own Halloween Parade and Easter egg hunt. We all walked to school, no one being more than four blocks away. 

compilation of two posts from June 2008

The Weigh-In

                                            Madison Square Garden, March 27, 1942
When they met for the first time the previous March, Abe Simon battled Joe Louis for 13 rounds. The Detroit crowd went wild that the Jewish giant from New York could absorb Louis's punches. Louis had the power of Mike Tyson and the finesse of Muhammad Ali. When it was revealed that Simon had fought with a broken hand, the Madison Garden rematch became a big ticket. Louis knocked Simon out in the sixth round. It would be Simon's last fight.
click on photo to enlarge

reprinted from December 2012

Lunch At Allen

Up to the mid 60's, students at Allen High could leave the building for lunch. Scattered in alleys around the the school, garages had been converted into lunch shops and hangouts. The Hutch was in the alley between 17th and West Streets, in the unit block between Hamilton and Linden. Suzy's was behind the Nurse's Dormitory, between Chew and Turner. Another was across Linden from the Annex. They all had the same basic decor, a few pinball machines, a few tables and a small lunch counter. Most of the business was during lunch period, and before and after school. It's my understanding that occasionally a kid or two would skip school and hangout all day. Today these garages, turned into luncheonettes, have long ago reverted back to garages. Most of the current residents of West Park probably don't even know about this commercial history right behind their houses. I missed photo day at Allen for my yearbook, but if anybody has a picture of the gang from the Hutch, I'd appreciate a copy.

Reprinted from Sept. 24, 2008

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. 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 Nagys' 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 Nagys', 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 Dec. 23, 2008

Mayor Tuerk Wake-Up Call

There's another blogger and we often wonder who is the bigger bastard. I think after this post we can put that question to rest. This weekend there is another event in Allentown, a blues and brew event downtown. One thing is for sure, Mayor Tuerk will be there doing a live video which starts in Spanish. Mayor Tuerk, in all due respect, it's getting tired. Last weekend we had our 12th homicide. Don't know how many shootings, because the bullets are small(9mm) and the docs are good. I understand that part of your job is to rally public spirit, but let's not cultivate delusion. Some Hispanics are flattered by your bi-lingualness, but I suspect that even for many of them it's getting old. 

While Hasshan Batts' growing orange shirt brigade might keep some Blacks from complaining out loud, they also know that those shirts can't really keep them safe.

Brand new empty buildings on Hamilton Street are becoming like a Hollywood movie set, a facade with nothing behind them. 

It's time to put public safety first and foremost.

Allentown Post Office 1934

In the 1930's, the "New Deal" was good to Allentown. As I noted on earlier posts, our park system was enriched by monumental stone construction under the WPA. We also received one of the architectural gems of our area, the magnificent art deco post office. Constructed during 1933-34, no detail was spared in making the lobby an ageless classic. The floor is adorned with handmade Mercer tiles from Doylestown. Muralist Gifford Reynolds Beal worked thru 1939 portraying the Valley's cultural and industrial history. This incredible 74 year old photograph is the contractor's documentation of the project's progress. The back of the photo states; Taken Sept 1 - 34 showing lobby, floor, screens, desks, completed & fixtures hung

Reprinted from Oct. 25, 2008 

ADDENDUM JUNE 20, 2023:The post office, although an art deco masterpiece, remains for sale. Already the manificent lamp posts by the left front entrance have been looted. While Reilly's City Center Real Estate has purchased and demolished dozens of buildings on Hamilton Street, neither he nor other developers apparently have any interest in city architecture or history. Reilly has already built $One Billion dollars worth of tasteless buildings with our diverted state taxes. Allow me to also publicly criticize the Lehigh County Historical Society, Old Allentown Preservation, The Morning Call, Mayor Tuerk and the Allentown Art Museum for their silence on this crime against our local history.

Simon Gets Brother's Verdict

Louis F. Simon(Right) tell his heavyweight brother that he is proud that he lasted into the thirteenth round of his fight with Joe Louis last night. Mike Jacobs announced after the bout that the two would be rematched in New York on May 16th.

Blogger's Notes: The above is an Associated Press "Wirephoto" that appeared in newspapers across the country on March 22, 1941. The title and caption is the actual Associated Press copy. Mike Jacobs was Joe Louis's manager. Abe Simon actually ended up fighting four more opponents and waiting over a year before the rematch; they met for second time and the title in Madison Square Garden on March 27, 1942. Simon was knocked out in the 6th round, he never fought again. His career record was 36 wins, 25 by knockout, 10 loses, 1 draw.

reprinted from April 2008

Batts At Bat

J.B. Reilly aside, Hasshan Batts is another growth industry in the Lehigh Valley.  Combine our woke times with an enterprising Black activist, and he is in the right place at the right time. Every time you read the news, his Promise Neighborhoods is getting a new grant and another piece of the pie.  Talking of pie, he's now operating food banks in at least three locations...his Union Street headquarters, Hayes Elementary School and in the lower level of Zion Church, where he's serving hot meals.

But this post is motivated by his proposed new location, the former Allentown Toy Company on N. 10th Street. With the appointment of Alan Jennings to the fifth board seat of the Redevelopment Authority, Batts' acquisition of that location seems inevitable.  His Islamic society made a proposal to use the location as a community center.  I say his society, because it's registered at Batts' home address, and doesn't appear to have a congregation. The director of the Redevelopment Authority and her assistant have resigned. Matt Tuerk said the resignations are an opportunity to recast the objectives of the Authority.

I write these posts about Reilly with his NIZ, and Batts with his Promise Neighborhoods, with some speculation... such players are not inclined to share their game plans with this blogger. Allentown is the perfect place for their ambitions. The newspaper has little to gain from going into an investigative mode.  Half of Allentown's population is too impoverished to care, and the other half is too indifferent. 

Both a burden and asset of mine is so much institutional knowledge of Allentown.  I actually did a very small project with the Redevelopment Authority forty years ago. My application was submitted to so much due diligence at the time, I thought that I was applying to be Ambassador to the UN. 

I write these blog posts for those of us who remember how things were done in what I consider better times.

shown above Hasshan Batts and Alan Jennings

CastleRock

CastleRock took place in the cavernous Dorney Park dance-hall, Castle Garden. The "Garden" was built in the early 20's and hosted all the famous big bands of that era. By the late fifties it was called CastleRock. The Philadelphia recording stars, such as Frankie Avalon and Freddy Cannon would routinely perform. By my teenage era, in the early mid 60's, it was mostly disc jockeys. The Park was free, no admission. Pay to park, and maybe a buck or so for the dance-hall.







By then the nightclub tables shown in the photograph were gone, and sitting was around the sides. There were no shootings, and rowdiness was restricted to sneaking on a ride without buying a ticket. The dance-hall overlooked the lake, it was destroyed by a fire on Thanksgiving in 1985.

Above Reprinted from Sept. 10, 2008

ADDENDUM JUNE 15, 2023: In 2008, when I wrote that there were no shootings at the dance hall, little did I know that in 2023 there would multiple homicides before June ends. Forget a hormone filled dance club,  shootings now occur even on playgrounds. Rather than beefing up our police force, we look to social workers and mentor organizations to reduce the violence?  I would feel much safer if our police departments received the funding, rather than organizations that promise to make a difference.

Simon Fearless Against Bomber

The 1941 June edition of Ring Magazine featured the Abe Simon vs Joe Louis fight in March. Editor-writer Nat Fleischer was in awe of Simon's courage against the unbeatable Brown Bomber. Fleischer wrote "They (fans) saw Abe Simon give the Bomber the greatest battle he has had since he won the crown..." Although Simon Lost by TKO in the 13th, this image of Simon grinning at Louis while taking the 8 count in round 7, is one of my favorite photographs of that fight.

reprinted from December 2012

NIZ Rain

For the last decade I have been documenting the NIZ storm which has destroyed Allentown's former mercantile district, just like a tornado in Kansas wipes out buildings.  In addition to photographing the demolition,  I attended city hall meetings with the former merchants, where they were bullied into relinquishing their dreams. I'm sorry to report that none now remain in business, not even on 7th Street.

Yesterday, in regard to the imminent sale of the PPL Tower,  fellow blogger Bernie O'Hare recapped the 2012 Business Matters debate covered by the Morning Call's Bill White.  White dismissed the possibility of the PPL leaving the tower as hysteria.  Myself and another critic, Steve Thode, were accused of making wild claims.  As critical as we were then, it never occurred to me that almost all of the NIZ, with only a few exceptions, would be owned by one man. That man even came to own the Morning Call building itself, which now warehouses cigarettes. His NIZ allows him to collect the state taxes on cigarettes, which formerly went to CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program.

While photographing the demolition of the former Rialto property,  I took shelter from yesterday's rain under the overhang of the former Park & Shop deck on 10th Street, which is now the police garage. I remembered that when I was a boy my mother would park there while shopping.  In Hess's she would have to go up to the 5th floor to get her parking ticket stamped.  There was a lot of merchandise to view on the way up for that free parking validation. There were a lot of stores to pass on the way back to the garage.

shown above demolition of former Rialto property

$100 A Week

In 1935, a Jewish boy earning $35 a week carrying 300 pound blocks of ice, was offered three times more to fight; win, lose or draw. For one hundred dollars a week, Jock Whitney, British aristocrat and sportsman, owned Abe Simon. Abe won his first 14 fights, 12 by knockout. On his climb to fight Louis in 1941 he would knock out 27 opponents, including Jersey Joe Walcott.
reprinted from December 2012 

This blog has produced numerous posts chronicling the Joe Louis boxing era, many featuring Abe Simon, a Jewish heavyweight of the era; Simon and my mother were cousins. Lately, Allentown political shenanigans have allowed me little time and space to visit Madison Square Garden in the early 1940's. During the next couple of weeks I will reprint some of the Simon posts, while still assigning staff to City Hall. One of my attractions to the boxing world is the black and white photography produced during that era. The public would listen to the fights on the radio, and then see the photographs in the newspapers the following day.  I refer fight fans to December of 2012,  which can be found on the archive list on the right sidebar. 

reprinted from December 2014

Allentown Officially Becomes Reillyville

Yesterday the PPL Corporation announced that they are moving into a Reilly NIZ office building and putting the tower for sale.  The tower is more than  just an iconic building, it is the symbol of Allentown, and has been since 1928. 

The first question of course is what will become of the tower?  I suspect that J.B. Reilly has some insight in regard to that question.  With a glut of new office space available,  no commercial entity besides the PPL would have any use for it.  Its future is certainly residential, and its new owner I suspect has already been determined.

The second question is --what is really going on with our diverted taxes and the NIZ? If Reilly's first building at 7th and Hamilton has the room to accommodate the PPL, how much empty space is there in the subsequent buildings? 

Although this post is heavy on the questions and light on the answers, one thing is for certain...the Allentown of pre NIZ no longer exists.

shown above PPL Tower from the era of classic postcards

Weekly Reader

When I was growing up my parents would receive both The Morning Call and The Evening Chronicle.* This was their main source of news. Television in the late 40's and early 50's had national and world news, but there was no local programing in Allentown. The antenna on our roof would receive the three network (ABC, NBC, and CBS) stations from Philadelphia, and that was it. The morning and evening papers provided the local news, in addition to national and world stories. Hess Brothers and Leh's would compete with multiple full page Ads. We children also had our own little paper, Weekly Reader, handed out in the classroom every Friday. I think of it when I get the thin Morning Call on Mondays.

* The Morning Call and Evening Chronicle were both published by same company, Call-Chronicle Newspapers. 

reprinted from March 1, 2010

ADDENDUM JUNE 8, 2023: When my parents received the Call newspapers, and later when I had my own subscription, I never imaged that down the line that I would be writing my own local newsletter. I have been subscribing to the Morning Call for over 50 years, and writing this blog every weekday for 16 years. Unfortunately over these years I have offended some  elected officials and members of the press. Offending people is never the intention, my mission is to examine those things which would otherwise escape scrutiny.

Improving Strata's View

Your tax dollars circling back as grants are hard at work dressing up the store fronts in the 1000 block of Hamilton Street.  What we are paying for is a better view for Reilly's tenants in Strata 15.  That's not the real name of the new apartment building, but I call them all Strata.  

Now, we can't do much for the view from Strata 12, at 7th and Linden. Out the front they're looking at the 7-Eleven, scene of numerous shootings over the years. Out the back they see the hapless bus riders waiting on the cold steel benches for their Lanta seat.                                                                                                   But dammit, we can dress up the view on Hamilton Street for his 15th Strata, and we are!

Poverty and Violence Agencies Compete in Allentown

Two professional agencies will be directly competing to service Allentown's poor, courtesy of the Allentown School District.  Promise Neighborhoods, supposed violence reduction specialists, will work out of the new Hays Elementary School.  Community Action of Lehigh Valley, with their experience in attracting poverty, will be dispensing out of the former Cleveland Elementary School, which they purchased.  Both will operate food banks... Who will have the better menu remains to be seen. Enterprising patrons will need motorized shopping carts to make the rounds.

I followed Community Action for many years, their staff made a career out of poverty.  It appears as if Promise Neighborhoods may want to make a career out of violence. I can appreciate that my view on these agencies may appear dark.  I do realize that there are families in poverty with very legitimate food needs. I respect traditional faith based small food banks...My issue is with growth-oriented, grant seeking, arm bending agencies profiting from society's problems.

If the above sounds cynical, you may request a refund on your subscription to this periodical.

artwork/Mark Beyer

A Tale Of Two Cities

"We're a medium-size city

with big-city crime."
   -Mayor Ed Pawlowski, Allentown

For those of us who grew up in Allentown, we always considered ourselves a medium-sized city with a small town feel. We were literally designated the All American City. One of the most amazing aspects of this transformation, is that our total population has essentially stayed the same since 1928, when we first achieved 100,000 people. Twenty years ago we lamented the loss of Hess Brothers and other symbols of our prosperity, now we mourn the loss of basic civility and safety.

 above reprinted from May 12, 2010 

ADDENDUM JUNE 5, 2023:Although thirteen years have passed since I wrote the above missive, and the mercantile district on Hamilton Street has been replaced with a new urban office park, there have been no improvements in regard to basic civility and safety. Instead, those problems are now the status quo, and we who still lament losing those values of time past are considered dinosaurs or worse.

The Brass Rail

The Brass Rail was a fixture on Hamilton Street for many decades. At one time, to the left of the front door on Hamilton Street, was the women's entrance. A woman could use the special corridor to avoid walking through the bar room, to get to the dining room at the rear of the building. The business owners had all the bases covered. The front grill provided their famous steak sandwiches, for the take out lunch business on busy Hamilton Street. The back parking lot and service window specialized in takeout pizza, long before separate pizza shops become the norm. In the 1950's, pizza was more less limited to the Brass Rail and the Paddock, another long time food tradition. Having gone for the Brass Rail pizza's so often, I easily recognized the back of the Philly's Sport Bar, on the Morning Call shooting video. I patronized the first restauranteur who purchased the former Brass Rail location, Wellington's, but I haven't been there for years. Reading the article yesterday, I felt sorry for the new owner. He is petrified that his Philly's Sport Bar will be classified as a nuisance bar, and shut down. He, as were the owners of other "nuisance" bars and clubs, are also victims; They are the victims of what this town has become, and who the businesses are reduced to dealing with.

reprinted from April 10, 2010

ADDENDUM JUNE 2, 2023:A lot has changed since this post of 2010. The new NIZ libation spots don't have the problem clientele of this former era, but then again, they apparently have difficulty staying in business, despite all the new Strata apartments. Even the suburban Brass Rail on Lehigh Street has closed, but only because the owners aged out.

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 downtown's, 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.

It's 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.

reprinted from April 1, 2020

ADDENDUM JUNE 1, 2023: Because of the NIZ, Allentown's former mercantile district has transformed into an urban office park, complete with new company housing for the office workers. Like an office park owned by one entity, downtown Allentown is now also essentially owned by one person, and it looks it. I do not believe that Allentown can ever again become a destination, it simply has no atmosphere.

Flash From The Past

Occasionally, some of the older boys in Lehigh Parkway would get saddled with taking me along to a Saturday matinee in downtown Allentown. We would get the trolley, in later years a bus, from in front of the basement church on Jefferson Street. It would take that congregation many years to afford completing the church building there today. The trolley or bus would go across the 8th Street Bridge, which was built to accommodate the trolleys operated by Lehigh Valley Transit Company. Downtown then sported no less than five movie theaters at any one time. Particularly matinee friendly was the Midway, in the 600 Block of Hamilton. Three cartoons and episode or two of Flash Gordon entertained our entourage, which ranged in age from five to eleven years old. We younger kids, although delighted by the likes of Bugs Bunny, were confused how the Clay People would emerge from the walls in the caves on Mars to capture Captain Gordon, but our chaperones couldn't wait till the next week to learn Flash's fate. Next on the itinerary was usually a banana split at Woolworth's. Hamilton Street had three 5 and 10's, with a million things for boys to marvel at. The price of the sundae was a game of chance, with the customer picking a balloon. Inside the balloon was your price, anywhere from a penny to the full price of fifty cents. The store had a full selection of Allentown souvenirs. Pictures of West Park on a plate, the Center Square Monument on a glass, pennants to hang on your wall, and picture postcards of all the attractions. Hamilton Street was mobbed, and even the side streets were crowded with busy stores. Taking younger kids along was a responsibility for the older brothers, the streets and stores were crowded, but predators were limited to the Clay People on the silver screen.

reprinted from April 13, 2009

Ce-Ce Rocks The Block

Ce-Ce Gerlach rocked South 16th Street this afternoon with a block party to raise funds for school uniforms. The block was packed with people enjoying several carnival attractions, music and food. From all reports, the new Allentown school uniform policy seems to have gotten off to a good start, but one issue is the cost of the  clothes.  With a large, low income student body, this can become a family hardship.  I'm sure Ce-Ce's organizing abilities  will help with this problem.  I've had a couple of conversations with Ce-Ce this past month, and I believe she will be a factor in Allentown's future.

above reprinted from September 7, 2013

UPDATE January 30,2018: Last evening I attended an early kickoff for Ce-Ce's campaign for Allentown City Council in 2019.  I've known Ce-Ce for years, and am glad to see her again offering her time and energy to Allentown.  In this sorry time we need people with her sincerity and integrity.

In regards to this sorry time,  it's my understanding that the prosecution against Pawlowski had a strong showing in court yesterday. Numerous witnesses, including former city employees, described bid rigging and a pay to play culture. Supposedly, the defense attorney seemed exasperated, and Pawlowski himself somewhat forlorn.

ADDENDUM MAY 30, 2023: This post harks back to 2013. Over the last ten years I have posted often about Ce-Ce. While she was trying to raise money for student uniforms back then, they have just become optional. While her progressive politics didn't earn my endorsement for the recent primary, come November Ce-Ce will certainly retain her City Council seat. 

Show above is the street party she organized in 2013. She is speaking with a member of the Buffalo Soldiers, a Black motorcycle club which visited the event.