By the early 1950's, our major department stores were operated by the second generation owners. Max Hess Jr. become a merchandizer of national reputation. His store windows presented displays as sophisticated as any major city. One holiday novelty exists to this day, Pip The Mouse, and can be seen at Zion Church. The fourth floor toy department had eye popping, life sized, automated stuffed animals from Germany. Needless to say, Santa Claus was on duty at Hess's.
Families had their favorite department store. While my mother patronized Hess's, others were loyal to Leh's and Zollingers. Although I'm sure that their Christmas displays were also top notch, I have no personal memories. While we now charge citizens to drive through a park with lights, downtowns used to compete with attractive displays. Allentown was famous for the Bell Lights on our iconic light posts, which would rock back and forth, as if ringing. Although times have changed, this blog will remind those few who remember.
reprinted from December of 2012
Fewer and fewer people now living in Allentown can even imagine how far the once thriving, vibrant, magnificent All American City has fallen.
ReplyDeleteFrom another perspective one could argue that it is another contemporary version of an all American city.
Why do I have to fight back the urge to cry?
ReplyDeleteAnyone in their seventies or eighties remembers those wonderful times.
ReplyDeleteInstitutional memory will soon be completely erased.
The current political “leadership” on the city and county level is completely clueless.
Arguably I have spent more time in the glow of this third rate Lights in the Parkway display than any other living human being.
ReplyDeleteIt’s been a misguided priority for Parks staff and a gross insult to the natural environment of the main stem of the Little Lehigh Park since it’s inception when springs were disrupted or destroyed, entire populations of specific bird populations vanished and soil erosion and compaction increased.
Yes, it’s has provided a cash infusion to grass roots organizations and groups but let’s call it what it is, an underwhelming lighting display and a net loss for the park itself.
The Pool Trust, the Trexler Trust and Malcom Gross allowed the travesty of Lights in the Parkway.
DeleteShame on them.
Of all the issues facing the parks, Lights in the Parkway is the least of the city’s problems. If anything, it draws more people - of all ages - to visit the park at a time when usage is down.
DeleteThe biggest problem is lack of maintenance. Whether it’s the WPA structures, the weed-wall buffers, or simple things like the failure to fill in low spots in the meadows, it all has a cumulative, negative effect.
Posts like this are why I love Molovinsky on A-town.
ReplyDeleteThank you, sir.
anon@10:09: While the parks are a concern to me, Allentown certainly has generally lost it's historic identity. Even the board of the historic, Liberty Bell Zion Church gave up, and Pip The Mouse is in some basement somewhere. Last week the city and newspaper lauded the NIZ, while in reality downtown is a dead zone, despite $1.5 Billion of taxpayer money. Litter and potholes prevail...we are a city of bandaids.
ReplyDelete