Downtown Allentown, aka J.B. Reilly's NIZ, is a dead zone. While Bethlehem and Easton have a day and night life, Allentown remains devoid of life. The only reason I care, and you should, is that it isn't Reilly's money, but ours. Reilly's privately owned buildings are financed with diverted state taxes, our taxes, which must otherwise be made up, by who again, but us.
I have been writing about this since day one. The list of the complicit silent has grown to now include the blue blood Allentown Art Museum board. They have agreed to move the art museum to Reilly's proposed cultural corner at 10th and Linden. Meanwhile in reality, Reilly is reduced to staging local boxing matches in his new Archer Theater. The Museum move leaves the Baum School and the art park artless.
Meanwhile, those same blue bloods dine at night in Bethlehem and Easton. Those two cities prospered from organic growth, not some contrived real estate scheme. There is some new moronic plan where ambassadors will confront anybody more prosperous than a street person who parks downtown, and ask how they can help? How reassuringly pathetic can we get?
Boxers first. Pro wrestlers next. Gininnin up attendence.
ReplyDeleteWasn't the PPL Arena designed for that on non-hockey nights?
Bet there ain't no hip-hop at the acher
Any paying attention understands, the Little Apple is rotten to the core.
ReplyDeleteWhat is going to replace the Museum facility at its historic location?
ReplyDeleteReillyville is a farce but beyond that- the art museum becoming part of it would be terrible. As a museum supporter I understand the problems of an older building but the move offers little to the museum. Visitors will not walk from a parking building on the next block to visit the museum. To my understanding new site offers similar square footage to what it has now, less storage space, and even less parking. This seems like a no-brainer to me.
ReplyDeleteAs a native Allentonian and a supporter of the AAM since Richard Greg was Director I am astonished at the decision to move the facility.
DeleteNot much shocks me about the once and former Queen City these days, this move shocks me.
mj adams
anon@10:06: Shame especially to the Baum School for their silence. As for the being an older building, that's a pretense, it's a lot newer than the Louvre and all the famous museums.
ReplyDeleteThe current Allentown establishment takes care of its own and Riley is in the cat bird seat.
DeleteHe is the undisputed king of the roost. Big, really, really, big, money calls the shots.