Blogging and The Arena

Over the years, or more accurately, over the controversies, I had developed a unique relationship with the merchants of Hamilton Street. Last spring, I was honored to join them at their meeting with City officials, concerning the abrupt demands to sell their property. Despite their decades of keeping the lights on for Hamilton Street, their departure was swift and without mercy. They were literally evicted just prior to the Christmas shopping season. As the buildings and history was leveled to the ground, my interest in the controversy has waned. Last week, I speculated about the current state of the project; I believe that the Allentown Arena and office buildings will have some success with foot traffic. The actual cost to bring those people here, will never be known. The Lehigh Valley Hospital sports medical facility will guarantee some traffic flow. Fellow blogger Jon Geetings noted my concession with this reply: What I wonder about is why anyone should care how much it costs to create a larger production cluster in Allentown. We’re talking about PA’s third largest city. If all this ends up costing $2-3 billion in taxpayer subsidies, but it works, is anyone actually going to be arguing that this wasn’t worth doing 50 years from now? Although the former stores of Hamilton Street stood for 150 years, I seriously doubt if the new arena will be here in fifty years. I think that the taxpayer cost does matter, especially since they had no say in the matter. Last, but not least, an anonymous comment: Another I hate Allentown blog post by South Whitehall resident Molovinsky. He fails to mention all the new development as usual. For Molovinsky it is 1950/60's or bust. It is unfortunate that you live so far in the past. Yes, I came from a era when if the public was not given a vote on such a large project, they would have at least been afforded input. Our politicians were arrogant enough to put the cost of this Transformation not only on the local residents, but the surrounding municipalities as well.

Urban Renewal

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

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

reprinted from June 2011

Baseball Memoirs Reprint

Bob Lamson saved the newspaper clipping all these years. On Oct. 31, 1975, The Morning Call reported that $200,000 had been raised to built the stadium. Times were different then, there were no KOZ's or cardboard checks from professional politicians. Bob is now 77, he played for the Patriots, and knocked on doors for two years to help build Bicentennial Park. Much of the construction was done by Vo-Tech instructors and students, who donated countless hours of their time. Contributors included the community leaders of their era; Van Schiver, Alvin Butz, and former Mayor Hock. The stadium opened in 1976 to host the National Fast Pitch Softball Tournament. Where will the plaque of contributors to Bicentennial end up thirtyfour years later; at a scrap dealer? Does Lanta really need the space, or does Allentown need the money? Would people again contribute their sweat equity, to build a field of dreams, only to see it torn down by a politician's fast pitch?

Reprinted from June, 2009. Bicentennial survived the threat.

Evolution of The Transformation

There's a long history to everything that appears new in Allentown. The American Parkway, with it's new bridge scheduled to begin, goes back to Joe Daddona's era, 35 years ago. Some of the things that were to be serviced by that road no longer exist, others never materialized, and are long forgotten. All the while mayor after mayor obsessed on this new bridge, the existing ones have accumulated more neglect. While we accelerate the American Parkway Bridge, 15th Street receives another delay. The concept of a hockey arena goes back to Bill Heydt, when he tore down the former Hess's Store, and attempted to secure private investors. Thanks to the new Neighborhood Improvement Zone, we have found an effective financing mechanism, the taxpayer. In the real world, it seems the Sands Event Center will dominate the local entertainment market. I believe that the Allentown Arena and office buildings will have some success with foot traffic. The actual cost to bring those people here, will never be known.

rendering of proposed Corporate Plaza*, 1984/The Morning Call Archives
*destroyed by sinkhole in 1994

Take Your Medicine

If the NIZ bestowed any benefit upon Allentown, it was that Sacred Heart Hospital was included. Stranded down at 4th and Chew, the small old hospital serves those residents with the least ability to pay. Now the giant, Lehigh Valley Health Network, will open a sports medicine facility at the arena complex. Sixty percent of the staff will be transferred from their current suburban location. Although the clinic will benefit the arena project, and a private developer, it's unclear to me that it serves the best interest of the greater community.

Baggage Wars

When I grew up, Allentown produced Mack Trucks, General Electric appliances, and Black and Decker Tools, and that was within a block of my house. Four railroad spur lines fed a hundred factories. In addition to heavy industry, we were known for textiles. We now aspire to make money off of other people's loss, literally. The pawn shop owner snickers and laughs, and asks the poor son of a bitch if he wants to donate his treasure. We watch the leeches bid on abandoned storage spaces, hoping some other person left his grandmother's jewelry there, in a box. We don't even aspire to produce anything anymore, just profit from someone else's misfortune. We have become a society of lottery ticket buyers.