Depot At Overlook Park

Old timers have noticed that the contractor's building on Hanover Avenue transformed into a community center for Overlook Park. But only the oldest, or train buffs, realized that the building was the freight depot and office for the Lehigh & New England Railroad. Lehigh & New England was formed in 1895, primarily as a coal carrier. The line ran from Allentown to Maybrook, New York.

In 1904 it was acquired by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. The line ceased operation in 1961. Among it's infrastructure were impressive bridges across both the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers, both of which were dismantled. Ironic that a remnant of our industrial era is being utilized by the successor of a public housing project.

reprinted from February 17, 2011

1953 In Allentown

In 1953 you could escape the crowds on Hamilton Street by walking down beyond the third department store, Zollinger Harned, to the 500 Block. The malls in Whitehall were still two decades away, and Hamilton Street was where the Lehigh Valley shopped. Although the photograph above shows a trolley and a bus, the last trolly would run in June of that year. South side Allentown was bustling with Mack Truck and General Electric. The first supermarket, FoodFair, opened that year on Lehigh Street, now the Parkway Shopping center. In addition to the three department stores, downtown Allentown boasted three five and dimes and five movie theaters. Ike was our President, and Brighton Diefenderfer was our mayor. In the scene above, Man In The Dark is playing at the Colonial Theater. In that 3D movie, a criminal gets a second chance if he submits to an operation to excise the criminal portion of his brain. In 2012, could we give our elected officials that option?

The Legend Begins

On July 4th, 1934 Joe louis made his debut as a professional fighter. Thirteen months and nineteen straight victories later, most by knockout, 62,000 fight fans would jam Yankee Stadium to watch the new sensation fight the giant, Primo Carnera.

New York, New York - Primo Carnera, giant Italian boxer and former heavyweight champion of the world, and Joe Louis, hard-hitting negro heavyweight from Detroit, Michigan, weighed-in this afternoon at the offices of the New York State Boxing Commission for their fifteen round bout tonight at the Yankee Stadium. - 6.25.1935

Although badly battered from the first round, Carnera would gamely stay in the fight till it was stopped in round six. The legend of the Brown Bomber was clearly established.

photo of Primo Carnera
As a pardon from local politics, this blog presents boxing from the Joe Louis era, local Allentown history, and posts on the Holy Land. The above post is reprinted from August 20, 2010.

A Rejected Letter

The Morning Call has declined to print my reply to Vincent Stravino's letter about Israel. I was invited to address their concerns, and resubmit the piece. In my opinion Stravino uses what I consider propaganda techniques in his letters. He takes the Methodist resolution and attempts to give it divine authority by mentioning Bishop Tutu and the Presbyterian Church. Although I would have preferred the much larger Morning Call audience to read my reply, I present both Stravino's published letter and my rejected reply.

  The United Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant church in America, has recently considered the ongoing Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian Land. The Methodist General Conference approved a resolution urging the U.S. government to end all military aid to the region, called on all nations to prohibit any financial support for the construction and maintenance of settlements and called on all nations to prohibit the import of products made by companies in Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. The Church did not endorse divestment of their pension funds from three American military contractors who sell offensive weapons to Israel as part of $3 billion of U.S. aid yearly. The Methodist vote followed intense lobbying from rabbis on both sides of the issue. In a letter of support, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa characterized Israeli treatment of Palestinians as apartheid. The Presbyterian Church in the United States will vote soon on these same issues. The United Methodist Church has bravely moved from sympathetic words to tangible action against injustice. Let's all stop our taxpayer dollars from being used to fund settlements and violence against innocent Palestinians. Today America needs the money far more than Israel. Tell Congress. Vincent Stravino 

Vincent Stravino and I have been dueling about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for over a year here on the Letters To The Editor page. We also have conducted a private correspondence. Although Stravino is currently in Israel and the West Bank with the Inter-Faith Peace Builders, on Tuesday his letter was published citing positions by the Methodist Church against Israel. I suspect that Stravino is not a Methodist, and know that he is not authorized to be their spokesman. I have received an email from Stravino and his group from Israel; In it they note the "Nakba (Catastrophe) and the birth of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The "catastrophe" refers to the creation of Israel in 1948. Any person who questions the legitimacy of Israel, whether a Palestinian in the West Bank, or a peace activist from the Lehigh Valley, is hardly an honest broker for a just solution. Michael Molovinsky

Hybrid News

My post on Monday, Ethics and Editorials,   discussed how The Morning Call seemed to be blurring the news and their opinions. Yesterday, as if to prove my point, we saw a hybrid headline. Inserted into the headline article by reporter Matt Assad, was a box listing their second article, by columnist Bill White. White was offended by the smugness and coldness of Bethlehem township concerning the catastrophic hole in Allentown. He should have watched a former merchant literally cry in front of City Council last spring. Today, the paper continues the news/opinion casserole. Their formally dormant blog, Valley 610, has an inane poll comparing the casino and arena. Never mind that the casino was build by private money, and gives money back to the region. The Arena would be built by taxes, and take money from the area.

Pawlowski's Poor Priorities

The former Barber Quarry rail spur is no secret. The line ran along the Little Lehigh, under both the 8th Street and 15th Street Bridges, ending up near the present day Hamilton Family Diner. I have posted about it often; The Train of Lehigh Parkway, also The Train of Union Terrace and The Junkyard Train. It has played a role in several City plans. It's former railbed would be incorporated into the Trail Network Plan, and the AEDC received a grant to perhaps reinstate the rail line. Both these projects have been covered here at molovinsky on allentown. Today we are told that construction of the 15th Street Bridge replacement will be delayed because of arsenic found by the former railbed. Arsenic, and other pesticides were previously used to make railroad ties. This also is no secret. We are a city which can work with the state government to fast track development for political and private benefit, but are content to have the entire southside isolated. When construction finally does begin, it was suppose to start last November, the bridge will be closed in both directions for over a year. Schreiber's Bridge, the 184 year old stone structure a quarter mile west, has been taking a pounding.*  In 1957 the 15th Street Bridge opened, finally providing a good connection between South Allentown and the remainder of the city. Because Pennsylvania was considering it's replacement, Community Development Director Pawlowski, under Afflerbach, didn't have it's metal beam structure painted. Because Mayor Pawlowski has been consumed with Transforming Allentown, no haste has been applied to the bridge project. While the politicians and press lament about the Hole at 8th and Hamilton, I'm concerned about the quality of life issues; That bridge is one of them.

*This blog has noted the on going damage to Schreiber's Bridge from heavy use with just one lane of 15th Street Bridge currently closed.  This blogger personally informed Mayor Pawlowski of the damage.