A WPA Monday

A month ago Mondays, I climbed the steps at Fountain Park to speak to the stone masons repairing that iconic structure. The steps were built in 1936, and would soon serve thousands of men walking down from center city to the Mack factory, to produce trucks for the war effort. It took me ten years to get the masons there, but by now I had another pressing objective. In the last couple of years, the top of the wall at the double stairwell at Union Terrace had become open, threatening that structure with potential catastrophic damage. After learning that the masons had no assignment beyond the Fountain Park steps, I drove over to the Park and Recreation Office.

Lindsay Taylor, the new park director, has been fairly cordial to me, considering my reputation as a mauler of city bureaucrats. I explained that the top of the Union Terrace wall was open, and that I had serious doubts about it surviving another winter of freeze and thaw cycles.  I requested that the masons make an emergency repair on top of the wall, while other repairs needed there could be delayed. Taylor agreed to consult her park supervisor, Rick Holtzman, about my request. Later that morning, I spoke with Holtzman, who agreed that it would indeed be appropriate to reassign the masons.  The masons were replacing missing steps and repointing the Fountain Park stairwell,  through a grant from the Trexler Trust. The grant had been written and requested by Karen El-Chaar, from Allentown Friends of the Parks. El-Chaar had attended my meetings years earlier on the WPA structures, and I had since  conducted tours of Lehigh Parkway in conjunction with her organization. Holtzman requested that El-Chaar clear the repair at Union Terrace with the Trexler Trust, since their funds were designated to be spent at Fountain Park. The Trust gave their permission for the masons to be temporally reassigned.

By the weeks end the masons spend a day at the Terrace, and repaired the top of the wall. I'm grateful that Lindsay Taylor and the Trexler Trust responded to stabilize that structure, and optimistic that their commitment to  our WPA history will continue.  I will  in turn  continue on,  when necessary, mauling the bureaucrats.

The photograph above shows the WPA steps being built in Seattle. I'm sure an identical sight could be seen on Lawrence Street in 1936. 

above reprinted from November of 2015

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 of 2010

ADDENDUM APRIL 5, 2022: In a discussion on Facebook about the changes that have occurred in Allentown, somebody wrote, "But neither of us can deny there is a strong undertow of racism in many of the comments we read on these Allentown sites."  It is too easy to use the term "racism" to justify bad behavior... It intimidates and shuts people down....that's why we're having seating council members who marched shouting "F--K the Police, Defund the police." and then can even run for higher office.

Allentown's Revitalization And Our Frame Of Reference

I suspect that the millennials are most enthused about the changes in Allentown, while the baby boomers are the least. How you feel about what is new there now, is probably based on your frame of reference.  We who experienced Hamilton Street in it's heyday are not so impressed with current developments.  Although the Whitehall Mall opened in the mid 1960's, Hamilton Street continued on for another 30 years. When the Lehigh Valley Mall opened in the late 1970's, Hamilton Street's decline as a destination was swift. Although the former Hess Brothers store would stay open through Christmas of 1995, most of it's shoppers entered and left via it's own parking deck, never stepping foot on Hamilton Street.

During the next 15 years, the downtown survived by serving the neighboring demographic, which was becoming poorer every year. Five years ago, when I debated about the coming NIZ on Business Matters, one of the NIZ board members actually referred to the stores being displaced and their clientele as a cancer. The same merchants and customers are now considered part of 7th Streets' success, what a difference a few blocks make.

Despite one promotional article after another by The Morning Call, the verdict is still out on the success of the new revitalized center city. Because it is being financed exclusively by public funds, and will be for at least the next 30 years, normal barometers of success cannot be used. I spend a lot of time there, but have yet to feel the buzz.

above reprinted from November 30, 2015

ADDENDUM APRIL 4, 2022: The six plus years since the above was written hasn't changed my assessment of center city...construction proceeds on the new offices and apartments. The new Strata 13 apartment building at 8th and Walnut mystifies me...what would compel anybody to move there? However, these type questions seem limited to this blog, and my frame of reference.

Life Not At Strata

Just when I thought that The Morning Call was through with the Strata Flats infomercials, they doubled down with Life At Strata. Impressive arena, trendy restaurants, and flourishing downtown are the adjectives just from the first two sentences. They profile three tenants; Young professionals who moved from Austin to teach at Muhlenberg, a full time arena director, and an older empty nester couple. The article is a hoot. The happy campers mention the name of their favorite restaurants, some of which have been open now for three whole weeks. Traditions, gotta love traditions. It's good that they love these restaurants, because it's a long way to Wegman's to go grocery shopping. If the reporters writing these articles are offended by my criticism, perhaps they should consider the other 60,000 tenants living downtown, it's called, Life Not At Strata.

above reprinted from November of 2015 

ADDENDUM APRIL 1, 2022: Reilly is now up to Strata #7 or so. While the Morning Call still has the will to promote the NIZ, they no longer have the manpower...they're pressed nowadays just to report the local news. A block out from the NIZ, Allentown remains a hard place, and it will get harder. 

The current national real estate frenzy has even propelled the downtown tenements into astronomical prices. The new investors will discover that the tenant base is not reliable enough to meet their debt service...foreclosures will be rampant. Letters from the code department will go to corporate holding companies, and be ignored...Welcome back to 2008.

Allentown City Council Awoke (For Five Minutes)

On Wednesday evening, City Council, for the first time in six years that Ed Pawlowski has been mayor, didn't approve one of his proposals. The proposal wasn't actually rejected, but the 3 to 3 tie vote doesn't allow his scheme to proceed. Who voted which way, is the topic of this post. Although the Pawlowski promoted Trash to Energy company was going to charge the city twice as much, for twice as long as a competitor, the RubberStamp Trio once again sang the Yes Song. Worse yet, all three singers, Schweyer, Schlossberg, and Guridy, would like to be State Representatives. Rejecting the non- competitive offer was Jeanette Eichenwald, Ray O'Connell and Cynthia Mota. Jeanette has emerged as an independent voice on Council, but until Wednesday, usually stood alone. Many people had expectations when Ray O'Connell was elected, but it took over two years for him to stand on his own. The great surprise of the evening was new councilwoman Cynthia Mota, who asserted herself at only her second council meeting. I did not attend the meeting. This analysis is from the benefit of phone calls, and two excellent 

articles by Devon Lash in The Morning Call.

above reprinted from February of 2012

ADDENDUM December 9, 2015: Within a month of writing the post above in February of 2012, Delta Thermos would wine and dine Cynthia Mota,  she would change her vote, and never again vote against the mayor.  The night of the vote change, the Pawlowski and Groen scheme had the council chamber packed with over 400 union workers, most of them from out of the area. Furthermore, they had bikers outside, trying to intimidate normal citizens from entering. The FBI has requested documents pertaining to this sorry chapter in the Pawlowski story. Schlossberg and Schweyer did go on to become midgets in the State House.  Had Delta built the plant, right now truckloads of New Jersey garbage would be using the new American Parkway Bridge, to deliver additional trash to the plant.

UPDATE MARCH 31, 2022: In the fifteen years since I started this blog, nobody can accuse me of playing up to the local politicians. Cynthia Mota is now president of city council. Schlossberg and Schweyer are established incumbents.  Allentown and the valley tend to get worse politically, not better. I'm hoping that Schweyer prevails in his upcoming primary. With the new map, I'm now in the same district as Schlossberg.  If I were less gray and long in the tooth, I'd love to run against him... but my blogger associate O'Hare tells me that Schlossberg would destroy me.  Maybe so, but from this typewriter I can still take cheap shots at him.

Allentown's Coffee Square

When the staff of molovinsky on allentown recently visited Tim Hortons on a weekend evening, we were the only patrons. Likewise, when we visited Johnny's across the square on a business morning, there was only one other table occupied. Despite that reality, Starbucks will now be occupying the third corner. Although City Center Real Estate Company and the Pawlowski Administration wants people to think that the Starbucks entrance symbolizes something exclusive, the shoppers at Target on Cedar Crest Blvd. know better. The reality is that the existing coffee shops, which are only doing marginally at best, will do even less. Whatever failure or disappointment that visits these businesses, don't blame the Morning Call. They have been promoting the shops in a shameless manner. After multiple articles announcing the opening of a Philadelphia cheesesteak business, this weekend they will review the cheesesteak. How cheesy is that?

above reprinted from January 30, 2015

UPDATE MARCH 30, 2022: Yesterday morning, although I had to cross under a giant crane over Hamilton Street in the 900 block, there was not a person on the street before Government Center at 7th... She was getting coffee to take back to her county job. Seven years later, and nothing has changed on Hamilton. Reilly's City Center continues to tear down our history and build his new taxpayer funded, privately owned empire. The Morning Call continues to put out its Subscriber Exclusives, omissive of the real story downtown.