Visiting Easton

Being one of the last warm days of the year, I thought we would visit Easton. I thought perhaps it would be more interesting to do the trip circa 1948. Lehigh Valley Transit had a trolley that went from 8th and Hamilton, through Bethlehem, to the circle in Easton. In the photo above, we're coming down Northampton Street, just entering the Circle. The Transit Company was using both trolleys and buses, until they discontinued trolleys completely, in 1953. At this time, Hamilton, Broad and Northampton Streets were the shopping malls of the era, and public transportation serviced the customers. The Transit Company, now Lanta, currently serves the Allentown population from a prison like facility at 6th and Linden Streets; It just needs a fence. Easton mayor Sal Panto is now also abandoning the merchants for a remote transportation/correction facility, which will entertain the inmates with the Al Bundy High School Dropout Museum. Hope you enjoyed the trip.
reprinted from November of 2011

UPDATE March 9, 2015: The above post was written in 2011, but it's taken Sal Panto longer than expected to build the Lanta Transfer/Parking Deck. The planned Al Bundy Museum is now being replaced instead by Easton City Hall, where Sal is expected to wear his high school football uniform. As it turns out, Sal and I have something in common, we both worked at our fathers' meat markets in Easton. My father's market was called Melbern, and was on S. 4th Street, catty corner the Mohican Market. During the early 1960's, on my way to lunch in the circle, I would stop and visit a friend who worked at Iannelli's chicken and coldcut counter in the 5&10 on Northampton Street. The meat markets and commerce on Northampton Street are long gone, but Easton's Center Square is having a revival as the place to dine.

ADDENDUM MAY 2, 2022: When I first wrote this post in 2011, I never imagined that Panto would still be mayor 100 years later. I suppose that here in Kentuckvania, unless you get picked up by the FBI for blatant behavior, you're elected for life and beyond. Some cities become charming by accident...at some point the lack of development looks historic. I still visit Easton on a regular basis. Even stopped in once to meet Panto, but supposedly he wasn't in.

It's Like A Postcard

Last week when I prevailed on some players at City Hall to meet me in Lehigh Parkway, somebody remarked that it's like a postcard. With the creek banks now overgrown, it would difficult to recreate the nationally distributed postcards of Allentown parks from the 1950's. But the old postcards still exist, giving testimony to the beauty that was ours. There will be a formal discussion with the City Council Park and Recreation Committee next Wednesday at 5:00p.m. They will hear about stream velocity theory and habitat from the grant driven new age science crew. I will talk about beauty. I still believe that the parks were created for the pleasure of people.

reprinted from August of 2013

ADDENDUM APRIL 29, 2022:The above post was from my unsuccessful battle in 2013 to save the small, melodic dam built to accompany the Robin Hood Bridge in 1941. At that time I noted the overgrown creek banks. In addition to dam and history destruction, the Wildlands Conservancy also potty trained the Allentown Park System to grow riparian buffers. They're not really riparian buffers because here in Allentown the storm runoff system is piped under them, directly into the streams. However, the faux buffers do cut down the grass mowing a bit, and the park system satisfies its masters. But because of invasive species, the buffers still must be cut at least twice a year, so the poison hemlock and other invasives don't take hold...here lies another victim of the buffers, the baby ducks. The duckling nests are destroyed with the first cutting. The west side of Cedar Park by the rose gardens failed again to produce any ducklings. One bewildered couple looks like they may try again. I have been on this save the ducks mission now for three years. In addition to this blog, I have unsuccessfully lobbied city personnel. Their supposed plan of looking for nests before the first cutting simply doesn't work in the field.

Barbarians At Allentown Post Office Gate

In the 1930's, the "New Deal" was good to Allentown.  Our park system was enriched by monumental stone construction under the WPA. We also received one of the architectural gems of our area, the magnificent art deco post office. Constructed during 1933-34, no detail was spared in making the lobby an ageless classic. The floor is adorned with handmade Mercer tiles from Doylestown. Muralist Gifford Reynolds Beal worked thru 1939 portraying the Valley's cultural and industrial history.

Unfortunately for history and culture, this architectural gem is now being targeted for NIZ private/public enrichment.  Several architectural treasures were demolished for the arena, along with Allentown's mercantile history. The Postal Service has signed off on the building, and the developer is chomping at the bit. The real tragedy is that the other new buildings are not even full, but with private construction being funded by taxpayers, there is no need to worry about such details as occupancy rates.  Efforts to save this irreplaceable building may start and end on this blog.  The Morning Call, itself a partner in the NIZ,  has taken a back seat on such matters.

The 83 year old photograph, part of my private collection,  is the contractor's documentation of the project's progress. The back of the photo states; Taken Sept 1 - 34 showing lobby, floor, screens, desks, completed & fixtures hung

photograph will enlarge when clicked

reprinted from previous years 

ADDENDUM APRIL 28, 2022:I first published this photo and blog about the post office history in 2008. By 2018, I added the copy about the threat to the building and the NIZ. Although my posts at that time did generate some historical pangs, to my knowledge the fate of this gem remains in limbo.

The Honest Broker, Missing From The Lehigh Valley

In a previous post, I told how South Whitehall's Christina Morgan would be coming forward suggesting a referendum on Wehr's Dam. Last night, as if on cue, she made her backdoor suggestion, hoping to help the Wildlands still demolish the icon. Also in a previous post, I mentioned that the Allentown Parking Authority presents contrived surveys, to justify their rate hikes. Also on cue, that claim was made last night, to justify doubling the meter rate in Allentown. We were also told that tickets are only reluctantly given, to enforce rules which benefit everybody. As one who has often seen street sweeping tickets give out en masse, with no meaningful sweeping, I know better than that. We live in an area where bureaucrats can say and do as they please, with no scrutiny from the press. The bureaucrats are imbued with arrogance, thinking they know best, certainly much better than the dirty masses. The press is nine to five, satisfied to report what is said, with no need to know the real motives. The public, for the most part, is content with this diet of abridged news. On the national level, they're so conditioned to spin and attitude, that facts no longer count. Who cares if you have to pay $2 an hour to park on empty Hamilton Street on a Tuesday afternoon? 

above reprinted from April 16, 2015 

ADDENDUM APRIL 27, 2022:Although seven years have passed, I'm afraid reform is just an empty word used by some new faces in local governments. The Wildlands Conservancy still runs South Whitehall township. Allentown has a new administration on city hall's top floor, but the city is still run by the same Pawlowski entrenched goons on the lower floors. The Morning Call no longer has any floors, and uses the same opiners from yesteryear, rewriting their old insights. The city is populated by a shifting tide of immigrants from the New(s), that be Jersey and York...to them it does seem new, exciting and reformed.

Abuse Of Power At The Monument Building

The building had begun its life as the 1st National Bank. The second owner renamed it Corporate Center. The third owner renamed it Monument Building.

One morning in early July of 2008, code enforcement descended upon the Monument Building like a swat team.  Every officer, in every department , entered the building at the same time, and spread out looking for every possible violation. Under the previous owner, the same conditions, with the same tenants, were lauded as a rebirth.

Whatever motivated Pawlowski to pull the plug on the new owner, the tenants were lightweights, of no consequence to him. At that time, myself and few other malcontents, like Lou Hershman, would gather early in the morning for coffee at Jerry's Cafe, located on the first floor.

Jerry's was not one of the upstart businesses blessed with a Pawlowski grant at the time. He had to pay for everything, and everything had been inspected, inside and out. His plans had been approved, his electric and plumbing had been approved,  and his expensive grill and hood system had been approved.  While all the tenants were put out of business that day,  Jerry was also financially ruined. 

During this sorry Pawlowski era, he used the code department as a weapon.  Although Pawlowski is gone, some of that same mentality apparently still lurks with some of the code officers.  I wrote about Pawlowski's tactics back then in 2008, and I will continue to defend those currently victimized by such abuse.

The Monument Building would be torn down years later by J.B. Reilly, and replaced by one of his Corporate Towers.

I photographed the code cars that morning lined up for the raid   

reprinted from previous years

ADDENDUM APRIL 26, 2022: In 2008, when the above abuse was occuring, this blogger was there documenting the incident. I documented numerous incidents in that period. As Pawlowski became bolder in his aggression and attracted the attention of the FBI, they used this and O'Hare's blog as a source for tips. Unfortunately those Pawlowski storm troopers are still at city hall. Some have ascended into positions of power. Just two years ago I documented on this blog a homeowner being harassed, as a personal favor to a friend of a code director. I have slowed down with such direct involvement, that was the last court hearing I attended. Thirty years of fighting city hall takes its toll. I can tell you that Pawlowski supporters thought that he could walk on water, he couldn't...that should be a lesson for current supporters of current politicans.

Bill White's Confusion

I had to shake my head reading Bill White's column yesterday. While I often criticize Bill for wasting his bully pulpit on grammar and his reoccurring themes, it's actually better than the revisionism he bestowed upon the Morning Call yesterday.  He wrote, "The Morning Call has focused attention over the years on practices that hinted at pay to play, but those revelations never generated enough heat to trigger legislation or internal reforms." That's news to me Bill, although I realize that the paper has now ended its eight year  honeymoon with Pawlowski, that only occurred after the recent FBI raid.  By my scorecard, you would have to cite examples of these revelations about pay to play you claim the paper made. Up to recent events, the paper took everything from the Pawlowski Administration at face value.  In reality, the paper, and pardon me for saying, you in particular, were cheerleaders, especially for the NIZ.  You even called me misguided for suggesting that the NIZ was a plan based on layers of inequity: Inequitable to most of the existing businesses in the valley, and segregating against the residents of center city. Although you now write that "Time is running out for politics as usual,"  most of the few local political mavericks have ended up in your Hall Of Shame.  If your memory lapses continue,  you might want to see your physician.

above reprinted from August 28, 2015 

ADDENDUM APRIL 25, 2022:Over the years numerous personnel at the Morning Call took a buyout, including Bill White. About a year ago, he persuaded the editor/publisher(Mike Miorelli) to give him back two columns a month. Although he's still certainly no Bernstein/Woodward, he has recently written a couple of pieces beyond his previous MO of chocolate cake contests and Christmas lights. Perhaps my insults inspired him. However, I still will allow no former Morning Call reporter to claim that the newspaper ever broke anything critical of any level of local government. On the contrary, they still turn their back on controversy.