The Revitalization Of Allentown

This week Allentown was promised revitalization by no less than two ringmasters. The director of the Art Museum described the expansion and renovation of the museum as revitalizing Allentown. I'm happy for the wine and cheese crowd, but they would be lucky to improve one block of 5th street, much less the city. Of course our biggest revitalization was promised by our mayor, who is paying a stadium planner over a quarter $million dollars for his recommendations. There is nothing wrong with thinking big, if you do the small things along the way. Allentown failed to clean the streets curb to curb this long winter. Litter fills downtown gutters and covers the corner sewer grates. News of home invasions petrify honest taxpayers. Wine, cheese and even hockey cannot replace quality of life. 

above reprinted from March of 2011

ADDENDUM OCTOBER 1, 2024:Both the art director and mayor mentioned above have moved on...Hopefully the art director got a softer landing than the former mayor. Despite a $Billion dollars of new construction, paid for with diverted state taxes and owned by one man, town remains dead. A new music venue, the Moxie, named after the side bar of this blog, may finally bring some life back to Hamilton Street. The new art director should concentrate on saving the former art deco post office. This blog continues to concentrates on providing a reality check to civic delusion.

Dinosaur In Digital Age

I am for sure a dinosaur in the digital age. Although I did purchase a small compact digital camera about three years ago, I remain in the point and shoot mode. To be honest, the pictures are fine, especially for a blog which uses images only about 2X3 inches. Never the less, being an old camera addict, I have begun to research available digital alternatives. There is a new photographic phrase called street photography, and descriptions of cameras most suited to that pursuit. As an old photographer from the street, I find that amusing.

photocredit:molovinsky/Boston Common, 1967

above reprinted from September of 2011

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 30, 2024:In the 1970's, I used a Japanese 35mm and prime lenses. In the 2020's, I use a Japanese digital and prime lenses. Beyond the very basics, I remain a dinosaur and refrain from editing programs.

Beware Of Allentown's Tricky Referendum

You would think that with our progressive city government, we wouldn't have to worry about deliberately confusing referendum questions, but apparently we do. Allentown voters will be asked  “Shall Section 807(B), Revenue, of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Allentown be amended to allow City Council, by Ordinance, to remove the Deed Transfer Tax?", but it's a trick question. If you vote yes, you're actually permitting the city to remove the current cap of 2%, and RAISE the transfer tax. Vote NO to avoid an increase.

In this era of our politicians posturing for more affordable housing, the result of this referendum would be to increase the cost of every real estate transaction.

My intention was to post this warning closer to the November 5 election, but with the mail-in ballots already being sent out, the timing has changed.

Allentown Meat Packing Co.

My grandfather lived on the corner of Jordan and Chew, and butchered in a small barn behind the house. He would deliver by horse and wagon to his customers, corner markets. The house is still there, the barn, long gone. My father, and one of his brothers, acquired the H.H. Steinmetz packing house in 1943. Operating as Allentown Meat Packing, by 1950 they closed the slaughter house, and converted the front of the plant into a meat market open to the public. That continued to 1970, when it was leased to an operator who sold meat by freezer full packages. In 1975 the building was torn down, as part of a long term lease agreement with A&B, who wanted the space for parking. The photo was taken just prior to demolition.

reprinted from June 2013

Park Director Can't Change Gears

Don't let Matt Tuerk's park director drive your sports car, apparently she isn't very good at changing gears. Allentown is now building an addition to the Jordan Park Skateboard facility for $420,000. Although nobody accuses me of being up on trends, I do know that I haven't seen a kid on a skateboard in a long time. But this project was in the pipeline, and she is going ahead with it.

On the squandered money topic, state representative Mike Schlossberg bragged last week about money for new basketball courts at Cedar Beach. We're replacing the basketball backboard supports at Cedar Beach, despite them being in excellent condition. Removing the thick galvanized steel posts shown above  is proving to be quite a job. The new powder coated steel won't have the longevity, especially under the surface. Replacing something of quality with an inferior product, just to say that it's new and that you brought it to Allentown, is insulting. Meanwhile, other parks, such as Canal Park on the east side, hasn't had its roads resurfaced in decades.

While the Tuerk Administration is steep with every new kind of position, they're very weak on common sense.

The Last Trolley

The last trolley, shown above, ran in Allentown on June 8, 1953. We see the trolley passing a new Transit Authority bus at 8th and Hamilton Streets. In the early 1950's, General Motors wined and dined transit authorities all across the nation, promoting their buses as the modern mass transit. Today, buses are becoming electric, just like efficient trolleys of yesteryear. We even dress up a small bus to look like a trolley. Gotta love the vision of bureaucrats.

reprinted from January of 2011