The Train Of Lehigh Parkway

This holiday season, as people drive over Schreibers stone arch bridge to get in line for Lights in the Parkway, few will be aware of the industrial past surrounding them. The Barber Quarry railroad branch line crossed the road, just beyond the bridge. On the left was the Union Carbine's Linde plant, the concrete loading dock is still visible. Although the last train ran in the early 1980's, the wooden railroad trestle is still there, to the west and south of the bridge. The area is now used as part of the disc golf course.

above reprinted from December 3, 2010 

ADDENDUM JANUARY 8, 2025: Although the former Union Carbine loading dock was visible for many decades, it now has been replaced by new apartment buildings on the parcel.  Also different is the intersection just uphill from the bridge, the long standing triangle island is no longer there.

Tuerk Pitches Tuerk

On Saturday the Morning Call gave Matt Tuerk a platform to promote himself for a second term.

Among the gems he tried to sell is that our city has grown by over 17% since 2000, and we’ve seen over $1 billion of investment in the past 10 years. He omits the fact that the $Billion is our states taxes being used to build one man an empire. Besides that NIZ nonsense, there has been very little investment in center city until the recent PPL residential conversions.

Another delusion peddled by Tuerk is that crime is going down to record lows. Credit great ER work at the hospitals and poor aim, because there has been no shortage of shootings. Perhaps some non-profit can build a shooting range, marksmanship shouldn't be a privilege limited to the middle class.

In fairness to Tuerk there was no reason, especially during an election year, that he shouldn't take advantage of the paper's offer for a column. Likewise, there's no reason that a local blogger shouldn't chime in with a review of it.

Where's The Creek?

The young man seemed proud to be at the Old Fashioned Garden with his wife and child. I got the feeling that it was a rite of passage that he had enjoyed years earlier with his parents. He approached me with a quizzical look and asked Where's the creek? I assured him that it was still here, but hidden behind all that underbrush. When he asked me why they did that, I just shrugged my shoulders and walked away. I don't think he really wanted to hear a rant.

The Wildlands Conservancy had no resistance convincing the past two park directors to stop cutting the creek banks and call it a riparian buffer. Both directors were from out of town, trained in recreation at Penn State, and had no feeling or knowledge of the park's history and traditions. To add absurdity to the situation, the storm sewer systems in Allentown are piped directly into the streams, bypassing the buffers, making them useless to their stated purpose. To add further irony to the absurdity, the park department must now spray insecticide on the underbrush to control the invasive species. Worse than blocking access and view of the streams, the recent director endorsed the Conservancy demolishing two small historic dams, after being here only six weeks, and never actually having seen the dams himself.

Why do I dwell on water over the dam? The Wildlands Conservancy is now pitching the dam demolition and riparian buffer agenda to South Whitehall Township. If they get their way, the beautiful picnic vista overlooking Wehr's Dam will be replaced with a wall of weeds. I'm on a mission to make sure that beauty and history survive at Covered Bridge Park. 

above reprinted from September 9, 2014

ADDENDUM JANUARY 6, 2025: While I did, with the help of others,  save Wehr's Dam, I have had no such success with the creek banks in the Allentown parks. On the contrary, this season yet another new park director didn't even do the once annual invasive species mow down. 

Although I am a long time known advocate for the WPA, I was denied a seat at the new Parknership table.  I did manage to place a letter to the Morning Call that appeared yesterday, and I will continue to speak out in defense of the traditional park system.

Allentown City Hall For Sale

I should clarify that I'm not talking about Allentown's current City Hall, some people think that it already has been bought and sold. I'm talking about the canopy over the main  entrance on Linden Street, and the  CITY HALL sign,  shown in the photograph above. Stored all this time, these Allentown artifacts are now available for the first time in over half a century. Send serious inquires as a confidential comment to this post.

Click on photograph to enlarge image.

reprinted from February 26, 2015

ADDENDUM JANUARY 3, 2024:Among those who thought city hall was for sale back then was the FBI.There is a current push to have Biden commute the sentence of former mayor Ed Pawlowski. I served as a contact between the former owner of the former city hall sign and the current owner. I doubt that there will be a third owner.  We with any institutional knowledge and interest are a dwindling commodity.

The Dam Video

Not too many campaign promises are kept, especially by a candidate who lost the election. Although I'm delighted that the dam was saved, in the upcoming posts I will divulge the money wasted and the lies told, in the attempt to demolish the dam.

reposted from March 19, 2015

ADDENDUM JANUARY 2, 2025:Although I lost the election, with the help of others I did manage to save the dam. The last article about the dam's fate by the Morning Call managed to omit my part in that effort, but that's the price of independent blogging.

The Culverts Of Constitution Drive

As an advocate and student of the WPA, I'm often asked about the stone walls on Constitution Drive. None of the walls there invokes as much curiosity as the one I'm shown photographing. Locals refer to this structure as The Spring. Notice that there is a small short wall in front. This stone barrier protects vehicles from driving into the pit, designed to drain water through a pipe under the gravel roadway. Culverts and other practical structures were common WPA projects. Constitution Drive has several WPA culverts, but none of the other retaining walls are as elaborate as the one seen in the photograph above. Although Lehigh County designated funds several years ago to repair this wall, the work was never done. Such neglect is also the case in Allentown. The top wall of the double stairwell descending into Union Terrace is in dire jeopardy. This blog will soon once again document the condition of that structure. While our history and legacy crumble, this community and its leadership is preoccupied with the arena and Philadelphia cheesesteaks.
photograph by K Mary Hess

reprinted from November 25, 2014 

ADDENDUM JANUARY 1, 2025:Union Terrace did receive some repair in 2015, and is currently undergoing a complete restoration. K Mary Hess is a renowned landscape photographer who can be followed on Facebook, Photos of Lehigh Valley.