Weber, The Wizard

During the vaudeville heyday of stage magic, star magicians such as Thurston and Blackstone, while performing at the Lyric Theatre(Symphony Hall), could be found staying and visiting at the Weber household in Allentown. Herman L. Weber, a contemporary and friend of Houdini, was known as Namreh, the Magician and also as Weber, the Wizard. Twice, during 1930's and 40's, he traveled coast to coast with his traveling magic show. Allentown has a rich tradition of magic and a long standing chapter of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Herman Weber lived on N. 17th St., and had two sons, Robert and William

reprinted from December of 2008, in memory of Robert and William Weber

Neuweiler Nights

The Limey drove an old Plymouth to work. My friend Johnny walked 3 blocks to work. I rode the bus. We all slaved in the dye house at Third and Allen Streets in Allentown about a hundred years ago.

Danny Bokeko, Subby, Joe Alizirri Jr., Jimmy the numbers runner, and George ("me rent and me eats") were some more of us.

We were all pretending to be tough guys. But Johnny really was tough. It was the way he had been brought up. Yet, although he was a bruiser, he was amazingly tolerant and gentle (in contrast to his dad). He was actually John Eugene Vasilik, III. When you called him on the telephone, his father John, Jr., usually answered and you had better ask for John Eugene Vasilik, THE THIRD. The whole enchilada! "WHO do you want--the father or the son?" "Why don’t you ask RIGHT?"

Johnny’s father was shorter than his two sons, but a nasty SOB if there ever was one. He was continually belligerent and would never back down. He badmouthed a bartender at the Dial Inn down in the ward one night and got beat up. The very next day he was back at the Dial Inn tormenting the same guy, arguing, provoking, and cursing--just totally nuts!

The Limey would pick me up at night and we would hang on the corner at 3rd and Hamilton Streets with Johnny. There was always something happening. We got to know the cops fairly well. Sometimes we would sit in Jim The Greek's. The cockroaches were big as mice. Johnny was always hungry and ate with impunity. I would only have bottled soda.

I worked at the Allen Dye House for two and a half years and then my father died and my brother and I took over the business that my Dad had started from our home. So I sort of drifted away from the colorful life down in the ward. Two years later Harry Birch (The Limey) went back to England and Johnny left the dye house to work at Neuweiler’s Brewery with his Dad.

Johnny’s father had a round depression sunken into his forehead about the size of half a golf ball. Very noticeable. Johnny never knew the story behind it. Can you imagine even ASKING? Johnny worked in the brewery while his Dad drove a beer truck. So how did their coworkers differentiate between these two Johnnies? They called the FATHER, "John." And they called the SON, "Hole-In-The-Head," or just "Hole."

After Johnny needed to wear eyeglasses, however, they began calling him, "Four-Eyes." Some time later he thought he would outfox them by getting contact lenses. You guessed it. Johnny had earned the moniker, "Contact."

Everyone called me, "Clint," because I resembled a guy on a TV show, "Clint and Bullets." I had never seen the show. Maybe it is just as well.

Two days after the September 11th tragedies, a phone call from England came on my answering machine. It was The Limey, Harry Birch; after all of these years asking for Clint and wishing me well.


NARRATIVE BY WILLIAM WEBER, WEST PARK ICON, HISTORIAN AND REALTOR OF CHOICE (BONDED REALTY)

reprinted from April 20, 2009, in memory of William Weber

Art Museum, Another Sad Relocation

The Art Museum move to the NW corner of 10th & Linden is about as cultureless as it gets. In addition to having no history there, it will be separated from both Baum Art School and the art park. It will most likely be another architectural monstrosity. 

If the move was to the post office, an art deco masterpiece, it would have some merit, but 10th & Linden is tasteless.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine the Allentown Art Museum as a vibrant cultural hub,” Max Weintraub, the museum’s president and CEO said in the release. “By relocating to 10th and Hamilton, we are not only expanding access to the arts but also contributing to the revitalization of downtown Allentown and creating a legacy for future generations.” City and state officials lauded the museum’s plans to relocate, which will bring the museum to an up-and-coming Allentown neighborhood that developer City Center Group has dubbed Downtown West. The Da Vinci Science Center and Archer Music Hall recently opened in the same area.

The above press release and snippet from the Morning Call, inadvertently reveals Allentown's reality. We learn that Reilly's 10th & Hamilton is up and coming, who the real piper is, and who is following him.  I suppose another charter school will take over the former art museum on 5th Street.

shown above is the magnificent post office, left to languish by our cultural elite.

Political Manna For Printing Industry

Earlier in the week, the Morning Call had a story about campaign contributions already flowing to Ryan Mackenzie.  The Mackenzie-Wild race in 2024 cost $38 Million. Considering that we have one newspaper and one television station, most of that was spent, or wasted, on oversize postcards. If you weren't offended and annoyed by the endless stuffing of your mailbox, you should be nominated for sainthood. 

I have serious doubts about how many votes those endless cards actually swayed, I believe very few. If you divide the few who were swayed by the cost of the election, that per vote cost was astronomical. I find it so wasteful, I will not contribute to the candidates that I do support.

On my last post about Trump, the comments said "give him time, you'll see and it's worth the short term pain." Come 2026, I believe Mackenzie will be facing a headwind of voter discontent about the Trump administration. I suspect by then he won't be touting the company line. Trump and the Republican victory, along with the coattails, were by a very large part from the independents like myself, sitting out the election. For Mackenzie to get my vote in 2026, he'll have to cut bait with Trump, and much sooner than the mid-terms.

Plywood Coming To Allentown

I don't see myself as an expert in real estate. Generally, I have alway bought high and sold low. However, I have lived through several real estate cycles, and see the current market not boding well long term in center city. When a row house in an alley sells for $200,000, I see trouble coming. Unless the new homeowner is a dedicated urban pioneer with deep pockets, those payments will soon become a bitter commitment. Walking away might be the easiest choice for the newly disillusioned, and the mortgage company will order plywood for the doors and windows.

If the property was purchased as an investment, that $2000 plus rent will have to be collected month in and month out, or plywood will be coming. However, $200K currently floats in the city, with astronomical  $500k and $600K in the suburbs. The astronomical prices are being driven by an incredibly short supply. When the supply and choice increase, the frenzy prices will subside...Then reality will return to center city real estate.

In a couple years there may be a glut of available houses for those advocates for affordable housing. If my dire prediction comes true, blight will be the next buzz word.

When Alleys Aren't Alleys

The most intractable issue in the Allentown Parking Authority controversy is alley parking. Although the Authority itself offered a compromise on that issue, at least two members of council, Candida Affa and Daryl Hendricks, won't budge. They see the topic as a slippy slope. They find the 12 ft. proposal too unenforceable... one person may perceive the width as 11ft., and another 13ft.

As a lifelong resident, I know that all alleys are not created equal.  An alley in center city with houses actually fronting on it is a very different animal than the alleys farther west. 

Past 17th Street, there are no houses in the alleys. Past Ott Street, there's not even many garages in the alleys.  In the deep west end, many former alleys no longer exist.  While the city accommodated some owners by vacating certain ones, others were just appropriated. People put private driveway signs and gates up...others were absorbed into lawns.

Leaving the alley ordinance as is leaves the issue up to the discretion of the parking authority. That discretion, or lack thereof, is what brought this current controversy to the front burner in the first place.

Show above was a "private" alley with gate. Before the gate, it was a public alley.  Farther downtown the same alley has a street name and even houses. The gate has since been removed, and it's now a garage driveway.

above reprinted for May 1, 2023

ADDENDUM APRIL 22, 2025: What recycled this post today isn't the alley issue, rather the affirmation of Allentown's west end. It is my policy not to dox people or their property, so please mention neither in any comments, I won't print them. 

Real Estate prices in Allentown are going through the roof everywhere, even in downtown alleys. That phenomenon is a topic for another post, but this one concerns construction and additions in the west end. The large lots in the deep west end were suitable for sub-division and additions, and numerous owners have done so in the last few years. I see this expensive new construction as an affirmation of that section of the city.