Allentown Memorabilia

The time and market for Allentown memorabilia has come and gone. With a changing population, and the graying of the older town folks, objects of our history are destined for the landfill. Even the local historic society concentrates on shows of general interest, such as Abraham Lincoln. In addition to having been a retail mecca, Allentown manufactured a large assortment of products. Allentown was stamped on tools, knifes, and metal products of all kinds, distributed nationwide. A local regional food product was the hard pretzel, a variation of the traditional German soft pretzel. Allentown had several pretzel companies. Miller's operated out of their factory at 732 Tilghman Street, between 1944 and 1978. In the coming months this blog will profile some of these Made In Allentown products, before litter and meaningless slogans became our legacy.

reprinted from July of 2013

The Morning Call Assassinates Marty Northstein, Twice

The first assassination of Marty Northstein occurred in 2018, just prior to the congressional election, in which he was a candidate.  They reported that he had been suspended from a cycling directorship because of an obscure allegation almost twenty years prior. Although the allegation was found to have absolutely no merit, the adverse publicity probably cost him the election.

While Northstein rightly sued the paper, he recently dropped the effort. The paper's editor, Mike Miorelli, crows about how right and courageous they were in printing the story back then.  Strange rationale from someone who just defended not printing an actual confession from another candidate,  just prior to this past primary election. 

The current article put another bullet into Northstein, by not noting his innocence from the allegation until almost the end of the article.

ATTENTION: Any local candidate for the November 2021 election is welcome to forward a short position piece for publication.

The Legend Begins

On July 4th, 1934 Joe louis made his debut as a professional fighter. Eleven months and nineteen straight victories later, most by knockout, 62,000 fight fans would jam Yankee Stadium to watch the new sensation fight the giant, Primo Carnera.

New York, New York - Primo Carnera, giant Italian boxer and former heavyweight champion of the world, and Joe Louis, hard-hitting negro heavyweight from Detroit, Michigan, weighed-in this afternoon at the offices of the New York State Boxing Commission for their fifteen round bout tonight at the Yankee Stadium. - 6.25.1935

Although badly battered from the first round, Carnera would gamely stay in the fight till it was stopped in round six. The legend of the Brown Bomber was clearly established.
photo of Primo Carnera

This blog has produced 24 posts chronicling the Joe Louis boxing era, many featuring Abe Simon, a Jewish heavyweight of the era... Simon and my mother were cousins. Lately, Allentown violence has allowed me little time and space to visit Madison Square Garden in the early 1940's. During the next few weeks I will reprint some of these posts, while still assigning staff to the city beat. One of my attractions to the boxing world is the black and white photography produced during that era. The public would listen to the fights on the radio, and then see the photographs in the newspapers the following day. While reproducing these posts, I may in some instances substitute alternative photographs, all classic images from the age of film and flash bulbs.

reprinted from 2012 

UPDATE OCTOBER 11, 2021: I postponed my scheduled post today in reaction to the Fury fight this past weekend. I think that Fury and Carnera had a lot in common, very large men with little skill. Fury is actually larger than Carnera was.

Allentown's Blind Spot

When it comes to scrutiny by the major media in Allentown, WFMZ and The Morning Call, it's fair to say that there isn't any.  While I have long criticized the Morning Call about their wholesale promotion of Reilly's NIZ Kingdom, allow me to now include the TV station.  

In a report about the recent NIZ meeting, the city Deputy To The Director Of Economic Development, as if we need such a position, endorses upgrading the gateways to Reilly's Kingdom. Thank you anyway, but Pete Lewnes has been doing fine on 7th Street with our money for over a decade already. We were also reminded that Reilly can trade out parcels he already owns in the NIZ, for parcels outside the original map. That map and all the rules were written in pencil by Pat Browne.  The report richly claims that Reilly is president of City Center Investment Corp. The company has invested about $800 million in the city, changing the Allentown skyline and attracting residents and businesses. Reilly sees more to come.  Because these NIZ investments are paid for by diverted public tax money, but privately owned by Reilly, to write and broadcast that the developer invested it is disingenuous, either by ignorance or deception.

Occasionally I get contacted by someone doing research on the WPA.  I'm always told that my writing on that topic is mostly all they can find.  I think that when it comes to future students scrutinizing the NIZ,  again this blog will be about all that they will find.

Shown above is the north side of the 700 block of Hamilton Street, just prior to its demolition for the arena. Almost all images on this blog can be enlarged by clicking on the photo. 

ATTENTION: Any local candidate for the November 2021 election is welcome to forward a short position piece for publication.

New Problem For Allentown's WPA

For the last five years I have been advocating for the landings on Lehigh Parkway's Double Stairwell to be repaired.  I have recently learned that the city is holding off until a consultant for the Trexler Trust makes a recommendation about which kind of mortar mix the mason contractor should use.  This is truly a case where the perfect is the enemy of the good.  Flagstone patios and landings need to be repaired about every twenty years.  Because leaking water can undermine the structure and steps, it is much more important that the repairs are done in a timely fashion, than exactly which cement composition is utilized. 

A personal mission of mine is to advocate for the preservation of our remaining WPA structures, we have already lost several. If in the course of this mission I offend any city officials and/or Trexler Trust members, while I apologize for that,  I have no regrets about pursuing the mission.

The picture above showing the deteriorated top landing of the Stair Structure is five years old. It and the landings below have only further degraded, and are in immediate need of repair.

ATTENTION: Any local candidate for the November 2021 election is welcome to forward a short position piece for publication.

The Mad Men Of Allentown

Back in the day, the titans of Allentown would fill the five barberchairs of the Colonial Barbershop, 538 Hamilton Street. That was when the town had three department stores. That was when Wetherhold and Metzger had two shoe stores on Hamilton Street. That was when Harvey Farr would meet Donald Miller and John Leh at the Livingston Club for lunch, and discuss acquiring more lots for Park & Shop. By 1995 all that was gone, but Frank Gallucci, 82, would still give some old timers a trim. The Colonial Barbershop property, closed for many years, has been purchased by J.B. Reilly. It is my pleasure to present this previously unseen portrait of Gallucci, toward the end of his career.

photocredit:molovinsky

reprinted since 2013

ATTENTION: Any local candidate for the November 2021 election is welcome to forward a short position piece for publication.

Our Elected Goodness Squad

While I normally maintain a firewall between Molovinsky Property Management and Molovinsky On Allentown,  a recent letter to the editor must be addressed.  County Commissioner David Harrington and City Councilman Joshua Siegel recently wrote that tenants being evicted should be represented by public defenders. 

As a manager involved in evictions over the decades, I can attest to the fact that a large segment of tenants don't pay rent out of choice, rather than any hardship, even during the pandemic.  A public defender is a lawyer paid for by the taxpayers. Needless to say their first move would be to request a continuation, or more time and loss for the property owner. Most property owners never recover the rent not paid prior to eviction. Landlords have been squeezed between the eviction moratorium and municipalities & banks wanting their taxes and mortgage payments.

While the public at large never loses sleep over the problems faced by landlords, if Harrington and Siegel had their way, they would be subsidizing the delinquent tenants.  With so many businesses not being able to find employees to hire, we know that there are people eagerly milking the pandemic.

Taxpaying homeowners should also wonder what else these elected officials are being so generous about with their money.

ATTENTION: Any local candidate for the November 2021 election is welcome to forward a short position piece for publication.