Allentown's Make Believe Economy

In a recent article on the Lehigh Valley economy, credit Tony Iannelli for a glimpse of reality; "There has been tremendous growth on a particular Main Street in Allentown, but that doesn't always translate to what's going on in outlying towns." On the other hand, Don Cunningham, as usual, had much more smile than insight; "We have no reason to be anything but encouraged." Of course, the most deluded is mayor for life Pawlowski;"Not sure where they got their data, but they obviously have not been to Allentown lately." In the real world of Lehigh Valley, things are not as they appear. While Cunningham boasts of the bottling companies which have come to drain our water resources and burden our sewage treatment capacity, a 97 year old local bottler closed. While Pawlowski cuts ribbons on businesses which have been induced into Allentown, other cities in our state hang For Rent signs on the space those same businesses vacated. While the enormous tax incentives may provide ribbon cuttings and photo opportunities for the Cunningham's and Pawlowski's of Pennsylvania, we are in reality just playing musical chairs. Without real additional net gains in employment, we will all eventually pay for these delusions.

A Russian Orthodox Corner In Allentown

While the pulpit section of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Orthodox Church is adorned with murals and icons of Mary, parishioners may notice that there is no such imagery on the beautiful stained glass windows. More careful inspection reveals that while there are no graven images in the glass, Stars of David and scrolls can be seen. As the ancestors of the current members came from eastern Europe and the Czarist Russian Empire, so did the building's original congregation. The gothic edifice was built as a synagogue in 1909 by Allentown's Russian Jews. The Orthodox Jewish congregation, Sons Of Israel, utilized the structure for 50 years before it was repurposed by the current American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox congregation.

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 from May 2013

A Road Runs Through It

Once, there was a time when gasoline was twenty five cents a gallon, there was no internet, and a family would go for a drive on Sunday. There was no traffic congestion or road rage. The cars were large, and they all came from Detroit. You could drive through a park, even an amusement park. There was no rush to get back to the television; It was very small, with only a few channels. Life now seems to revolve around small silicon chips, I preferred when it was large engines.

photograph shows the road through Dorney Park
reprinted from June 2012

NIZ Bitch Slaps Allentown Taxpayers

J.B. Reilly wants the best of both worlds; While poaching tenants with lower rents and paying his mortgages with state taxdollars, he now wants his property taxes reduced, based on the lower rents, instead of the construction cost which we are paying for. All our local politicians are complicit in Reilly's appeal to the assessment board. The NIZ was essentially designed with him in mind, and the entire NIZ Board has been carrying his water. I doubt that he would make this assessment appeal without their knowledge and approval. If the city and school district doesn't get the full anticipated taxes, WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT? Pat Browne, Ed Pawlowski, Michael Schlossberg, Sy Taub, ETC. should be ashamed.

The Hype and Reality of Allentown's NIZ

Allentown has certainly received mucho hype for it's new taxpayer subsidized growth. Mayor Ed pastes his facebook page with each new accolade. The challenge is not to confuse the hype with the reality. Locally, the hype was cultivated by placing the Morning Call in the NIZ, even though their building was on the wrong side of Linden Street. Likewise, the national stories are bandwagon writing, relying on google searches, vs. real research. The owners of the Cosmopolitan learned that the lunch dollars don't spread out everywhere. Allentown does have a new prime corner. In it's mercantile heydays it was 9th and Hamilton, with nationally renown Hess's. The new corner is 7th and Hamilton, with the taxpayer palace of hope. Shown above are Allentown's new players, cutting the ribbon for the Renaissance Hotel. Although it's future is somewhat doubtful, it will succeed in reducing the Hilton at 9th Street into a flop house. For those who prefer the hype, the Morning Call can be purchased everywhere. Save for this blog, reality is much harder to find.

Old Allentown's Inconvenient Truth

                                                   click photograph to enlarge

The merchants who built Hamilton Street counted on architecture to attract shoppers into their emporiums. Large neon signs wouldn't appear for another fifty years. The soffit and fascia shown above, halfway between 7th and 8th on Hamilton, is one of the most elaborate facades in Allentown. One thing you can say about Allentown City Hall, they never let culture, art, or history get into the way of their plans. As successful cities come to value and profit from their history more and more, Allentown keeps using the standard catalog of proven failures. I know from other projects on Hamilton Street that Pawlowski isn't big on history. The Cityline Building in the 800 Block was permitted to stucco over beautiful brickwork. Sad that the puppies, who are directors at the Art Museum and Historical Society, remain silent on the planned destruction. It's hard to describe the magnificence of the skylight shown below, also in the targeted block. It's very large in three sections, in pristine condition. Should be quite a snack for Pawlowski's bulldozer.
The bulldozer prevailed, and the former architectural treasures of our mercantile history were not preserved, save for this blog's archives. Above is reprinted from May 2011

UPDATE:  The post above, reprinted from May of 2013, was then titled Stealing Allentown's Treasures. This past weekend, a member of Old Allentown Preservation Association, and an active local Democrat, bragged on facebook about how he had recycled an old second floor office door from the demolished buildings in the arena zone. In truth, Old Allentown also turned a self serving, callous eye to the destruction noted in the above post. Although I'm glad the door was recycled, allow this post to note the irony and hypocrisy of the Association.

Pawlowski At Epicenter

Long before the NIZ, promoter and media consultant Alfonso Todd has been plying his trade from the upper floors of Hamilton Street. When I first met him he operated out of the former 1st National Bank building at 7th and Hamilton. At the time the former building was named Monument Center, and now is the site of National Penn, in Reilly's City Center 2. As Todd's promotions expanded, he moved to the current Hamilton Business Center, the large older office building at 11th and Hamilton. Todd and partners are now in the Somach Building, in still larger space, reflecting his determination to provide promotional services to the diverse market segments of the Lehigh Valley. Yesterday, as he kicked off yet another project, Mayor Pawlowski stopped by to wish the enterprise success. Although the mayor doesn't normally receive an abundance of praise on this page, his visit yesterday demonstrates that he understands that the future of Hamilton Street rests as much with the Alfonso Todd's of Allentown, as it does with the J.B. Reillys'.