Duck Farm And Hotel

At the turn of the last century Allentonians could take a day trip out to Griesemerville, and spend the day at the Duck Farm and Hotel. The trolley, operated by Reading Traction Company, actually went through the Duck Farm building. That same trolley would continue west and go through or under the Dorney Park roller coaster. Today, Griesemerville is known as Union Terrace, or more precisely, Joseph S.  Daddona Lake and Terrace. The Hotel portion still exists as an apartment house. Heading west,  cross the Reading Road stone arch bridge, built in 1824, and the former hotel is the first building on your right. Note the bridge in the lower left of the above news clipping. This blog is proud to have played a part in preserving the bridge, and my hope is that the County of Lehigh will formally recognize the bridge's historic value, and secure it's future. Collectors of Lehigh Valley historic memorabilia can still find  Duck Farm postcards.

news clipping courtesy of Danny Ruth

reprinted from July of 2013

Allentown's Affordable Housing

Lately, from several quarters, there has been a chorus for more affordable housing in Allentown. Generally speaking, they believe that developers should have to set aside a certain percentage of new units for low income. In reality, there is currently affordable housing available right along side of the NIZ, essentially being the remainder of center city Allentown.

The reason I know that this low income district exists, is because it attracts so many low income people.... Low income people do not move to high rent districts. When I ran as an independent candidate for mayor in 2005, I stated that Allentown was inadvertently creating a poverty magnet. As a landlord, I heard of several agencies that were sporting the chronically unemployed, coming from out of town, to move in money. Ironically, now 15 years later, no less than Alan Jennings recently told me that there were too many low income in Allentown.

My analysis of housing in 2005 was politically incorrect, and I endured several untrue accusations for it. Likewise, my analysis now will be unpopular, but I know Allentown, and its housing situation.

photo of Eleanor Roosevelt visiting Hanover Acres

The Reading Road Bridge

Part of Don Cunningham's political patter as a candidate and elected official is repairing or replacing bridges in the county. When you replace a bridge which doesn't need replacing, you're wasting taxpayer money. When you replace a historic bridge which doesn't need replacing, you're stealing our culture






The Reading Road Bridge, scheduled by Cunningham for replacement, is in excellent condition. Although my observation and top photograph clearly shows that, I did confirm it's structural integrity with someone formally with the City engineering department.

The bridge was built in 1824 and totally rehabilitated in 1980. At that time a separate walking bridge was built next to it for pedestrian safety.*





Although the beautiful two arch stone bridge needs no work, and Cunningham has been in office since 2006, the steel beams of the walking bridge are in dire need of paint. How sad that inexpensive maintenance is ignored, while $million dollar projects are planned.

Let Don smile and cut a ribbon somewhere else, please join me in saving our history. Call Cunningham and our County Commissioners. Let them know our past means more to us than their political future.

* a former manager under Mayor Daddona, recalls walking bridge constructed in 1980.
click on bridge photographs to enlarge image


The above post was written in 2010. I'm happy to report that this blogger had some success in regard to saving the bridge, and it still stands.  Earlier in the week, The Morning Call reported that the historic Youell's Oyster House burned to the ground.  The seafood restaurant was at that location for about 20 years, what was historic was the building; It was one of the inns along the Reading Road, the connection between Allentown and points west.  With the inn gone, the little bridge shown above is one of the few remnants of that era still standing in Allentown.  Although the county project manager was stymied in his attempt to destroy the bridge, he has failed to perform any maintenance on the structure since.  Let us not lose the bridge by neglect.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2019: I would go on to save the Reading Road Bridge. Donny Cunningham went on to become CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. He is now featured in a regular column by The Morning Call. Today he writes that not everything is made to last. Under his leadership as County Executive, historic structures in good shape were needlessly destroyed.

Pelosi's Choir

Often  in the course of blogging I offend a few people, sometimes many more.  When I saw all the congresswomen dressed in white, although I know that it was supposed to represent homage to the suffrage movement,  I thought that it would be more liberated not to be in any costume.  Of course the women also didn't show much individuality by demeanor, either being stern faced or all clapping at the same time....They looked like a choir, being led by Nancy Pelosi.

The congresswomen with political ambition beyond the choir, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand, dressed themselves, but not in white.

Allentown, Not Much For History

Once you go a mile west beyond Bethlehem, there's not much interest in history.  There's also not much interest in art or architecture.  Boast as you will about Allentown's new NIZ buildings, but there won't be any awards given there for architecture.  The new waterfront NIZ district will remove the historic LVRR rail tracks.  The local historical society concentrates on shows about Abraham Lincoln, with no interest in local topics. The Allentown park department actually encourages the disregard to its original plans and structures.*  We're being led by people who seemed more concerned with their own future, be it in real estate or politics.

For years my efforts have concentrated on trying to save those historical structures unique to our area.  Although I may occasionally still succumb to that compulsion in the future,  hopefully, most of my protest will now be limited to posts on this blog.  I pleaded to no avail with too many commissions with predetermined agendas.  Let the less disillusioned plead to the deaf ears behind those dais.

Shown above is the former LVRR railroad station on Hamilton Street, which was demolished in the early 1960's.  The existing train station was the New Jersey Central.  Allentown never met a unique older building that it couldn't wait to tear down.

* This post is reprinted from July of 2015. Allentown now has a new mayor and a new park director. I am encouraged that the new administration will be more sensitive to our history.

The Life Of Riley

The situation comedies of the 50's had a common theme. The father would have to resolve some family commotion within 30 minutes, but back then 30 minutes was longer, there were many less commercials. Diversity was limited to social-economic circumstances. Ozzie Nelson lived in an idealized suburban house and had all day to find the solution. Riley worked in factory, lived in a duplex, and had to do his conflict resolution after work.

Conflict is no stranger to this blog, often only lubricated by turmoil. Though usually dissecting Democrats, I have also bickered with the remnants of the local Republican party. Seems the remnants resented it when I revealed that the majority of homeowners in the West Park area were opposed to the Historic District, imposed upon them a decade ago. They can't understand why the opposers didn't attend their coffee clutches at the time; They say that they would have dropped the plan if only they knew. They didn't offer that option back then, to the standing room only protesters, at the City Council Meetings.

William Bendix, as Riley, would end every episode by saying "What a revoltin development this is", pretty much like Allentown.

UPDATE: This post is adapted from April 2009. In retrospect, they were the good old days. An outrage at that time was having an historic district imposed on a neighborhood. Now, we have a mayor who takes an entire square block, tears it down, and burdens the community with $200 million in debt, with no public input what-so-ever. What a revoltin development this is.

reprinted from April of 2012

Crime And Perception In Allentown

An article in this weekend's Morning Call vaunts the statistical decrease in Allentown crime.   Although the numbers may give the local politicians and police chiefs some talking points,  they provide no comfort, what so ever, to the citizens.  Furthermore,  they do nothing to change the perceptions of crime and safety in center city Allentown.

Although I realize that this post will deemed as naysaying by my usual critics,  perception is more important than numbers.  Reporting that homicides dropped from 17 to 12 for last year, says more about bad aim than civility.  The number of stabbings increased.

Crime dipped supposedly all across America.  Here again, when you hear about the number of shooting deaths in Chicago, Detroit, and Baltimore, one must wonder about how meaningful these new crime guidelines actually are.

artwork by Mark Beyer

Allentown's Pending Cold Winter

2018 promises to be a cold winter in Allentown. The city is being governed by a mayor facing over fifty charges of corruption. He was elected by plurality in a three way election, mostly by Allentown's newer population. If he is forced to resign because of a plea or conviction, Ray O'Connell expects to be selected mayor by city council.

The photograph shown above is from 1958. It was taken in Little Lehigh Manor, the 1940's era housing development located above Lehigh Parkway's south ridge. I had the pleasure of growing up in that neighborhood. In yesterday's post the hill favored by the kids of that neighborhood was featured.* Other popular sledding hills in Allentown were behind Cedar Crest College, and Ott Street, between Livingston and Greenleaf Streets. Years ago a bridge crossed the creek by the park office at 30th and Parkway Blvd., with a parking area for sledders by the Cedar Crest hill.  The Ott Street hill was closed to cars by the city, as an accommodation for sledders.

None of these hills are now accessible to a kid with a sled. The current mayor has no memory of those times, and might be too preoccupied to care much about sledding this winter.

* hill in Lehigh Parkway, above the Log and Stone House

photo courtesy of S. Williams.

reprinted from December of 2017