Allentown's History A Thing Of The Past

As I've been studying up on Allentown's former merchants, I keep thinking of the radial population shift experienced by this city in one generation. While most the merchants of 1930 were at least 3th generation Allentonians, the new residents, mostly Hispanic, are almost all recent arrivals. Interest in local history is so small that even the local historic society concentrates on topics of national interest, such as Abraham Lincoln.

Talking of Lincoln, this population shift has had political consequences.  Pawlowski, who hails from Chicago,  was not unlike the carpetbaggers who went south after the civil war.  I believe that we are in a historic void, between the old Pa. Dutch culture, and the new Hispanic population, which has not yet risen politically.  And, like the south after the Civil War,  the opportunists are making hay.

postcard above,  Hamilton Street 1930 

above reprinted from September of 2016

ADDENDUM JUNE 22, 2022: Here we are six years later, and we have a bridge mayor between the two cultures mentioned above. Although Matt Tuerk emphasizes the Hispanic in his background, and speaks Spanish, he doesn't dance the Merengue (so to speak).* However, certainly the Hispanic culture is now well established on city council. For those interested in learning more about the Pennsylvania Dutch culture, you'll have to now drive at least 20 miles west to Kutztown.

* Tuerk so far is doing a good job as mayor, but my job as a political/historical blogger does not allow me to become a fan of any politician.

Jennie Molovinsky Gets A New Visitor

I was at a party where the host recently acquired a lawn sculpture. Unknown to him, a section of it was comprised of an old Jewish tombstone, of a wife and mother, M. Azrilian, who died at the age of 25 in 1918. It's a beautiful carving of a branchless tree trunk, symbolizing a life ended prematurely.
I became concerned as to where this stone had come from. Who would know if their great-grandmother's stone was taken? I had no idea even where my great-grandmother was buried. I searched for this young woman's grave. Finally, Rabbi Juda from Bethlehem directed me to the old Agudath Achim Cemetery in Fountain Hill. There I found the woman, M. Azrilian, with a new grave marker. Next to her I discovered Jennie Molovinsky, my great-grandmother.

My thanks to Rabbi Juda and M. Azrilian (1893-1918)

I  wrote the above paragraph in July of 1997.  In searching for M. Azrilian, I first became aware of Mt. Sinai, the small Jewish portion of Fairview Cemetery on Lehigh Street in Allentown. Early posts on this blog deal with my advocacy for that cemetery, and the history of the Mt. Sinai portion.  When Jennie died in 1913, the former Agudath Achim Synagogue on 2nd Street in Allentown had just consecrated their new cemetery on Fullerton Avenue. Jewish tradition requires that the first burial be a man, so Jennie was buried in the old cemetery, on Fountain Hill.

reprinted from previous years

ADDENDUM JUNE 21, 2022: Although this post deals with cemeteries, life goes on. My friend's property with the lawn sculpture changed hands several times, and the new owners wondered about M Azrilian. A google search led to the above post, and they in turn decided to also search the Agudath Achim Cemetery on Fountain Hill. While there they contacted me, because M Azrilian is in a small old section, difficult to find. I directed them to the obscure area, and they located M Azrilian and Jennie's markers. I haven't visited Jennie for a number of years, and am grateful for their visit.

Fading Park Postcards Of Allentown

While Allentown continues it's efforts to establish a dog park, the parks themselves are going to the dogs. Take an aging park system, combine it with an administration composed of people from out of town with no institutional memory of the city, and the the famous images of Allentown are disappearing . This year the dogs got more time in Cedar Beach Pool than the residents. Cedar Beach is closed for the season; Of course, that's what they said when Fountain Pool first closed. The stone stairwell, going down into Union Terrace off St. Elmo Street, is crumbling. The park is now called Joseph S. Daddona Lake and Terrace. With Cedar Pool closed, Irving Park, with the first pool in the city, will be renamed Andre Reed Park. One stone staircase in that park was removed several years ago, rather than repaired. It won't be too long before people look at an old park postcard, and wonder where that picture was taken.

above reprinted from June of 2015

ADDENDUM JUNE 20, 2022: Yesterday, Allentown celebrated Juneteenth by Cedar Beach Pool. All reports indicate a very successful day, enjoyed by all participants and the new mayor. While I could join the chorus in such praise, instead, I print this reminder of the traditiional park system. 

Irving has joined Fountain Pool in pools of Allentown's past...Both now only exist on old postcards. The steps and other WPA structures at Union Terrace are in dire need of attention. While the parks have mainly become venues for events, at least one advocate for the traditional park system seems to be in order.

Sign Of The Times

As Allentown eagerly awaits the opening of the Cosmopolitan Restaurant and banquet facility on 6th Street, lets go back in time. Before the former Sal's Spaghetti House was demolished on that parcel, preservationists from Bucks County saved the historic sign. Had the couple been somewhat more familiar with Allentown's history, they may have realized that the sign was neither very historic or iconic.

Before Hamilton Street was bi-sected architecturally by the now gone canopy, the street was lined with large neon signs, many of which were much more elaborate than Sal's; That sign became historic by default. Interestingly, the Sal's sign for most of it's


business days, said Pat's. Pat's and the sign go back to the mid 1950's. In the late 70's, the business was taken over by Sal, and the P and T were simply changed to an S and L. But time goes on; Sal's family is now in the sauce business and have a most interesting website.

1963 Pat's advertisement courtesy of Larry P
Hamilton Steet watercolor by Karoline Schaub-Peeler
photo of Sal's sign by molovinsky                                                 

reprinted from 2010

ADDENDUM JUNE 17, 2022: The Cosmopolitan proved to be too cosmopolitan for Allentown. While the owner's deep pockets kept it open for a few years, even the next more modest reincarnation couldn't complete with the new NIZ subsidized competitors. 

A recent article in the Morning Call heralds the $Billion dollars invested by J.B. Reilly's City Center Realty on Hamilton and adjoining Streets...That money of course is diverted state income tax, and is our investment, not his, but he gets to own it. Although this blog was hoping to restrict itself to history for a spell, the Morning Call's omission on this and other matters compels me to retain this blog's political bureau.

The Gordon Street Paint Shop

As a boy growing up in Little Lehigh Manor, I vaguely remember the trolleys. The final switch over to buses occurred in 1953. Although the major trolley and bus barn was the Fairview facility near my house, the Lehigh Valley Transit Company also had other storage and work sites. The west end trolley barn, at 14th and Gordon Streets, also served as their paint shop. Although the location has been a wholesale plumbing supply business for many decades, until recent years the tracks leading into the current warehouse were visible. The photo above dates from 1938, and shows a freshly painted trolley.

reprinted from May of 2013

The World Of Mirth

Allentown at one time had two very productive railroad branch lines; The West End, and the Barber Quarry. The Barber Quarry, for the most part, ran along the Little Lehigh Creek. It serviced Traylor Engineering on South 10th,* and continued west until it turned north toward Union Terrace, last ending at Wenz's tombstone at 20th and Hamilton Streets. (years earlier it crossed Hamilton St. to the former bottling plant in the park dept. garage) The West End, for the most part, ran along Sumner Avenue, turning south and looping past 17th and Liberty Streets, ending near 12th St.

The wonderful photograph above shows the World of Mirth train at 17th and Liberty. World of Mirth was the midway operator at the Allentown Fair during the 40's and 50's. In the background is Trexler Lumber Yard, which burnt down in the early 1970's. The B'nai B'rith Apartment houses now occupy the location. 

* Reading Railroad also had a branch which serviced the Mack Plant on S. 10th St.

reprinted from 2010

photograph from the collection of Mark Rabenold

The Radiation Mystery:Wetherhold&Metzger

The Shoe giant Wetherhold & Metzger started in 1908 on Hamilton street's south side. When business began to prosper, they moved across to the more prominent north side of Hamilton Street. Their store at 719 Hamilton was recently demolished, along with most of Allentown's mercantile history. It was a two story store, with the children's department on the lower level. This post originally was scheduled for sometime in the future, and was to include a Buster Brown poster. Today's Morning Call has a story on the mystery radium 226 found in the debris of the former buildings, and I thought perhaps the molovinsky on allentown historical division could help. Wetherhold & Metzer's downtown store was quite the adventure for a kid. In addition to your mother's money being transported away in a tube system like the bank drive-ups use today, you could look inside your shoes and see your feet.

Needless to say, eventually these shoe fluoroscopes were banned, but for many years one stood in the lower level of 719 Hamilton Street. Many a child, including myself, saw our foot bones in our new Buster Browns. Wetherhold & Metzger also had an uptown store in the 900 block of Hamilton Street.

reprinted from September of 2012

Hamilton Street's Golden Era

Wetherhold & Metzger was one of the giants of Hamilton Street. The extended family operated two stores on Hamilton Street. When exactly was the height of the golden era I suppose is a frame of reference. I can tell you that as a early baby boomer, Hamilton Street was booming in the 1950's. With three large department stores, three large 5&10's, half a dozen shoe stores, half a dozen jewelers, women and men's stores, there was something for everybody. In addition to Hamilton, stores were also located on the number streets.

MOLOVINSKY UNIVERSITY
At 2:00pm this afternoon, I will present a 1930 map showing the business district of downtown Allentown. We will be meeting at The Coffee House Without Limits. The shop is located on 4th, just north of Tilghman Street, in the Alternative Gallery. You are cordially invited to join us.   

above reprinted from September of 2016

ADDENDUM JUNE 13, 2022: For many of Allentown's new residents, without the above frame of reference, today is the golden era for Hamilton Street. There are certainly many new buildings, but not much yet in the way of people or retail. The term urban office park is now being used. The developer is also building numerous new apartment houses. Although both the coffee house and university mentioned above have since closed their doors, this fall I hope to conduct an alumni meeting, at one of the new coffee houses at 7th and Hamilton Sts..