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Allentown, Pennsylvania is located 60 miles north of Philadelphia, 85 miles east of Harrisburg, and about 100 miles west of New York City. After Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Allentown is Pennsylvania's third most populous city. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 106,632. It is the county seat of Lehigh County.
Allentown is the largest of three adjacent cities that comprise an area of Pennsylvania known as the Lehigh Valley, with the cities of Bethlehem and Easton surrounding. My hometown is the home of Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, one of the world's most popular amusement parks, Muhlenberg College and Cedar Crest College. The city is served by Lehigh Valley International Airport. Allentown was originally named Northampton town by its founder, Chief Justice of Colonial Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, William Allen. Allen, also a former Mayor of Philadelphia and successful businessman, drew up plans for the rural village in 1762. Despite its formal name, from the beginning, nearly everyone called it "Allen's town". Allen hoped Northampton town would turn into a commercial center because of its location along the Lehigh River. The low water level most of the year, however, made river trade impractical.
Also during the Revolutionary War, the son of the founder of Allentown, James Allen, built a summer home in the middle of Allentown called Trout Hall. Allen and his family moved there from Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War to escape British attempts to capture or kill him. In 1838, the city's name was changed formally to "Allentown". Since World War II and particularly since the 1960s, Allentown has undergone yet another transition. Faced with the decline of manufacturing and the rise of the service economy, the city is once again dealing with change. However, Allentown continues to be a corporate headquarters for several large, global companies, including Agere Systems, Air Products & Chemicals, Mack Trucks, Olympus USA, Pennsylvania Power & Light (PPL) and others. In east Allentown, there is Coca-Cola Park. Once opened in 2008, Coca-Cola Park will be used as the home field for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies' AAA-level Minor League baseball team. The name is a reference to pig iron, used in the manufacturing of steel, for which the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania is world renowned. On December 1, 2007 the IronPigs selected "PorkChop" as the name of their mascot from 7,300 submitted names. The move of the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate to Allentown has been extremely well-received, as the Phillies have a large fan base in the Allentown area, and because the move to Allentown will permit Phillies' players to rehab in Allentown without significant transportation time.
 Allentown skyline, looking north from the Eighth Street Bridge. Allentown's population has started to increase due to immigration and many migrants from New Jersey and New York City. It's the city I grew up in, and I'd like to share with you some interesting stories and information about it.
In "Allentown," representing the challenges associated with the demise of American industry for Allentonians, Joel sings: "They never taught us what was real. Iron and coke. And chromium steel. And we're waiting here in Allentown." "Allentown" was the lead track on The Nylon Curtain. The album itself was the seventh best-selling album of the year in 1982. His words seem to offer no hope, resulting in such observations as "So the graduations hang on the wall, but they never really helped us at all / No they never taught us what was real / Iron and coke and chromium steel". Billy Joel has admitted he wrote the lyrics with Bethlehem PA in mind, but was afraid that if he called it "Bethlehem", people would think it was a religious song, so he changed the city to nearby Allentown. Indeed, he also said that he named it after Allentown because it sounded more "American". Indeed, the song's genesis was formed years prior as a happier piece named "Levittown", after an area where Joel had grown up. Today, over 20 years later, Allentown and the Lehigh Valley is has a growing, productive, diversified economy. Even today, economic development officials sometimes battle the perception the song created. Most people who live in the Lehigh Valley area of PA don't feel this song shows a true picture of the area, and many local leaders have spent the last two decades looking for a second chance to make a first impression
USAF records indicate the "City of Allentown" bombed Japanese-held Maug Island early in Apr 1945. The aircraft first bombed Japan on 12 Apr 1945 with an attack on the Hodogaya chemical plant at Koriyama, Japan. From Apr to May 1945, the aircraft struck airfields from which the Japanese were launching suicide planes against the invasion force at Okinawa. After that, operations were principally concerned with incendiary attacks against urban-industrial areas of Japan, participating in incendiary raids from mid-May until the end of the war. After the end of hostilities, the aircraft dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners on 30 and 31 Aug and took part in a show-of-force missions over Japan after V-J Day. The aircraft was returned to the United States after the war and was assigned on 27 Dec 1945 to the Second Air Force San Antonio Air Technical Service Command, 4141st AAF Base Unit, Pyote Army Air Field (Later AFB) which is about 150 miles east of El Paso, Texas. The aircraft was placed in long-term storage there, as were thousands of B-29 and other aircraft retained by the Air Force in reserve status after World War II.
By 1954 after the end of the Korean War, the age of the jet bomber had arrived and made the propeller-driven B-29's obsolete. Pyote AFB was closed and the "City of Allentown" was dropped from the USAF inventory and subsequently scrapped. The last B-29 (a TB-29 radar evaluation aircraft, serial number 42-65234) was retired from the USAF inventory on June 21, 1960. USAF records show that the "City of Allentown" flew 47 combat missions in the Pacific theater. The cost to build it was about $605,360 (average B-29 unit cost in 1944).
Today I live in Atlanta, and Georgia has "The Varisty", as it's traditional hot dog place. It's a great place to go and the hot dogs aren't bad, but when I go 'home' to Allentown for a visit, Yocco's one of the places that is a "MUST" go to. Walking into Yoccos there is a wonderful aroma of steam, onions and sauce. I usually find myself waiting in line for my four dogs and a pint of Longacres chocolate milk. Longarcres actually is a replacement for the Freeman's chocolate milk I grew up drinking, but Freeman's dairy went out of buisness in the 1980's so Lonacres took it's place next to Yocco's venerable hot dogs. At the Liberty street location there is a large world map on the wall behind the counter showing where Yocco's has sent 'doggie packs' both across the nation, and around the world. A doggie pack is box containing a dozen hot dogs, rolls, onions, mustard and of course the secret Yocco's sauce. There are pins in that map of cities all over the United States and around the world. When I see the map, there are pins in Thailand, Germany, England and Kuwait that I'm responsible for, having had a "doggie pack" sent to me years ago when I was stationed in those countries while in the Air Force.
At Yoccos, they slap the little weiners together so fast it's interesting to watch how they prepare them. First a quick blop of mustard on the bottom of the freshly steamed bun; one Medford (a Philadelphia meat packing company) beef frank is next; one baby-spoon full of onions, and one dash of the Yocco's secret sauce (enough to coat the bun, but no so much that it runs out). The secret really is in the sauce. But I do not want to know what's in the sauce, and Julie would NOT enjoy me telling you it's ingredients. It's a chil-like sauce, spicy but not hot, dark brown, with lots of finely ground, high grade meat. The Bedford franks actually taste like meat, not like filler. Yocco's is not vegetarian fare, nor is it low in cholesterol, fat, or calories. Still, I wander in when I feel like defying modern dogma for a feast of his delicious hot dogs
The Allentown departed New Orleans on 3 April bound for Bermuda and shakedown training. After about a month of training the patrol frigate set a course for New York escorting the Nor- merchantman SS Norden. She arrived in New York on 13 May and underwent post-shakedown repairs and alterations. Near the end of June she stood out of New York in the screen of a convoy. She arrived at Norfolk, Va., on 28 June entered the navy yard for additional repairs. She completed repairs in midAugust and returned north to New York where she arrived on the 16th. Soon thereafter, however, the patrol frigate returned to sea as a unit of Escort Division (CortDiv) 33 in the screen of a convoy bound for the Pacific. Steaming via the Panama Canal and Bora Bora in the Society Islands, Allentown reached the northern coast of New Guinea at the end of September. The patrol frigate then began patrol and escort duty in the Netherlands East Indies. At the end of October, the warship participated briefly in the occupation of the island of Morotai in the Molucca Islands. In mid-November, she began escorting convoys between Hollandia and Leyte in support of the troops reconquering the Philippines. Those duties and convoy-escort missions between the various islands of the Philippine archipelago occupied her time until early March of 1945. On 9 March, Allentown joined the escort of a Ulithi-bound convoy on the first leg of the voyage back to the United States. The warship arrived at the Puget Sound Navy Yard on 7 April. After completing an overhaul, the patrol frigate departed Puget Sound on 7 June, bound for Alaskan waters. She arrived at Cold Bay on the Alaskan Peninsula on 15 June. For about a month, Allentown participated in drills and exercises. On 12 July 1945, she was decommissioned at Cold Bay and the next day, was transferred to the Soviet Union under a iend-lease agreement. The warship served in the Soviet Navy until 15 October 1949 at which time she was returned to the custody of the United States Navy at Yokosuka, Japan. Allentown remained at Yokosuka, in a caretaker status, until April 1953 when she was loaned to Japan. The patrol frigate served Japan as Ume. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 December 1961 and she was transferred to Japan on a permanent basis on 28 August 1962. The USCG Allentown earned two battle stars during World War II.
Thirteen years later, in 1923, the 19th Street section was still farmland, with only a few homes nearby. According to a later article in The Morning Call there was "only one trolley car per hour, no pavements, no streetlights, no stores, no theatres, no churches and no schools. Mail was delivered by a rural mail carrier..." But by the next year, 1924, a building boom began to change the way things looked on 19th Street. People wanted to own houses with yards and more open space, and to have less noise than in the busy center of the city. Within four years, more than 150 homes with yards had been built in that area. In addition to the homes, plans were made for a block of shops, offices and restaurants. The 19th Street Theatre that still stands at 527 N. 19th St. was an important part of this plan.
The first movie to be shown at the 19th Street Theatre was a silent film called "The Sawdust Paradise." It featured the new Moller DeLuxe theatre organ that the owners of the 19th Street had purchased for $16,000. The heirloom instrument is still played at times for audiences at the theatre today. Unfortunately, the large opening crowds were not able to make the theatre a success. Financial problems and the new "talkies" made it difficult for the owners to keep it open. Throughtout the past 60 years, the 19th Street went through good times and bad. Since the summer of 1957 the Civic Theatre of Allentown has owned the building, offering four plays a year there, in addition to a variety of independent and international films. The new owners are committed to an ongoing program of restoration and refurbishment. On Oct. 7, 1994, the restored marquee blazed with new lights just as it had on opening night 66 years earlier. If those lights are a clue, the 19th Street Theatre's future will also be bright.
The most beatific and beauteous of them all. Trexler Memorial Park was actually the former summer estate of General Harry C. Trexler. Trexler began to aggressively expand his interests beyond lumber in the 1890s. With partners John D. Ormrod and Edward M. Young, he organized the Lehigh Portland Cement Company, which became one of the largest cement producers in the world, with twenty plants operating in ten states. He consolidated scattered electric railway properties into the Lehigh Valley Rapid Transit Company, one of the most innovative and efficient traction companies in the Northeast. He similarly consolidated the region's electric utilities, forming the Pennsylvania Power & Light in the 1920s. He purchased dozens of telephone properties, consolidating them into the Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania. He was also active in banking, finance, and real estate development. Inspired by the City Beautiful movement, he used his combined interests to promote city planning — turning Allentown into a model of balanced development (a dramatic contrast to industrially ravaged Bethlehem and Easton). Trexler's entrepreneurial activities were driven by a social vision. Just as Milton Hershey the his company of model of welfare capitalist benevolence (eventually leaving the firm to a charitable foundation) and the town of Hershey an industrial paradise, so Trexler sought to build and sustain a community that would be a model of harmonious industrial and social relations – one that would preserve the best of Pennsylvania German culture while accommodating itself to the challenges of urban capitalism. In addition to running his companies with the good of the community in mind, Trexler lavishly supported the city's churches, schools, and cultural institutions, hoping to create a mutually supportive social infrastructure that would sustain the community through good times and bad. Trexler was particularly concerned about how Allentonians spent their leisure time. He feared that the cinema, the automobile, and the temptations of urban life would draw people away from family and community activities. To study the problem, he retained the services of leading sociologists like James Brossard (who joined the faculty of Muhlenberg College, on whose board Trexler sat), and Luther Fry (who was hired by the Allentown Morning Call newspaper, which Trexler owned). Their findings led Trexler in invest huge sums of money in the creation of parks, supervised playgrounds, band concerts, and annual youth festivals, as well as encouraging him to back comprehensive reform of Allentown's schools. Following his death in a automobile accident, the terms of his will revealed a plan to institutionalize his vision. The Harry Clay Trexler Estate (now the Trexler Foundation) sought to maintain the integrity of his holdings and the continuity of local industrial leadership. The proceeds of the estate were devoted to supporting local institutions and activities that embodied the city's unique sense of community.
There was also the famous ‘Liberty Bell Line’ which ran first to Quakertown, then Sellersville, Landsdale, Norristown and into Philadelphia's 69th Street Terminal, by way of the Philadelphia and Western Railway. It ran like a local streetcar through the towns, and like a high-speed railroad between towns. After World War II, street trolley service rapidly declined. Between November 1951, and June 1952, Lehigh Valley Transit Company scrapped one hundred and forty-one cars of various types at Bethlehem Steel. On June 8, 1953, a trolley car, decorated with patriotic bunting and loaded with dignitaries and Company officials, made the last scheduled trip between Bethlehem and Allentown. On June 12, motorman Orville S. Kulp operated the last electric car over a temporary track extended from Daley Avenue to the Bethlehem Steel scrap yard, bringing to a close the once colorful trolley area in Allentown.
Max Hess died in 1922, and his son, Max Hess, Jr., continued the Hess’s legacy. The younger Hess was seen as a leader in retailing. In the 1953 B.C. Forbes & Sons book, America’s Twelve Master Salesmen, Hess is listed as the second master salesman. According to this book, Hess’s principle was, “Strive for a specific goal.” Additionally, Hess took great pains to make his store a terrific place to shop and work. Extravagance and excitement were cornerstones of the Hess’s store. Magnificent chandeliers graced the main hall of Hess’s, and a 45-foot-tall, 8-ton, red neon sign marked the outside of the flagship store from December 23, 1947 to June 30, 1972. In later years, children delighted at the giant nutcrackers and toy soldiers Hess’s used as Christmas decorations at many of their stores. The store's policy was to bring in celebrities to make personal appearances. They became nationally known for their publicity campaigns, like the one for topless swim suits. (The store didn't sell any but got a million dollars in free publicity). "Superman" George Reeves was hired by Max Hess for one day to fulfill various duties, including elevator operator, delivery driver, stockroom clerk, shoe salesman, fashion director and more, much to the delight of customers. Also, visitors to the Allentown flagship fondly remember The Patio, the store’s restaurant, popular with many shoppers who frequented the store.
These photos were shot during the annual 1971 International Flower Show In 1968 the flamboyant Max Hess sold Hess's to Phillip Berman for $16 million. At that time the name of the store was changed from "Hess Brothers" to simply "Hess's". In 1975, Max Hess, Jr. died. Under Phil Berman, Hess' began a moderate expansion from the origional 9th and Hamilton location. Stores were opened in surburban malls, first in the Leghigh Valley, then throughout eastern Pennsylvania. In 1979, Crown American, a developer and owner of hotels and shopping malls, purchased the Hess’s chain, then 17 stores large, as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Under Crown American’s leadership, Hess’s enjoyed the booming retail market of the 1980s and expanded to 73 stores by 1991. In addition to opening stores in available locations, Hess’s purchased other department store chains and converted them to the Hess’s nameplate, such as Penn Traffic Department Stores, based in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in 1981, and Rices Nachmans, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1985. Hess's also purchased the Knoxville, Tennessee based Miller's Department Store chain. However, in a few short years, Hess’s suffered under increased retail competition and a national recession, so it sold or shuttered 43 of its stores, especially in the South, including the Knoxville stores to Dillard's and 18 sold to Proffitt's in 1992. The remaining 29 stores were sold off in 1994, ending a 97-year enterprise; May Department Stores purchased 10 locations, and Bon-Ton bought 19. The flagship store at Ninth and Hamilton Streets in Allentown was among those bought by Bon-Ton. The store closed in 1996, due to underperformance and the cost of maintaining the building, as it was a victim of various renovations and additions, none of which were consistent to the previous one. The origional Hess Brother's store was eventually purchased by the City of Allentown, which tore it down in 2000. Various plans for the location were made, then dismissed, and the lcation stayed vacant for several years. In early 2003, the former Hess property was purchaced by PP&L for The Plaza at PPL Center, an eight-story office building used by PPL, which opened in 2004. Today, the only existing physical remanants of the Hess Brothers Department Store are the former Auto Store, the Pet Store; both now having other owners and uses, and the large parking deck at Linden & Lumber streets which is now used as a commercial parking enterprise. As a side note, I graduated from William Allen High School with Rick Hess, a relative of Max Hess. He was a good friend of mine. He lives in the Lehigh Valley.
The park originally was founded in 1884 by Solomon Dorney, for whom it is named, as a fish hatchery. Today, the park is owned by Cedar Fair LP. Cedar Fair purchased the park in July, 1992. Previous owners included Harris Weinstein 1985-1992, Robert F. Ott 1967-1984, Robert L. Plarr prior to 1967, and, before him, Jacob Plarr. Today, Dorney park is known for it's roller coasters. They include: Hydra the Revenge – the world's ninth floorless coaster, over half-a-mile in length, featuring seven inversions. Laser – first installed at Dorney Park in 1986, including 360-degree vertical loops and a green and purple color scheme.
Talon – the tallest and longest inverted coaster in the Northeast, United States, with four inversions. Thunderhawk – The oldest and best known coaster, which debuted in 1923 and features a figure-eight pattern. Various Rides have come and gone at Dorney Park, such as the PTC Grande Carrousel which debuted at Dorney in 1932 from Shellpot Park in Wilmington, Delaware, but was destroyed in a September 1983 fire at the park. The "Bucket O' Blood" dark ride burned in the same fire. "The Iceberg" was a cuddle-up ride which was cold inside and had strobe lights and loud music. It was painted black and retitled "Meteorite" at the end of the 1980s and removed after the 1993 season. "The Journey to the Center of the Earth", which was located by the Coaster (now "Thunderhawk"), started out as the "Mill Chute" in 1927 and was rethemed in 1960. It was a boat ride through a dark tunnel with scary scenes behind glass, and a lift and drop at the end. It was razed following the 1992 season, after Cedar Fair, LP acquired the park.
Dorney Park's Wildwater Kingdom, located on the park grounds, is one of the largest water parks in the country, with over a dozen water rides and pools. It opened in 1985. In the 2006 season, Wildwater Kingdom will introduce an additional wave pool (called Wave Pool II) to accommodate for the immense popularity of the park's existing wave pool. Upgrades also are being made to the former Solomon Dorney Mansion Hotel and Restaurant, which housed the Gold Mine walkthrough in the basement and had food stands around its perimeter and an arcade inside the house. It is being removed for a new Subway restaurant and seating area. The building dated back to the park's humble beginning in 1884 and was the oldest surviving building in the park. A spokesperson for the park stated that it would have been too expensive to renovate the building due to its age, so tearing it down was the only option.
The bridge's concept first appears on the record about 1900. Local engineer Robert Rathbun made the suggestion, but his was for a much smaller span to bridge the frequently flooded Little Lehigh flood plain. The project was started but halted in 1904 or 1905 for an unknown reason. But a larger-scale project — the current Eighth Street Bridge — was started in 1912. Accounts don't indicate who decided the bridge should be the type and size it became. The Allentown Bridge Company was organized in 1911 by The Lehigh Valley Transit Company (the regional trolley company) for the sole purpose of building and maintaining the Alburtus I. Meyers Bridge. The streetcar and inter-urban line connected Allentown with developing Allentown neighborhoods in the south part of the city. The bridge crossed the Little Lehigh Creek which frequently flooded the area. When this bridge was built, it was said to be the largest concrete bridge in the world. It is possible that Gen. Harry C. Trexler, who was then the driving force behind the Lehigh Valley Transit Co., an electric street car line, came up with the concept of a grand bridge. The bridge carried the Liberty Bell, the LVT's popular service from Allentown to Philadelphia. The bridge was designed by the engineering firm of B.H. Davis. MacArthur Brothers of New York did the construction.
The span consists of nine 120-foot broad arches. It is 2,650 feet long, required 45,000 barrels of cement, 29,500 cubic yards of concrete and 1.1 million pounds of reinforcing rods. It cost $500,000. When it opened on Nov. 17, 1913, it was touted by the trolley company as ''the largest and highest concrete bridge in the world'' at 138 feet. The structure was a toll bridge from the time it was built until the 1950s, when it was taken over by the state highway department. Although the toll was small, there was a great deal of dispute — particularly in the 1930s when times were tough — over paying the toll. Pedestrians were charged one cent, bicyclists two cents and motor vehicles a nickel. The name of the bridge was changed in 1974 to honor Albertus L. Meyers. Meyers was the longtime musician with and conductor of the Allentown Band. The band played when the bridge was dedicated in 1913.
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