Tree Trimming

These hardy souls braved the bitter cold of December to decorate the annual Christmas Tree in the Hazel Stauffer Pocket Park at 8th & Gordon Streets. The stately tree was decorated with bird-friendly pinecones dipped in peanut butter and covered in seed.

The tree lights up our neighborhood with wishes for good will among all

This is a fine example of the ornament "for the birds"

Even Mr. Dog gets in the act of creating an avian delight

Holiday Spirit in Old Allentown!

Students from TREXLER MIDDLE SCHOOL and MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL painted holiday-inspired scenes at several locations in the Old Allentown Historic District:

Turner St. laundromat, 1120 Linden St. (formerly Grim's Bakery), Las Palmas Restaurant, Neighborhood Housing Services of the LV office and Old Allentown Preservation Association's office. Check out all locations!

A special note of thanks to Ms. Cindy Gunn and Mr. Jason Gordon, Allentown School District faculty, for instructing students on site.




A huge THANK YOU to Susan Weaver for organizing this year's holiday scenes painting with the schools and for overseeing the process as students painted windows throughout the Old Allentown Historic District.





WISHING EVERYONE THE JOYS OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON!

GENARO OPTICS - OPENS TODAY!

GENARO OPTICS (Eye Exam - Contact Lenses - Designer Frames) is now open!

Located at 347 North 8th St., Allentown - at the corner of 8th & Gordon Streets.

GENARO OPTICS received an ANDA (Allentown Neighborhood Development Alliance) grant funded through contributions made by KNBT/National Penn Bank and PPL Utilities. The grant covered the cost of their new business sign.

We also thank Allentown Economic Development Corporation for covering permit and zoning fees for Genaro Optics through a Rider-Pool Foundation marketing grant.

Orange Balloons Everywhere!

THANK YOU - to members of the DeSales University softball team for distibuting orange balloons throughout the Old Allentown Historic District - on a very early morning October 3rd. The orange balloons designated facade restoration grant properties throughout the Historic District since the beginning of the program in the early 1990's.

It takes a small army of volunteers!

A SPECIAL NOTE OF THANKS
to all our 2009 Old Allentown House Tour homeowners and volunteers.


Your willingness to open your homes and on-going committment to your neighborhoods is the reason OAPA can
offer a house tour - for the past 33 years!


We are proud of the fact that the annual Old Allentown House Tour brings many first-time and return visitors to our center city neighborhoods.


And, we couldn't continue to offer our annual House Tour without a very dedicated, hard working House Tour committee, nearly one hundred volunteers and cooperation
among other districts to put together a unique House Tour representing some of the most beautiful architecture in the City of Allentown.

Again, our sincere thanks!

Pumpkin Fun!

As trees were being planted at the

Turner St. Park Saturday,

October 10th, a group of children from the

neighborhood painted pumpkins

at Old Allentown Preservation Association's office.

Meet some of our pumpkin painters and

their pumpkins all decked out for Halloween!

A SPECIAL NOTE OF THANKS to:

Anne Schauer and Barbara Resto for guiding the pumpkin painting and decorating process!

Turner Street Park - Trees Are Next!

House Tour '09

Saturday, October 3

10-4pm

House Tour Tickets:

$15.00 in advance,
$20.00 the day of the tour*
*OAPA office only

Purchase your tickets at these locations:

Allentown

• Allentown Brew Works, 814 W Hamilton St
• C Leslie Smith, 3100 W Tilghman St
• Harware Variety Plus, 139 N 7th St
• Old Allentown Preservation Association Office * 147 N 10th St
• Phoebe Floral, 2102 W Hamilton St
• Syb's West End Deli, 2151 Liberty St

Bethlehem

• Home and Planet, 25 E 3rd St
• The Moravian Book Shop, 428 Main St

Emmaus

• Spotted Dog Barkery, 338 Main St

Tree Well Surrounds in Sight!

As of today, seven tree well surrounds have been installed. Several more will be in within a few days.

New Restaurant Opens in Old Allentown

Morton's Restaurant, "With a Southern Flair," opened this week at the former location of LoBaido's on the corner of Liberty and 8th Sts. The restaurant offers dine in or carry out service, as well as catering and delivery services. Hours are Monday - Saturday 11am - 10pm, closed Sundays. Morton's Restaurants has a new sign and customized front door awning thanks to an ANDA grant. A special note of thanks to KNBT and PPL for their support of this program - a program of the Allentown Neighborhood Alliance (ANDA).

Closing Remarks

The fact that ten weeks have come and gone in and of itself is quite a surprise to me. It feels like only a few days ago that I was reading an email from my Professor encouraging me to apply for this internship. In these ten weeks I have had the privilege of observing and being a part of a very unique organization in a neighborhood that is as diverse as they come. From the facade renovations to the mural project and the youth arts programs, OAPA has found a way to touch the lives of almost everyone who lives in Old Allentown. One of the mixed blessings of a neighborhood with so many people from so many walks of life is that very rarely, if ever, will everyone see eye to eye on much of anything. Although many consider this a stumbling block, to me this is one of the greatest things about the neighborhood. Very few places, especially in Pennsylvania, will you find a neighborhood with so many cultures, personalities and opinions. One of my tasks in my time here was to disperse, collect and tabulate the Elm Street Survey. One of the things that stood out to me was how people who live so close to each other could have such differing perceptions of the neighborhood that they live in. Almost every question received responses that were all across the board. The only exception being that almost everyone seemed to want a bakery, so it seems there is something that everyone can agree on.
I will definitely miss the unique personality of this neighborhood. From the Victorian architecture, to the culture influence of the Latino community, the mix is not one that I have found anywhere else that I've been.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said "The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do, well." After being a part of Old Allentown for ten weeks I think my final observation is there is a good thing going on here. Keep doing what you are doing, and this historic district will continue to prosper as a unique and diverse neighborhood. I am grateful for the time that I have had here and the lessons that I have learned.

-Adam Labs

Wow! Tree well surround sure looks good! 411 N 9th St

Tree Well Surround Project begins in Old Allentown

Today, the anxiously awaited tree well surround project is underway. The first one is being installed on the 200 block of North 9th st with the others to follow. The installer, Andrew, had dug the post holes and was just beginning cut the legs to height so that they could be installed level to the ground when Marie and I stopped by to see how things were going. With the exception of a few roots getting in the way things seemed to be going along quite smoothly. As this one and the others to follow become completed we will post pictures to document the progress.

More Summer Arts in the City

Another huge Thank You to ANDA (Allentown Neighborhood Development Alliance)’s Neighborhood Partnership Program, funded by KNBT and PPL, for another day of Summer Arts in the City. On Wednesday, August 5, 2009, through ANDA arts programming, Old Allentown Preservation Association treated 27 local teenagers to a day of arts in the city, the second such session. The teens enjoyed a two hour visit to the Allentown Art Museum, featuring the exhibit, Fashion in Film. After viewing and learning a bit about the many portraits downstairs, the teens explored the thirty two costumes on display upstairs. The period costumes captured their imaginations, all the while absorbing valuable historical information, and connecting the past with today. The teens had a chance to put their creativity to use by learning how to insert dyed wool into felt in the museum’s Crayola Learning Center. This project became the cover of a journal they put together for themselves to take with them back home. But it wasn’t time to go just yet! Just outside the museum, across the street at the Arts Park, the teenagers had a delicious lunch of gourmet deli wraps from Plaza Deli waiting for them. And, after eating, Alfonso Todd (BLURB Media/Promotions), presented “Hip Hop Interactive.” Alfonso and the teens had fun taking turns dancing and learning new steps from each other while discussing their surroundings and how the ‘hip hop’ lifestyle affects themselves, their family and friends, and schools. There were many smiles to be seen.

Joshua Jones

Hello my name is Joshua Jones and I’m a rising senior at Lafayette College. I’m interning with the Old Allentown Preservation for the summer. Receiving this internship has meant a lot to me and I enjoy every minute I’m working with the organization. Last week Carmen (who is another associate of the Old Allentown Preservation) and I took a group of kids ages 8-11 to the art museum in Allentown and spent the day there doing projects teaching them a little about art. Then we came back to the office and did activities with kids such as hula hooping and playing the drums. This was a lot of fun and the kids seemed to be having a lot of fun also. Events and activities like this are great for kids because they are learning and having fun all at the same time. More events like these are needed in communities and do nothing but help push them in the right way starting with the kids. I just hope with my little time at Old Allentown Preservation I can help their cause in bringing Allentown back to its old self.

OAPA Takes Local Children to the Art Museum

OAPA takes local youth on a trip the Allentown Art Museum. Thanks to funding from ANDA (Allentown Neighborhood Development Alliance, Neighborhood Partnership Program youth projects, funded by KNBT & PPL) 13 children ages 8 to 11 had a wonderful day of Arts in the City. The weather held up for the children's walk from OAPA's office to the Allentown Art Museum. Luckily they did not need to use umbrellas! They spent the morning at the museum exploring the exhibit Fashion in Film. The children were amazed with the costumes and spent some time among the clothing sketching their own rendition of a fabulous costume. They all got to use fabrics and trims to make their mini costumes for their paper doll in the museum studio. After the museum the children walked back to OAPA for a delicious lunch of fresh fruit and wraps from Plaza Deli. The children also had some live entertainment and participated in hooping with Tina from Spirit Hoops and drumming with Snow Star Raven Hawk.



Another trip to the museum is scheduled for Wednesday, August 5th. This trip will be for local teens. Check out the blog next week for pictures and more fun..