Visitors Guide

38 Pages·2015·13.04 MB·English

IN
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2015–2016
A L L E N T O W N
Opening Hearts and Minds for Over 160 Years
MUHLENBERG COLLEGE
W
ith a stunningly beautiful
Excited!
campus, a deep sense of
connection between students and
faculty, and a 167-year tradition
of academic excellence, the
“Muhlenberg Experience” fills
the spirit and enriches the mind.
167 Years and
Still Growing
Discover the
• Graduate school and
professional school acceptance
new Allentown!
rates consistently over 90%
• Exceptional career counseling
and placement services
As the mayor of Allentown, the third largest city in Pennsylvania,
• Phi Beta Kappa and numerous
I’m proud to report that so many great things are happening that
additional honor societies
I can’t begin to cover them all here. A few highlights include:
• An ambitious campaign • PPL Center, an 8,500 seat minor league hockey and 10,000 seat
of capital improvements, concert venue, opened in 2014 at Seventh & Hamilton streets and is
including a new athletic home to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the top minor league affiliate
stadium, performing arts of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.
building and a state-of-the-art
• New development totalling $1 billion is energizing our downtown
science center
thanks to Pennsylvania’s only Neighborhood Improvement Zone.
• “Top 10” Theatre & Dance • An exciting blend of new and established restaurants and nightclubs
“Muhlenberg College is not only a small
programs in the country benefits downtown employees and area residents.
school; but it’s a large family. Both faculty
Mayor Ed Pawlowski
and managers work hard to foster good • Coca-Cola Park hosts the Philadelphia
student-faculty relationships… Phillies Class AAA affiliate, the Lehigh
Students searching for a family-like college Valley IronPigs.
environment might love Muhlenberg.” • Arts and cultural activities abound.
The InsIder’s GuIde To ColleGes I invite you to learn more about Allentown
and discover a city without limits!
allentownpa.gov
For information: www.muhlenberg.edu [phone] Allentown, PA 18104 facebook.com/allentownpa
6
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES. INs CONTENTS
i
d
To paraphrase an iconic quote from the film Field e 6 PPL Center
of Dreams, I’d like to think that I always believed Arena of dreams anchors
ALLENTOWN
“if you build it, they will come.” But if truth be told, transformation
I never thought – at least in my lifetime – that
Allentown would experience a renaissance such Executive Editor & Publisher 12 Refined Retreat
12
as the one happening right now. Miriam Huertas Stylish hospitality at
As someone who has lived and worked in down- Editor deluxe hotel
town Allentown for several decades, it’s extremely Lenora Dannelke
heartening to see this city on the rise again. The 16 Art for All
Graphic Design 20
incredible resurgence that we are experiencing due Anne Schauer Design New attitude at a classic
to the Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) – museum
and the hard work performed by so many folks in so many capacities Proofreader
Mary Himmelberger
– is really paying off. And I couldn’t be happier! 16 20 Living History
In one short year, we have seen the PPL Center go from what was Fact Checker
Elegant old digs for a
essentially a hole in ground to a multi-million dollar complex where Elizabeth Regan
new generation
hockey fans can see their beloved Phantoms score and music lovers
As we celebrate the new Allentown, I am 27
can dance to the Eagles, Tom Petty, Judas Priest and Neil Diamond. incredibly proud of our 6th annual INside 27 Dining Downtown
Amazing new fine dining and casual restaurants have come into Allentown guide and the creation of our first
downtown Allentown, creating a food lovers’ sanctuary right in the downtown edition. My heartfelt thanks to The scoop on the hottest
Anne Schauer, Lenora Dannelke, Mike new restaurants
heart of the city. In 2014, The Hamilton Kitchen, Roar Social House,
Krisukas, Peter Lewnes, Liz Regan and
The Dime, Chickie’s & Pete’s, Crust, Tim Hortons and Johnny’s Bagels Mary Himmelberger for their expertise
40 Hi-Tech on Hamilton
opened their doors and received well-deserved fanfare for their and passion for this project. This is indeed
distinctive culinary personalities. Each place offers something different a labor of love for me and it helps when 40 New firms get down to
people help me “carry the water”! Thanks business
to the thousands of people arriving downtown for games, concerts and
also to the professional writers and photo-
other events at the PPL Center, as well as to area residents looking for
graphers whose creativity shines throughout
4 9 City Folk
new dining experiences – making downtown a destination in itself. this guide.
Not to mention Allentonians have been able to get a slice of the People with a passion for
economic pie that this rebirth has offered. Seventy percent of all And I could never make this project happen the downtown
without the assistance of my wonderful
the recent job openings created by the NIZ have been filled with partners – Lehigh Valley Health Network,
current Allentown residents. That population, along with all the Muhlenberg College, City Center Lehigh 60 Eclectic Seventh
new office workers and young professionals moving downtown, Valley, Community Action Development Corp., The city’s gateway gets
60
is creating an unprecedented and vibrant work-play environment. and all the advertisers. Thank you from the a vibrant reboot
bottom of my heart.
Clearly, downtown is a place where you can finish your long workday
and then meet friends for cocktails or dinner – or hit the gym – all Finally, I wish to dedicate this guide to the 62 The ‘Berg View
within walking distance of one another. memory of two very special downtowners – 49 Muhlenberg students taste
Ed Leggett and Dick Cowen! Rest in peace,
The genuine cooperation of all these diverse “players” sparks and tell
guys; we will continue to carry Allentown’s
a contagious excitement, marking the return of Allentown as the torch in your honor.
62
true urban center of the Lehigh Valley. Be it the latest haute cuisine 66 2015 Downtown Events
Cover photo by Hub Willson from the
restaurant, the newest ultra-hip bar, the elegant, world-class hotel Top diversions throughout
Trifecta building. 66
or the bold artistic directions of such cultural institutions as Miller the year
Symphony Hall and the Allentown Art Museum, all participants are Printed by Nacci Printing, Inc.
on the same page, helping each other on a journey that spirals ever This publication was produced by the 6 9 O n the Horizon
upward. Truly, we travel together as a “City without Limits.” Allentown Chamber of Commerce. Previews of a bright future
Find us on Facebook.
2 3
Home of the
CONTRIBUTORS
1. Marco Calderon is a Lehigh Valley-based still and
motion photographer with a focus in portraiture
and wedding photography. calderonphoto.com 1 2 3
2. Lenora Dannelke, a journalist and author who
4
lives in Old Allentown, covers food, travel and
other fun stuff for numerous publications.
3. Geoff Gehman is a former arts writer for the
Morning Call and the author of The Kingdom of
5 6
the Kid: Growing Up in the Long-Lost Hamptons
(SUNY Press, 2013). 8
4. Peter Gourniak is a versatile photographer and
videographer/editor/producer. Peter is now entering
UPSCALE ENTERTAINMENT & DINING
the fine art arena with a series of gallery shows
this year. petergourniak.com 9 10
IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN
5. John Harry is a preservationist who has
transformed his skills in technical photography
into an artistic passion and vocation.
johnharryphotography.zenfolio.com
6. Ryan Hulvat, in partnership with his wife 11 12 13
and creative partner Dawn, shoot food and
personalities for clients in the Lehigh Valley
and worldwide. ryanhulvat.com 11. Anne Schauer, a graphic designer who lives
and works in Old Allentown, enjoys a good
7. Kathleen Kapila moved from New York to
design challenge and baseball.
Allentown about fifteen years ago after falling
anneschauerdesign.com
in love with the Lehigh Valley. She organizes
greening projects on Seventh Street. 12. Kate Scuffle is a non-profit arts administrator,
writer, educator and co-founder of Selkie Theatre,
8. Joe McDermott is a freelance writer specializing
producing in both the U.S. and Ireland.
in helping local businesses with case studies,
selkietheatre.org
media relations, newsletters, sales letters and
web content. writerjoe.com 13. Hub Willson is a commercial photographer
CAFE & BAKE SHOP
in the Lehigh Valley. He produces work
9. Bathsheba Monk is the CEO and publisher
ranging from architectural and commercial
of Blue Heron Book Works LLC in Allentown.
FOLLOW PPL CENTER ONLINE advertising to portraiture and the arts.
blueheronbookworks.com
PPLCENTER.COM HubWillson.com
@PPLCenter
10. Paul Pearson, a professional photographer
living in Allentown, works with clients in the
610-347-TIXX
FOLLOW THE PHANTOMS ONLINE corporate, editorial and non-profit fields.
@LehighValley paulpearsonphoto.com
@LVPhantoms Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Phantoms
44 5
PPL Center
Open since September 2014, the PPL Center has helped Allentown’s
vibe morph from sleepy to scintillating. The arena has attracted
hundreds of thousands of fans to hockey games, circus shows and
concerts starring the Eagles and Neil Diamond. It’s also boosted
business for new businesses, including a hotel, a sports fitness
center and a Prohibition-style saloon.
By Geoff Gehman, photography by Peter Gourniak.
The rafters are rocking in the PPL Center, the new The PPL Center is the decade-old dream child
hockey-and-concert arena that’s rocking downtown of Jim and Rob Brooks, owners of the Phantoms
Allentown. and longtime fans of sports, envisioned as an agent
The crowd roars every time a member of the of economic and charitable development. They
hometown Lehigh Valley Phantoms scores a goal learned athletic, civic citizenship from their father,
or bashes a Worcester Shark into the boards. Men Robert Sr., who in the 1990s invested in two major-
bang the glass to cheer a check that jars vital league teams – the baseball Pirates and the hockey
organs. Boys yell the name of Zack Stortini, the Penguins – to help keep the franchises from leaving
Phantoms’ tall, long-haired enforcer. Women pose Pittsburgh, their original city.
for photos with MeLVin, the Phantoms’ furry, cheery The Brooks family raised the community ante
mascot. Girls mimic the moves of female high- by buying the Penguins’ minor-league affiliate in
school dancers who perform during intermission. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, then building an 8,300-seat
Virtually everyone rises to clap when a Vietnam arena. The brothers switched their hockey allegiance
veteran receives a scoreboard tribute. Even the when they purchased one of the Penguins’ rivals, the
Phantoms join the act, saluting the local hero by Phantoms, a minor-league affiliate of the Philadelphia
rapping their sticks on the ice. Flyers. They began switching their allegiance to
Named for an electricity supplier, the PPL Center Allentown because of three attractions.
has been electrifying Center City since it opened in One, the greater Lehigh Valley is a hockey-mad
September 2014. The arena has triggered the trans- market dominated by diehard Flyers fans eager to
formation of a struggling downtown into a booming watch professionals play in their backyard. Two,
destination for new office buildings, restaurants and local leaders promised to build a multi-purpose,
residences. It’s attracted hundreds of thousands of 8,500- to 10,000-seat arena and make it the hub of
spectators to hockey games, circus shows, rodeos, a dramatically revamped Center City. And, three, an
pro wrestling matches and concerts by stars like unusually large number of Boomer-aged Allentown
Neil Diamond, who started his world tour at Seventh natives were dying to keep their downtown from
and Hamilton streets. It’s not only changed the dying. They wanted Center City to thrive even more
game, it’s changed the games. than it thrived when the late Pennsylvania Stage
6 photography upper right: JustSports Photography 7
Company staged new musicals and the now The Phantoms run the PPL arena as the center
demolished Hess’s department store hosted of a community center. The “Hometown Heroes”
fashion shows hosted by celebrities. series honors military veterans with a scoreboard
The Brooks brothers met some of these local tribute and a team jersey. Players visit schools to
loyalists on September 12, 2014, the night the promote GOAL (Get Out and Live), a healthy-life
PPL opened with a concert by the Eagles. Rob program. After a neighborhood boy lost a stick
Brooks was especially impressed by a man who signed by a Phantom in a fire, he received a stick
hadn’t visited downtown in twenty years. The fellow signed by all the Phantoms.
returned to Center City because he couldn’t resist The Brooks brothers studied good citizenship
the “unbelievable” chance to christen a first-class with their father, now mayor of their hometown of
facility with a famous rock band. He teared up, Murraysville, Pa. “He told us that if you want to live
which made Rob Brooks tear up. in a great community, you have to support it,” says
That evening the brothers Brooks watched their Rob. “If you want to make it greater, you have to
dream child walk confidently. “You’re taking a big support it better.”
risk with a project this big,” says Rob of launching The Brooks brothers offer better support in a
the PPL Center and the Phantoms. “You’re hoping next-door sports fitness center they helped design
it happens, and that it happens happily. It felt right for the Phantoms. Run by Lehigh Valley Health
before that night. After that night we knew we could Network, the facility contains 17,000 square feet of
make it feel more right, for sure.” state-of-the-art machines and services. A two-level,
The PPL Center feels right, for sure. The acoustics loft-like exercise center features the latest cardio
are exceptionally crisp. Pucks slap the glass with and weight equipment. A wide range of classes,
a cracking thwack; celebrations of goals and fights from Cycling and Zumba to high-intensity Functional
are supersonic. Every seat has an exceptional view. Fusion and Boot Camp workouts, are offered six
Action on the ice is easy to follow even up in the days a week. A multitude of body issues are addressed
press box; it’s exceptionally easy on the concourse by a small army of specialists: occupational therapists
ends, which offer an exciting panorama with an and nutritionists, orthopedists and concussion experts.
almost living-room intimacy. Relaxation is available from a café, stimulation from
Concession stands serve a wide range of dishes: a sports simulator.
brisket, lobster mac ’n’ cheese, and shrimp-topped One of the fitness center’s attractions is the
burgers. Crust, a gourmet-pizza restaurant, has chance to meet the Phantoms after a massage or
a street-side window, making it livelier than the a yoga session. At the very least, amateur athletes
average arena cavern. Outdoor and indoor windows can sprint on the same turf track, rehab lower-
brighten the first Lehigh Valley branch of Tim extremity injuries on the same antigravity treadmill,
Hortons, a coffee-and-pastry chain founded by receive MRIs from the same technicians. They can
a retired Canadian hockey player. even play the same hockey game on the sports
Outside the arena fans eat at Roar Social House, simulator. Ron Hextall, the Flyers’ general manager,
The Dime restaurant and other new businesses recently scored 19 virtual goals on 20 virtual shots.
created to feed off events at the arena. Inside the That’s a remarkable record for anyone, especially a
arena fans enjoy a host of colorful, novel promotions, retired goalie.
including specialty game-used jerseys presented by The PPL Center is igniting Phantoms fever
players to auction winners in their seats. throughout the city, especially among kids who may
Fans have practically adopted MeLVin, the limber- not have cared about hockey before last fall. They
limbed, irrepressibly energetic mascot. They’ve should care even more when the Phantoms introduce
practically made a folk hero out of enforcer Zack hockey programs for inner-city youngsters.
Stornini, a 6-foot-4 veteran of a dozen teams, minor “It may sound corny, but we’re here to make
and major, for more than thirteen years. They love his a difference,” says Rob Brooks. “We don’t just sell
nasty checks, his vicious punches, his crazy courage. tickets; we sell memories.”
8 photography bottom: Olaf Starorypinksi 9
a wHole new worlD
Stay with us, dine with us, play with us. Because at Renaissance,
there’s always something wonderfully new to be found.
Disc1o0ver more at renaissanceallentown.com • 484.273.4000 • 12 nortH seventH street, allentown 11
Renaissance-full-inSideGuide2015.indd 1 2/11/15 7:31 PM
Refined Retreat
The 170-room, $65 million Renaissance by Marriott Allentown is
a unique boutique hotel. It has the Art Deco façade of a bank, an
elegantly industrial décor, a ballroom with a balcony, a restaurant with
a panoramic view, bedroom iPads for ordering meals and meeting
rooms that could be mistaken for luxury boxes above a hockey arena.
By Geoff Gehman, photography by Ryan Hulvat.
The lobby belonged to a bank. The restaurant The fireplace screen in the mezzanine lounge, for
resembles a penthouse. Meals can be ordered on example, originated as a Dime bank railing. The
an iPad. And where else can executives meet in ballroom has chandeliers made with pipe fittings.
suites overlooking a hockey arena? Guest bathrooms feature a blown-up X-ray of the
Old-fashioned vibes greet new-fangled services Liberty Bell, stowed in a nearby church during the
at the Renaissance by Marriott Allentown, Center Revolutionary War. Guests can use an iPad to request
City’s first new hotel in thirty-five years and the dishes from The Dime, which specializes in American
Lehigh Valley’s first boutique hotel with a full menu food with Pennsylvania ingredients, including pork
of bells and whistles. Wedged neatly into a corner rib braised in Yuengling beer.
of the PPL Center, it offers upscale, neighborly Guest hallways are opened by key cards as extra
lodging for a newly upscale neighborhood. protection from non-guests wandering in from the
The Renaissance renaissance starts with the Art PPL Center. Guests can work out in an adjacent
Deco facade, built in 1925 for the Dime Savings and 17,000-square-foot fitness center, a lair for members
Trust Company building, a member of the National of the hometown Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Executive
Register of Historic Places since 1985. A picture of suites above the hockey ice could be considered
a 1942 dime anchors a huge photographic mural in luxury boxes.
the two-story lobby, which is sleekly industrial to Bullock expects the Renaissance will help
honor the Lehigh Valley’s long history as a manu- make Allentown a conference magnet. He predicts
facturing center. the hotel will be a gateway for a new complex of
The mechanical motif continues in the third-floor apartments and shops and a visitor center for area
lounge, where a wall holds a Mack Truck grille with attractions, part of the Renaissance “Live Life to
working headlights. The lounge leads to The Dime Discover” campaign. Don’t be surprised if your
restaurant, which has antique-style honeycomb concierge, or navigator, discusses the America on
floor tiles and table bases made from Bethlehem Wheels transportation museum, which is attached
Steel girders. The bar is framed by a giant see- to a former meatpacking plant designed by the
through cooler and a two-story window with a drop- Dime bank’s architect.
dead dramatic view of Center Square’s Soldiers and “We’re a piece of a global puzzle,” says Bullock.
Sailors Monument, a nineteenth century shrine. “Our goal is to create an experience for everyone –
According to general manager Scott Bullock, the to please, comfort and even awe you. We want that
Renaissance is a unique addition to the Renaissance boomerang effect: Come once, love us, come back
line of full-service hotels customized to their settings. again – and again and again.”
12 middle photograph: Peter Gourniak 13
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Art for All
The Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley has long been known
as the home of a library designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Now it wants
to be known as a center for telling stirring stories of diversity, identity
and history. Its motto? “Today is so yesterday.”
By Geoff Gehman, photography by Marco Calderon.
David Mickenberg likes art objects that tell stories Over forty years the museum presented a fair
across genres, generations and groups. One of share of colorful, novel shows of everything from
his recent favorites is a four-color, six-foot-high comic strips to paintings of technological progress.
woodcut of a young African-American woman eat- It’s been a more adventurous exhibitor over the last
ing cotton. Alison Saar, a bi-racial artist who often decade, displaying everything from medieval armor
addresses racism and sexism, printed the portrait to photographs of famous rock musicians. During the
on old sugar sacks to protest the poor quality of same period it’s significantly expanded its footprint,
government programs aimed at reducing poverty. opening an arts park and a nearly 10,000-square-foot
Mickenberg bought “The Cotton Eater” in late addition featuring an atrium-like café.
2014 for the Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Mickenberg has been all over the map, too. The
Valley, which he serves as president, CEO and Brooklyn native began his curatorial internship by
chief story supervisor. He placed the woodcut in volunteering at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, where
“Interventions in Printmaking,” a 2015 exhibit he he discovered Inuit sculptures, early computer
co-curated of largely political, radical works by images and how diverse objects can reach, and
three generations of African-American women. teach, diverse visitors. Before coming to Allentown
“Cotton Eater” and “Interventions” exemplify he led four museums, two attached to universities,
Mickenberg’s quest to make the museum illustrate from Oklahoma to Massachusetts. He helped build
more tales of diversity, identity and history. On his a new home for a museum, directed the early years
watch, which began in November 2013, the museum of a $66 million museum in a renovated red-light
has added wall texts in Spanish, a festival of folk arts district, and curated “The Last Expression: Art and
and a program that will turn citizens into curators. Auschwitz.” The show ended its tour at the Brooklyn
Its past-is-present mission hangs on a banner over Museum in a space where Mickenberg once com-
the front steps: “Today Is So Yesterday.” muned with nineteenth and twentieth century
The museum has been a downtown mainstay bronze statues.
since 1958, when it moved from a city-owned house The Allentown position had four major attrac-
by a municipal rose garden to a former Presbyterian tions for Mickenberg, who has fond memories of
church by City Hall. For decades it was best known visiting his grandparents’ cabin in the Poconos.
for three components: a wide range of distinctive He admired the museum’s collections, including a
textiles, a library designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, first-rate assortment of textiles and costumes. He
and a collection of fourteenth to eighteenth century looked forward to working with eclectic, ambitious
paintings donated by a foundation devoted to bring- neighborhood associations. He envisioned exciting
ing art by big names to small places. opportunities within a new enterprise zone of offices,
16 17