[VAXman(Admin)]

Originally Posted by Rick and Roll

No upset for me, much appreciated for the view! We have our industrial wastelands here also...esp near Allentown, home of Nearfest..hmm must be a connection

Wasteland! I was born in Allentown, PA in Allentown General Hospital (17th Street and Chew Street now called Lehigh Valley Hospital). I had numerous kidney biopsies there as well as spending the summer between my high school graduation and first year of college in traction there.

The area around Allentown is/was surrounded by farmland. There are some industrial centers (not really factories) and one of the largest employers of the area had been Western Electric (the folks that made ol' Ma Bell's telephone equipment). Western Electric's operation should properly be listed as Bethlehem.

The industry in the area isn't really in Allentown. There's a large industrial complex along the Rt.100 corridor in the Fogelsville/Trexlertown area. The largest producer of commercial gas supplies in the world -- Air Products and Chemicals (where I worked during High School in the computer room) and the Schaefer/Stroh's Brewery (where I also worked for a brief stint).
Kraft Foods also has a large presence in the area.

The only skyscraper that I knew growing up was the Pennslyvania Power and Light (PP&L) corp. building in Allentown on Hamilton. It is modeled after the Empire State Bldg. Most of Allentown is comprised of beautiful parks which were the brainchild of Harry Trexler. You can Wiki both Allentown and Harry Trexlet for more info. I'll take you to Cedar and Trexler parks if you attend NEARfest and have some time.


Allentown is NOT the morbid industrial town that Billy Joel described in his song... perhaps he should have visited Allentown before penning his song.