Seventh Street Now

Ghost Bull Durham Sign Restored

noreply@blogger.com (petelewnes) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 20:42:00 +0000

Part of historic funkiness got restored this week on 7th Street. Along with repointing 601 N 7th's facade, we restored the old advertising "ghost" sign for Genuine Bull Durham which was pretty much faded away. 603 N 7th - the green and yellow checkerboard building is scheduled for a historic facelift next month!

getting started:

during priming of lettersalmost done
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ghost_sign

600 block facades under way

noreply@blogger.com (petelewnes) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:19:00 +0000

625 N 7th Street has gone from Drab...

to fab...Germania's Jeans Collection has opened and also undergone a facade transformation...our newest retailer is doing brisk business in the 600 block across the street from the Little Apple Market...stop by and check them out

Before and After: Rodriguez Check Cashing

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:52:00 +0000

What a difference a facade grant makes.

Pharmacy Coming to 7th Street

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:36:00 +0000

The neighborhood has been without a pharmacy ever since Rite Aid left the old Sears building at 602 N. 7th St. to return to Hamilton. Leaking and code problems, and not poor sales, forced the move. Rite Aid's 7th was reportedly among the busiest in the region.

Enter Allentown Pharmacy. The new drug store is set to open "soon" just down 7th, in part of the old Sears Auto Center, at 530 N. 7th St.

More details to come.

Seventh Street Receives $500,000 for Pedestrian Lighting Improvements

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:07:00 +0000

The Morning Callreports that the city of Allentown received a $499,100 award for pedestrian lighting improvements along Seventh Street.

Seventh Street Nativity Featured on Channel 69

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:39:00 +0000

WFMZ's cameras captured Seventh Street's St. Luke's Lutheran Church live nativity:

The story of Christmas was brought to life at an event in Allentown.
Folks were treated to a live nativity at St. Luke's Lutheran Church on 7th Street Sunday afternoon.
The display featured alpacas, goats and burros, that were all brought in from a local farm.
This is the first year the church put together the live nativity.

Banking Switch on Seventh Street

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 13:40:00 +0000

Welcome to Seventh Street, Wells Fargo. (Wachovia was, of course, acquired by Wells Fargo back in 2008, but only now is the Wachovia name getting phased out.)

Happy Day for Happy Garden Chinese Restaurant - 501 N 7th Street

noreply@blogger.com (donna m) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:50:00 +0000

3 weeks after a fire closed Happy Garden's doors, they are set to open for business again this Friday, Novemeber 19. Please let's help them celebrate their doors opening again and order some great Chinese food! Their number is 610-432-9330.

MAKING PEOPLE SCREAM? ACTORS NEEDED!

noreply@blogger.com (petelewnes) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 15:55:00 +0000

Haunted House Creator, Steve Whol has created yet another masterpiece in the haunted house world. He has built countless mazes of fright in the past that included thrills that chilled the soul. This time he has created one on 7th Street in Allentown, Pa, as part of the Day of the Dead Festivities.
Mastermind Steve is looking for actors to round out his cast of ghouls and unknown things that will bump in the dark. Actors need to be 18+ years old and unafraid to make people scream. Some acting experience preferred but not necessary. The fun will begin at 4pm and continue until 9pm.
If this is you, contact Kathleen Kapila for more information at kkapila@caclv.org or call her at 610-433-5703.
The Day of the Dead Festival is on October 30, 2010.

Two side-by-side facades underway on Seventh

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 01:03:00 +0000

A pair of adjacent, well-loved Seventh Street eateries---Winston's (619) and Ecua Atlantic Seafood (621)---have just begun their own facade makeovers. Now stripped of their homely siding, the two restaurants will get the full Peter Lewnes treatment over the next month or so.

Save the Date: Day of the Dead Festival on 7th coming October 30

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:19:00 +0000

Save the date for the first annual Day of The Dead Festival:

---Saturday Oct 30th from 5pm to 9pm.

Come celebrate this traditional festival where we pay tribute to our ancestors.

There will be a haunted house, vendors selling cool stuff, palm readers and spiritual advisors all along the street. We will have a salsa tasting, music, and lots of great food from the restaurants on 7th Street! Come join us and have some scary fun!

If you are a vendor and would like to reserve a spot - call Sharon Smith at 610-433-5703.

MetroPCS coming to long-vacant space at 529 N. Seventh

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:42:00 +0000

The mobile phone provider metroPCS is opening a store at 529 N. Seventh, between Liberty and Allen Streets. The space has been vacant (with the occasional temp agency) for the eight years I've lived off Seventh---one of the last vacant storefronts left on the three-block stretch from the 400 to 600 blocks of Seventh.

a doozy of a facade begins

noreply@blogger.com (petelewnes) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 03:32:00 +0000

here's the reason for the season...removing aluminum siding to find a building in pretty bad shape but why we help. In a couple of years, there wouldn't be a building left...this one will be our first painted lady.

Even I'm impressed

noreply@blogger.com (petelewnes) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:26:00 +0000

Here's a before and after that I'm thrilled with...we started doing some residential facades and have taken this one back to it's original historic splendor...we have about 10 done this year with 20 more to go...stay tuned folks:

MAXED OUT Planter Exhibition at The BAUM School of Art tonight

noreply@blogger.com (petelewnes) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:59:00 +0000

Following up on our successful planter project last year, 7th Street was able to find large concrete planters on sale at the end of the season. ANDA youth group partnered up with the BAUM School of Art and engaged help of kids from the St Luke's Neighborhood Center and Boys and Girls Club to create 8 new uber colorful mosaic planters.A team of volunteers will be planting today and the planters should be out by this weekend - if you'd like to help - and we can always use your help, please call Kathleen Kapila at 610-433-5703. The BAUM School is hosting a photo exhibition of this project starting Thursday, July 8 from 6-8 PM which is open to all.The planters will be placed in front of storefronts along the 7th Street corridor to continue the greening of 7th Street projects. Along with the 18 planters last year, 7th Street has planted 36 new shade trees and planted a kiosk garden near Little Apple Supermarket this year.Special thanks to Pennsylvania Partners of the Arts, KNBT Bank and PPL for providing funding for this project. To find out more on what's happening on 7th, look us up at http://www.7thstreetallentown.org/ or find us on facebook.

New, beautiful Kiosk Garden on Seventh!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:03:00 +0000

Since mid-June, the thousands of commuters and sidewalk-bound pedestrians have enjoyed the newest addition to Seventh Street: the Kiosk Garden. Vibrant flower beds, surrounded by wrought-iron enclosures--between the old Sears building and the Little Apple market on the 600 block. Enjoy...

Maxed Out Planter Project on 7th

noreply@blogger.com (petelewnes) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:22:00 +0000

Following up on our successful planter project last year, 7th Street was able to find large concrete planters on sale at the end of the season. ANDA youth group partnered up with the BAUM School of Art and engaged help of kids from the St Luke's Neighborhood Center and Boys and Girls Club to create 8 new uber colorful mosaic planters.

A team of volunteers will be planting today and the planters should be out by this weekend - if you'd like to help - and we can always use your help, please call Kathleen Kapila at 610-433-5703.

The BAUM School is hosting a photo exhibition of this project starting Thursday, July 8 from 6-8 PM which is open to all.

The planters will be placed in front of storefronts along the 7th Street corridor to continue the greening of 7th Street projects. Along with the 18 planters last year, 7th Street has planted 36 new shade trees and planted a kiosk garden near Little Apple Supermarket this year.

Special thanks to KNBT Bank and PPL for providing funding for this project. To find out more on what's happening on 7th, look us up at www.7thstreetallentown.org or find us on facebook.

Casa Latina Gets a New Sign

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:06:00 +0000

Check out the handsome second story banner-sign for Casa Latina--the excellent Dominican restaurant at 527 N. 7th Street.

Seventh Street Has a Twitter!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:09:00 +0000

You can follow Seventh Street at 7thStAllentown.

New Banners for Seventh Street

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:30:00 +0000

The new banners are up! Their vivid coloring is only partly captured by the photo; they must be seen in person.

7th Street Community Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:05:00 +0000

The kids and I had a fabulous time at the 7th Street Community Festival on Saturday. The festival, held in the St. Luke's Church parking lot, was well-attended. Snakes and rodents of unusual size were on display from the Lehigh Valley Zoo. Face-painting, a water tunnel, the requisite bouncy castle: It was all there.

Seventh Street Praised in Call Article

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 02:00:00 +0000

The Morning Call's story on the new Main Street manager for Hamilton Street cites Seventh Street as the city's model:

The Main Street program has proven successful on Allentown's Seventh Street, which earned the designation in 2006. The once-gritty corridor now is bustling with the business of shoppers and diners. Storefront vacancies went from 40 percent in 2005 to 5 percent today, said Peter Lewnes, manager of the Seventh Street Main Street program. In securing the program for Hamilton Street, officials hope to mimic that success.
"It is very critical to have somebody to market and push the downtown," Mayor Ed Pawlowski said after the news conference. "We have had individuals off and on being able to focus on the area from their citywide duties as well, but we have not had one concerted effort focusing on Hamilton Street in many years."

Progress on Happy Garden's New Sign: Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Pooley) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:41:00 +0000

Happy Garden, the excellent Chinese restaurant at Seventh and Liberty, is getting a new sign and street-level facade makeover. (The Liberty-facing brick paint and Seventh-facing upper-floor facade work was completed last year.)

A Tree Grows On Seventh Street

noreply@blogger.com (petelewnes) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:33:00 +0000

well actually there are many trees growing on 7th - there will be 36 more after this weekend and we can use your help.

In honor of Earth Day, 7th Street's committed volunteers will be planting Sugar Maples along the 500 and 600 blocks.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

noreply@blogger.com (petelewnes) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:49:00 +0000

...just bought a gorgeous over the top mirror from my favorite local store on 7th - For Your Decor at Community Place Antiques - stop in and see what Loretta Beasley has been picking up over the winter - 411 N 7th Street, 610-914-6423