A Corner Of History ...

 “I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past.”

    ~ Walt Disney

     ~ 1901 ~ 1966

 

The historic Hotel Belvidere, built in 1831, in the scenic town of Belvidere, New Jersey on a beautiful mid-October afternoon. I presented the image in sepia to enhance the nostalgic mood.

 

This frame establishment on the corner of Front and Hardwick Streets was originally built as a store and dwelling in 1831 by Chapman Warner, uncle of S. T. Scranton. It was known as “Belvidere House” and the corner room, which became a bar room, was the store portion. Mr. Warner also kept a lumberyard in connection with its store, now “Hotel Belvidere,” which has been recently refurbished with hardwood floors, tumbled marble bathrooms with traditional furnishings and modern amenities. It is family-owned & operated.

 

A Delaware River Town, Belvidere, one of my very favorite places, was established April 7, 1845 and is a charming Victorian town located on the banks of the Pequest and Delaware Rivers. The town’s name means “beautiful to see” in Italian.

 

George Washington traveled through Belvidere at 10 a.m. July 26, 1782 on his way to camp at Morristown.

 

For more information on Hotel Belvidere visit https://hotelbelviderenj.com/.

Retro Rail ...

“I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past.”

                ~ Walt Disney

                  ~ 1901 ~ 1966

The Brass Rail sign beckons people to stop in for a cocktail at the Lehigh Street location of the iconic restaurant that has been a longtime staple of the culinary landscape in Allentown, Pennsylvania on a June evening in 2013.

Sadly, The Brass Rail, which opened on Lehigh Street in 1961, shut its doors in June 2022. An Allentown tradition for 91 years, the eatery’s original location on Hamilton Street in downtown Allentown opened in 1931 and closed in 2001.

Founded by Phil Sorrentino, The Brass Rail, known especially for its cheesesteaks, was run by generations of the Sorrentino family and will be missed.

 

Steakin' Out The South Side ...

“I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past.”

      ~ Walt Disney

       ~ 1901-1966

“Family Owned Since 1940” is declared on the distinctive flatiron-shaped building that is home to Zandy’s Steak Shop, a staple on the South Side of Allentown, Pennsylvania that has been serving up tasty steak sandwiches, cheesesteaks, sausage sandwiches, french fries, pierogies and so much more for 81 years.

I captured this HDR shot of this mainstay at 813 St. John Street on an early May afternoon and presented the image in sepia to enhance the nostalgic mood. Prior to housing Zandy’s, the building used to be a movie theatre.

 

History Hops ...

“I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past.”

            ~ Walt Disney

             ~1901-1966

The historic Neuweiler Brewery is soaked in spring sunshine on an April afternoon in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

 

I presented the image in sepia to enhance the nostalgic mood.

 

Also known as Germania Brewery, Neuweiler’s is an historic brewery complex built between 1911 & 1913, and consists of the office building, brew house, stock house, pump house, wash house, chemistry lab building, boiler room, bottling house, garage, fermenting cellar and smokestack with the name “Neuweiler” on it. The office building is a two-story, brick and granite building. The remaining buildings in the complex are built of brick. The brew house stands six-stories, and has a copper hipped roof with cupola. The stock house is a long, narrow four-story building. The brewery closed in 1968.

 

Today, although the buildings have been vacant and/or underutilized since the brewery’s closing, the towering structure and copper cupola atop the brew house has been an iconic part of the city’s skyline for nearly 100 years, symbolizing Allentown’s rich industrial history.

Neuweiler’s was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The site is currently listed on Preservation Pennsylvania’s “Pennsylvania at Risk” list.

 

Unfortunately, the structure has fallen into disrepair and has been vandalized with graffiti. Hopefully, it will be redeveloped and returned to its former glory.

 

Thanks to Neuweiler’s, history really “hops” in Allentown!