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.

 

Phillipsburg's Soldiers & Sailors ...

“Freedom is the last best hope of earth.”

    ~ Abraham Lincoln

       ~ 1809 ~ 1865

~ 16^th President of the United States of America

           ~ 1861 ~ 1865

 

Its patriotic Americana at its finest as Old Glory billows in the summer breeze as valor is celebrated at the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument on a beautiful early July afternoon at Shappell Park, in the historic downtown of Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

 

The monument was erected in memory of the soldiers & sailors of Phillipsburg and vicinity who served in the Civil War 1861-1865.

 

Phillipsburg, a Delaware River Town, was established March 8, 1861 and named for William Phillips, an early settler of the area.

 

According to the Phillipsburg Historical Society, The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument was dedicated May 10, 1906 and stands at the apex or “point” of what was originally known as the “Town Lot” next to the Lovell School Building; known today as Shappell Park. The monument stands approximately 48 feet high and was built of “Barre Granite” quarried from Vermont at a cost of $5,500.00.

 

For more information on the monument visit http://www.phillipsburgnj.org/boards-commissions/historical-society/.