Fire-scarred Allentown building rich in history

Community hoping ‘architectural treasure’ can be saved.

By: Rob Heyman
   ALLENTOWN — To visitors who have walked or driven through the borough over the years, the building at 9 N. Main St. was just another downtown structure snuggled among many along the street. Today, the building is hard to ignore.
   The front door is boarded shut. The second-floor windows are hollow and scarred by fire and most of the roof is no longer there. The fire on Dec. 22 left a darkened and battered landscape of wood on the second floor that can be easily seen through the upstairs windows, thanks to sunlight now pouring through the open roof.
   "I just cried," said C.J. Mugavero, owner of the Artful Deposit fine arts gallery on Church Street, when she heard about what happened to the building.
   "It was such an amazing structure," she said.
   And one with considerable history in the borough.
   At 97 years old, it is one of the oldest buildings in Allentown. Over the past century, it had been home to many businesses and shops, most notably, a Farmers National Bank. It had been recently providing office space for McBee Payroll and Burke Court Reporting.
   The building was constructed in 1906 as the new location for the Farmers National Bank of Allentown. The bank was originally located in a brick structure at 29 N. Main St., but a strong growth in business during the previous 19 years made a new, more adequate building necessary. Existing houses on the property were removed and the new building was completed in March 1906.
   Farmers National remained in the building for over 50 years and continued to thrive as it served the banking needs of the community. Louise Steelman, 77, who worked as a secretary for the bank, said the one thing she remembers about the bank building was its tall teller’s cage, which was enclosed to provide protection against bank robbers.
   One noted robbery at the bank occurred on March 22, 1951. According to historical accounts, two men driving a black sedan with a New York license entered the bank around 12:30 p.m.
   Cashier Harold Smith and teller Donald Peppler were at the bank window at the time. The robbers quickly entered the bank, ordered the men to open the door leading to cash drawers and to lie down and cover their faces. Ms. Steelman, who lives on South Main Street, was working the day of the robbery and had just gotten back from lunch when it happened.
   "I heard a ruckus and went to see what was happening," she recalled. "Harold Smith was on the floor and there was a man holding a gun over him. Another guy was getting money. They then ran out and got about $10,000 from it."
   "No one was hurt, but it was kind of scary," she added.
   Despite a State Police dragnet thrown around the area minutes after the robbery, the bandits made a successful getaway.
   Ms. Steelman stayed with the bank after it moved to its new location at 40 N. Main St. in 1957 and when it became, through a merger, The Central Jersey Bank and Trust Co. in 1963. She is currently retired.
   Seeing the damage to the original bank building, she said, makes her "very sad."
   "It looks terrible," Ms. Steelman said. "There’s a lot of damage. The windows are just blown out."
   Residents may also recall that the building was once the original location for the Artful Deposit fine arts gallery.
   Ms. Mugavero said she had spent two months searching for a location for the shop in 1986 before choosing the old Farmers Bank building.
   "I walked in and said, ‘that was it,’" she said. "It was so conducive to a fine arts gallery," she added, pointing to its Italianate architecture, oak windows — not to mention the abundance of space.
   "At the time, the building was empty and it had just been renovated," Ms. Mugavero said.
   Ms. Mugavero used the first floor as a fine arts gallery and a second room upstairs as feature exhibition space. She said if it wasn’t the gallery visitors were coming to see, it was the building itself.
   "It was like having an exquisite sculpture in the middle of Allentown," she said. "It was a beautiful structure. The oak work is truly magnificent."
   A resident of Bordentown City, Ms. Mugavero has since relocated her gallery to 1 Church St. and opened two other shops — one in Bordentown City and another in Burlington City.
   Up until last week’s fire, the building was providing office space for McBee Payroll and Burke Court Reporting. McBee had been using the building for two years and Burke Court Reporting had been there since May, according to Borough Clerk Lorene Wright.
   John Burke, owner of Burke Court Reporting, which had office space on the second floor, said his offices are "fully back in operation" across the street at 3 South Main St. His company was originally based in Voorhees before moving into space at the Farmers Bank Building.
   Because less than 50 percent of the building was damaged by the fire, Borough Councilman Dave Strobino said there’s a good chance it can be restored to its original condition. The fire was confined primarily to the second floor, with the first floor receiving only water damage.
   
   Chief Jeremy Wikoff of the Hope Fire Company said Monday the fire appears to have been "accidental," according to information he received from the county fire investigators. Calls to the Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office, which was investigating the blaze, were not returned this week.
   "The building can be saved," Mr. Strobino said.
   That’s good news, said John Fabiano, vice chairman of the Allentown Historic Preservation Review Commission.
   "I hope it can be saved," he said. "It is a real architectural treasure and a focal point for the town and its history. Any efforts to renovate and preserve the building would be appreciated by anyone concerned about the historical character of the town."
   Since the building is privately owned, Mr. Fabiano said any restoration work would depend on what its owners are willing to do. The building is owned by Todd Grant of East Brunswick.
   Mr. Strobino said the borough’s focus the past week has been ensuring its structural strength and reopening Waker Avenue, which was closed in the vicinity of the building following the fire.