Macungie: Lockridge Furnace Bluebells (May 2018)
Lock Ridge Park is
a park built around a historic iron ore blast furnace. The
park preserves portions of the former Lock Ridge Iron Works. The first furnace
at the site was built in 1868 by the Lock Ridge Iron Company, on the line of
the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad near its junction with the East
Pennsylvania Railroad. The company was taken over the next year by the Thomas
Iron Company, and a second furnace put in blast shortly thereafter. The iron
industry in the Lehigh Valley was then flourishing, and the Lock Ridge furnaces
(designated No. 7 and No. 8 by Thomas Iron) were typical of the time. They used
a hot blast to burn anthracite fuel (rather than the hitherto common charcoal)
a technology brought to the United States by the company's founder, David
Thomas, in 1839. However, by the early 20th century, the furnaces were, despite
sporadic improvements, technologically out-of-date, and were reputedly the last
anthracite iron furnaces to operate in the United States. President B.F.
Fackenthal, of Thomas Iron, recommended they be decommissioned upon his
resignation in 1913.
However, Fackenthal's successor, Ralph Sweetser, pursued
the opposite course. No. 8 furnace stack was rebuilt in 1914, and No. 7 the
following year. Concurrently, anthracite was replaced by coke as a fuel for the
furnaces. However, modernization was not enough to save the Lock Ridge
furnaces, and iron was last made there in 1921.
The furnaces were sold to William Butz, who dismantled
most of the buildings for scrap iron and lumber. However, the masonry
structures were allowed to remain, albeit in a decayed condition. The slag
dumps on the property were crushed, screened, and used for roofing and fill by
the Lehigh Slag Company until 1958. Little-used since the closing of the
furnaces, the Catasauqua and Fogelsville's line through the site was torn up in
the 1940s. With industrial operations on the property long complete, it was
donated by the Butz family to Lehigh County for use as a park.
New York City (May 2018)
My spouse and I
visited New York City for a weekend in late May 2018. Our focus was to see
Denzel Washington in Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh”, but we also managed
to arrange a mini family get-together that weekend as well. Unfortunately, I
had a terrible cold, making us cancel both our lunch and dinner plans on
Saturday. Instead, we picked up some takeout from Schnippers Quality Kitchen
for lunch, and later went next door to Wolfgang’s Steakhouse for a bite in the
evening (rather than go to the big multi-course tasting dinner at Aquavit that
we had anticipated). Feeling a bit better the next day, we joined relatives for
a family-style Chinese lunch at DaDong. It was a shame that we couldn’t go
through with all our plans, but we did accomplish enough of them to make the
weekend a success.
Hotel:
Hotel:
- Hampton Inn Times Square Central Link to my review
- Schnippers Quality Kitchen Link to my review
- Wolfgang's Steakhouse Link to my review
- DaDong Link to my review
- The Iceman Cometh (with Denzel Washington) Link to my review
New York City: Hampton Inn Times Square Central (May 2018)
My spouse and I stayed at the Hampton Inn Times Square Central for one
night on a Saturday evening in late May 2018. We reserved our room online using
the Hilton HHonors website, and we remitted Hilton points for a complimentary
stay. Although we were offered the option to check in online the day prior to
our stay, we declined.
The Hampton Inn Times Square Central opened in June 2015 on West 41st Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) in Midtown, just one block from
the Port Authority bus terminal (which also offers vehicle parking and subway
stops). This property is centrally located to many tourist areas such as Times
Square, Broadway theatres, shops and restaurants, and Bryant Park. It is a few
blocks walk to Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building,
and Macy’s Herald Square.
The hotel offers a 32nd floor rooftop observation deck,
complimentary buffet breakfast (or alternately, a grab-and-go weekday breakfast
bag), fitness center, private meeting space for 12 people, and a pantry shop (where
you can purchase drinks, snacks, forgotten items, and souvenirs). Local artwork
and photographs decorate the public spaces. This newer hotel features what
Hampton Inn calls its “Perfect Mix Lobby”, which has seating and lighting
options for both business and vacation travelers.
The Hampton Inn Times Square Central offers 300 rooms in several
categories: King, Two Doubles, King City View, or Two Doubles City View. Room
amenities include complimentary Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, coffee makers, safes (that
fit a laptop), irons/ironing boards, and clock radios. Bathrooms include
oversize walk-in showers (most do not have a traditional bathtub/shower
combination), hairdryers, and toiletries (soap, shampoo, conditioner, body
lotion).
Although we booked a king room, when we checked in early, only double-bedded
rooms were available, so we accepted one. Our room was cozy, with a
closed/desk/TV unit located opposite the beds, and a bathroom with a sliding
door next to one of them. The bathroom itself was a good size, larger than some
we have seen in the city. Although our room was located directly across from
the elevator bank (with three elevators), it was quiet and we did not hear any
hallway noise. But it was on the smaller size, the beds were doubles instead of
queens, and the odd location of the bathroom door was bothersome and did not
provide maximum privacy. (Positioned at the middle of the floor near the
elevators, we think that our room was a bit smaller than some others and also
that our bathroom door was in an alternate location than in other rooms, but we
cannot say for sure.)
Our stay at the Hampton Inn Time Square Central was acceptable, but we
prefer alternate Hilton-branded locations in the same area for similar cost.
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