A stroll down Allen Street takes you back in time in State College, though the ‘heart of downtown’

It is the only the second week of classes at Penn State University Park. I walked downtown State College with a friend mid-week, and we were stopped at the corner of Allen and College waiting the for the light to change. Students with backpacks were navigating the busy corner and marched up the hill as far as the eye can see. We crossed over Allen Street and into Irving’s, a collegey place with an industrial interior walls painted black. The bagel shop was packed with mostly female students standing, sitting, waiting for their order. I quickly masked up, following my friend’s lead. We both bought heavy sacks of bagels for the road and for the hungry mouths at home.

Walking south, there was still a lot of foot traffic in both directions. Not just students, but middle aged men, young adults and the occasional stroller parent. Dr. Mindy Fullilove, a psychiatrist turned an urban sociologist, defines Main Street as “an uninterrupted public thoroughfare passing through the heart of downtown.” This seems like the definition of Allen Street.

We have been given a great legacy. The gift of our city has been built brick by brick, layer upon layer for more than 100 years by those who came before us. Old streets like ours are successful because, well, because of the barber shop (now Rinaldo’s) which has been a barber for as long as Mayor Ron Filippelli can remember, the shingles for the flower shop, the optician, and Woodring’s flower shop. Yes, it sounds like a page from the children’s picture book (remember Richard Scarry’s “Busytown”?)

“Allen is Main Street,” Jon Eich, a former county commissioner noted. “We have the largest concentration of small businesses this side of Harrisburg.” From the Allen Street Gates, to The Corner Room, the barber pole at Rinaldo’s and the funky Freeze Thaw orange and green awning — Allen Street has Main Street character.

The great Jane Jacobs, a champion of cities, wrote that cities need mixed uses and a variety of set backs and entrances and exits. Downtown has changed over the years but certain establishments remain and bring people back. Commerce needs foot traffic. It could be an institution like The Corner Room.

Like many people I talked to who have lived here a long time, Mayor Filippelli has other memories of Allen Street and places.

“Centre Hardware, where Schlow library is now, was the Lowe’s of our town,” he said. “Everyone came downtown to shop at Centre Hardware.” People’s bank, now First National, was under the big clock. Filippelli called The Corner Room a “sacred place.” I asked State College resident Dan Yoon if he had any memories of The Corner Room because I he knew he had worked there since he was a State High. Here’s what Dan said in an email reply:

“The Corner Room was a special place for me as I had worked there for 4 and a half years. As a freshman at Penn State to my early adulthood. I spent the majority of my week and weekends serving all kinds of people. Students, alumni, Townies, etc. I had many fond memories, but to me what stuck out the most were my the memories I shared with my fellow employees and management staff. The night crew were usually part-time college students like myself, while the morning crew were the long time established members who had been there for years and years. Although the ages varied greatly The Corner Room staff felt like a big family at times and made work much more enjoyable even on the busiest of weekends. I remember on summer days where work was slow we would send someone to get Rita’s shaved ice for the staff down the street for all of the employees and being able to laugh and pass the time together.”

The Allen Street Gates

“I remember,” former borough councilman Peter Morris said, “the man at the shoe store would store our signs.” I asked Peter, why protest at the gates? Why not at Old Main or the library? He answered, “Because people see you at the gates.” Morris recalled a time when he was protesting the Afghan war and a woman asked him why he wasn’t supporting our troops. He answered her that in his mind he was. Somewhere during that conversation, they had a meeting of the minds, he said.

“She walked away feeling we were all human beings.”

Through the years there have been protests on Allen Street Gates about everything: the Vietnam War, social justice, Iraq and Afghan wars and more recently, the police killings of George Floyd and Osaze Osagie. For some residents, the Allen Street Gates symbolize free speech.

“A protest is a very Main Street idea,” Fullilove says. Like most of University Park campus, the Allen Street Gates are a free-speech zone, where students can gather and protest and parade. People see and are seen there.

Mid-morning is a busy time at Schlow Centre Region Library. Families with young children milled about the entrance as we walked by.

“The library is our greatest cultural asset,” said borough councilwoman Theresa Lafer. Why?

“It provides children, school-age programs, adult literacy, social interactions for seniors like games and meeting space for chess clubs and knitting. The library gives community access to government resources for housing, jobs and social action.”

Well said.

Nooks and crannies

I like nooks and crannies. Our first house was a Dutch Colonial style two-story built during the depression. Built at a time when middle-class families had domestic servants. The best feature according to my son, Scott, were the narrow backstairs. The children called it the secret staircase, and preferred it to the main staircase. Calder Alley is a bit like that. It’s my favorite Alley, although it’s no secret. This summer the downtown improvement district had several events including movie nights and funky lighting to highlight the murals. The other side of Calder still look like a service alley, which in fact it is.

Artist Elody Gyekis and Natalie Pilato, both members of the Penn State Class of 2009, were art students when they began work on “Dreams take Flight,” the dazzling mural that breathes life into alley around the corner from McLanahan’s grocery. About 200 people were involved in the brainstorming process. The two artists even organized a children’s poetry contest where poems were painted into the murals. “Dreams Take Flight” depicts changing seasons and symbols of Penn State such as a Holstein cow, an energy-efficient light bulb (sustainability), and other signs of transformation like wings and butterflies. Ultimately, over 500 people from Penn State and the community were involved in painting the mural, using paint by numbers.

“In public art, we are channeling the community,” Gyekis said. She sees her artwork as bridging Penn State and community. She called the process of making the murals (there are a lot) “waves of passionate involvement.”

Watching a city change over 13 years as I have, gives me a perspective of the rearview mirror. Hey, I didn’t really love the Arby’s. I never ate there, but now I miss it. The huge building that’s taken its place doesn’t engage me. To me, it’s a lot of concrete steps and glass. I am tempted to look past it like a blank wall. As I write this, another apartment building that occupied a full city block and had large storefronts facing College Avenue is replacing a motley set of older homes and businesses.

Let’s face it. We are a transient community. Two-thirds of State College residents are students and a quarter of our student population changes every year. Faculty and staff have more longevity but many too are transient. So we have to meet people where they are. Gyekis no longer lives in State College, as she recently bought land in Coburn.

“It is difficult to sustain the waves of passionate involvement it took to paint the Dreams take Flight mural. Assistant professors left, students moved on,” she said.

After we bought the bagels, my friend and I walked over to nearby Sidney Friedman Park, passing a painted book bench featuring more Holstein cows designed by Gyekis (also painted by community members). We decided to sit under the park shelter. A man approached us in a motorized wheelchair. His speech was slow. My friend bent over to get closer and hear him better. His name was Lewis and he lives in Spring Mills. He had come to town for a haircut. He took out a business card that read Allenway Barber. Studying his silver-grey close-cropped hair, I told him it looked nice. He smiled full on and I offered him a cinnamon raisin bagel. He accepted, but what he really wanted to know: Where is McDonald’s?

How to get involved in downtown State College

• If you live here, you are a resident! Own your Main Street and help set the vision for downtown. Show up for LION bash on Thursday Allen Street from 5-9 p.m.: https://www.statecollegepa.us/298/Living-in-One-Neighborhood-LION
• Does your town have a Main Street? What are your memories and experiences on Allen Street? Send your poems, songs, love letters or comments to Allen Street to: edityourallenstreet@gmail.com
• The borough has just announced a partnership with the Woskob gallery for a mural project. Vote for your favorite! https://pa-statecollege-gettingstarted.app.transform.civicplus.com/forms/23661