Walkin' around Caty

Hey, it's a fact. We look better when the sun is setting. You probably do too (god, I hope so). Today we decided to take a walk around Catasauqua (hereon known as Caty), our new hometown, and look at the cool old homes dotted around the neighborhood. Back in the 1860's, and thru the early 1900's, this town was a seriously happenin' spot. Some of the wealthiest folks of the Industrial Revolution made camp in town, and their way-big mansions are still standing, as are some of their old industries (something we'll see in a later post).


This is a cool old church that's been turned into a home.
Check out this wacky place. We live on the top floor. Dang!
"Is our picture gonna be in the newspaper?" they asked. I frickin' hope not!
This is our block...

Tie up yer horse here
The basement of this church is the town library.

David Thomas and his son moved to Caty in 1839, and less than one year later, on July 4, 1840, the first successful anthracite iron furnace in the United States began operation, and the Industrial Revolution began.Check out their house(above).
There are about 167,000 churches within 2 blocks of us. This is only one of them. I think it's for sale. Actually, so is this awesome old home that's been turned into apts.
Couple of good examples of 100-140 year old houses still keepin' people dry (or warm, or cool).

This (below) is by far the largest house in town. The guy who built it was an Austrian fella named D. George Dery who created a vast industrial empire based around silk mills that he built in the area.( We'll take a look at his original Mill later this week.) The section you see is only about a third of the place. The original three-story colonial structure was expanded and enlarged until it disappeared entirely. A long, south wing was added to the house as an art gallery. Elegant porticos with delicate fluted columns and ornate pilasters added a touch of neo-classical grace. Equipped with a library and astronomical observatory, it also contained a large ballroom and indoor swimming pool. Modeled after the palaces the very rich built for themselves at Newport, R.I., it was a home worthy of a man of wide interests and social connections. Naturally he lost it all...
Not sure what the deal-e-o is, but I dig this house.

We got some old, OLD sidewalks in town! See ya next time
LELKO