Category:Hotel Traylor
Hotel Traylor, located at 1444 West Hamilton Street in Allentown, was built in 1917 by Samuel Traylor. Traylor kept his office there and also lived there in the later years of his life. In 1945 Traylor retired to his home in Florida and passed away in 1947.
At the hotel's opening on 26 August 1917, Traylor signed the guest book as its first guest. The structure of the building, in the form of three Ls, was praised for its openness to air and light, a concern in its pre-air conditioning era. The second, third and fourth floors were divided into apartments, one of which was Traylor's. A private entrance on the 15th street side gave him access to his apartment. The fifth floor had 41 rooms for hotel guests. The lobby was decorated with expensive carpets, potted palms and Tiffany lighting fixtures. A separate writing room with wicker chairs was located off the lobby in the central wing.
However, it was the sixth floor of the hotel that attracted the most attention. On the east wing was a large dining room, dance floor and social hall. The center wing was occupied by a kitchen and private banquet room with accommodations for 150. The west wing contained a glass-enclosed summer restaurant. Above the restaurant was a roof garden abounding in ferns and palms,, from where visitors could view the city of Allentown.
In 1929, the hotel was expanded with a fourth wing added on the east side of the hotel. Although the wing was designed, as was the rest of the hotel, by Allentown architects Rhue and Lange, it was Traylor himself who supervised the work, as he had with the original construction in 1917. The fourth wing gave the hotel a total of 228 rooms, and about 100 of those were designed as apartments. The front of the hotel lobby was also re-designed into the form of a long corridor that extended the length of the building. To the left was the "Spanish" style lounge. Beyond the hotel office and main desk were the main dining room and coffee shop. It was furnished in the style of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. The sixth floor main banquet room had been remodeled into an ocean liner theme, known as the "S. S. Traylor". Traylor contracted with RCA in New York City to install a radio in every room, which in 1929, was state-of-the-art technology.
The fourth wing was designed to be nine floors, rather than six, which appears on postcards and the design drawings of the hotel at the time. Traylor also planned on building a parking deck, unique for 1929 behind the hotel to replace the open parking lot. However, with the stock market crash of 1929, the fourth wing was limited to six floors and the parking deck was never built due to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In its early to mid-20th-century heyday, the Hotel Traylor was popular with prominent visitors to the city, including ex-president William Howard Taft, conductor and composer John Philip Sousa, baseball great Babe Ruth and movie star Joan Crawford. Traylor's son, William, ran the hotel for many years. In the 1950s, a more modern bar and lounge was added. In 1960, the "Texas Room" was added to the lounge, which steaks, other meats and lobsters were charcoal broiled in front of the guests by a chef. The hotel also made a number of changes in the early 1960s, making commercial office space available for local business organizations, and converting 20 of its rental apartments to permanent leased type. It also developed 18 of what were called CONEX apartments, which were flexible in size, primarily for business executives which would be moving into Allentown and needed temporary housing for their families. It retained 123 nightly guest rooms for travelers along with its dining room and cocktail lounge.
By the late 1960s, however, the hotel was losing money prodigiously due to competition from suburban motels like the George Washington Motor Lodge or Quality Inn. At those facilities, corporations especially planning sales meetings or corporate conferences could use ground-floor banquet rooms to set up various displays and other assets much easier, and the access to road links like the Lehigh Valley Thruway meant not having to navigate large trucks into downtown Allentown. Facilities such as the Hotel Traylor or Americus Hotel meant moving all the equipment and other aspects up elevators, and there was limited parking for visitors in the downtown hotels.
The hotel was in general operation, renting rooms for travelers until January 1968, when the hotel was sold by the William Traylor Estate to the Lehigh Valley Hotel Corporation, which was a group of Allentown businessmen who joined together to purchase the hotel from the Traylor family. The new owners closed features such as the Jade, Sphinx, Sky Terrace Rose and Gold banquet rooms and converted them into office space due to the lack of convention business. Eventually 40,000 square feet had been renovated and leased out for office space. The number of hotel rooms was also reduced from 123 to 60, although the permanent and CONEX apartments were retained. The hotel ended all of its food service and catering business in 1972 when it's coffee shop and restaurants were closed. However the restaurant and lounge in the 1929 annex remained open, although it was operated by a private firm which leased it from the hotel.
The hotel desk was closed in 1977 which subsequently ended its use as a hotel. With the closure of the desk, the former hotel rooms were converted into 20 apartments, 10 efficiencies for long-term leases and 43 single rooms for short-term lease, however the restaurant inside the hotel's annex remained open.
In 1979, the hotel was sold to Harold G Fulmer III, who operated the hotel as a combination office building and apartment complex. The restaurant changed operators over the years as well, but remained open. However, by the 1990s, the hotel began to become run down and became less and less desirable with the Allentown Police responding to calls at the hotel frequently. The commercial office space continued to be leased, however it was also becoming less and less desirable for use by professionals.
The Traylor was again sold in November 2007 to Joe Clark, owner of the "Crocodile Rock" nightclub. Clark began renting out the single rooms with longer than 30-day leases, effectively turning it into a rooming house. Shortly afterward the restaurant, by then known as "Harry's Bar" was ordered shut in December 2007 by a Lehigh County judge due to the large amount of criminal activity taking place in it. The City of Allentown sued Clark, stating that operating it as a rooming house was in violation of the city's zoning laws. Clark subsequently filed for bankruptcy, and the hotel was again taken over by Fulmer in December 2008.
In February 2009, Fulmer again sold the property, this time to David Bodnar and James Baiman, a Philadelphia group who promised to renovate and improve the building. In recent years, the interior of the building has been modernized and the facility has been turned into professional offices, commercial office space and long-term apartments for lease. It remains, however, a frequent location for Allentown Police Department response calls.
Media in category "Hotel Traylor"
The following 124 files are in this category, out of 124 total.
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1907 - Samuel W Traylor - Allentown PA.jpg 965 × 1,400; 133 KB
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1917 - Hotel Traylor - 13 Jul Leader - Allentown PA.jpg 1,482 × 2,325; 421 KB
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1917 - Hotel Traylor - 18 May Leader - Allentown PA.jpg 657 × 1,537; 232 KB
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1917 - Hotel Traylor - 3 Sep MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,942 × 2,800; 1.09 MB
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1917 - Hotel Traylor Construction - Allentown PA.jpg 1,400 × 989; 156 KB
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1917 - Hotel Traylor Newspaper Ad Allentown PA.jpg 1,053 × 506; 95 KB
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1917 - Hotel Traylor Trade Card Allentown PA.jpg 1,100 × 698; 154 KB
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1920 - Hotel Traylor - 31 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,691 × 1,731; 367 KB
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1920 - Hotel Traylor Advertisement.jpg 402 × 902; 101 KB
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1921 - Hotel Traylor - 31 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,621 × 2,473; 646 KB
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1922 - Hotel Traylor - Envelope - Allentown PA.jpg 1,400 × 775; 268 KB
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1922 - Hotel Traylor - Room Envelope - Allentown PA.jpg 1,400 × 768; 237 KB
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1923 - Hotel Traylor - Stationery - Allentown PA.jpg 1,076 × 1,400; 366 KB
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1925 - Hotel Traylor.jpg 1,561 × 1,009; 595 KB
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1926 - Hotel Traylor - 31 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,045 × 1,625; 318 KB
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1926 - Menu Hotel Traylor - Allentown PA.jpg 2,187 × 2,954; 871 KB
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1928 - Hotel Traylor - 31 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,001 × 1,145; 228 KB
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1929 - Allentown Hotel Traylor.jpg 1,500 × 928; 380 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 1 - Allentown PA.jpg 4,188 × 2,888; 2.25 MB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 10 - Allentown PA.jpg 1,585 × 1,329; 557 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 11 - Allentown PA.jpg 1,570 × 2,034; 563 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 12 - Allentown PA.jpg 1,571 × 1,300; 408 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 2 - Allentown PA.jpg 1,051 × 1,596; 535 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 3 - Allentown PA.jpg 2,077 × 2,577; 950 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 4 - Allentown PA.jpg 1,046 × 1,366; 251 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 5 - Allentown PA.jpg 2,049 × 1,609; 925 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 6 - Allentown PA.jpg 1,553 × 1,293; 362 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 7 - Allentown PA.jpg 1,589 × 1,437; 689 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 8 - Allentown PA.jpg 2,093 × 1,645; 1,019 KB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Oct MC 9 - Allentown PA.jpg 2,085 × 1,697; 1.14 MB
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1929 - Hotel Traylor. - 26 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,565 × 1,309; 372 KB
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1929 - Milk Bottle Lid - Hotel Traylor - Allentown PA.jpg 994 × 985; 315 KB
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1929 - Queen City Milk Co. - 26 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,598 × 2,420; 582 KB
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1930 - Hotel Traylor.jpg 1,200 × 786; 301 KB
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1930 Hotel Traylor Manager and Staff.jpg 686 × 822; 139 KB
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1931 - Hotel Traylor - 31 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,005 × 1,053; 168 KB
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1931 - Hotel Traylor Main Enterance - Allentown PA.jpg 766 × 971; 114 KB
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1932 - Dance Card - Hotel Traylor - Allentown PA.jpg 633 × 613; 136 KB
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1932 - Hotel Traylor - 15 Sep MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,489 × 2,241; 593 KB
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1932 - Hotel Traylor - 31 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 941 × 726; 129 KB
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1932 - Hotel Traylor - Dance Card - Allentown PA.jpg 633 × 613; 136 KB
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1932 - Hotel Traylor - Envelope - Allentown PA.jpg 980 × 551; 188 KB
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1932 - Hotel Traylor Envelope - Allentown PA.jpg 1,400 × 788; 364 KB
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1933 - Hotel Traylor - Business Envelope - Allentown PA.jpg 980 × 551; 191 KB
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1935 - Hotel Traylor - 25 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 988 × 706; 137 KB
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1935 - Hotel Traylor Luggage Forwarding Label - Allentown PA.jpg 1,495 × 902; 329 KB
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1935 - Hotel Traylor.jpg 1,274 × 811; 342 KB
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1936 - Hotel Traylor - 15 Mar MC - Allentown PA.jpg 3,788 × 4,875; 2.05 MB
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1936 - Hotel Traylor - Postczard - Allentown PA.jpg 1,478 × 929; 488 KB
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1937 - Hotel Traylor - 16 Jan MC - Allentown PA.jpg 960 × 1,397; 221 KB
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1938 - Hotel Traylor - 17 Sep MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,411 × 1,201; 222 KB
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1938 - Hotel Traylor - 27 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,413 × 1,365; 359 KB
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1938 - Hotel Traylor - 31 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 934 × 784; 120 KB
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1938 - Hotel Traylor - 8 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 961 × 1,177; 221 KB
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1939 - Hotel Traylor - 31 Jan MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,896 × 1,836; 390 KB
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1939 - Hotel Traylor - 4 Mar MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,425 × 937; 215 KB
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1939 - Hotel Traylor 30 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,411 × 1,391; 311 KB
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1940 - Hotel Traylor - 10 Apr MC - Allentown PA.jpg 930 × 323; 57 KB
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1940 - Hotel Traylor - 28 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,461 × 1,876; 516 KB
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1940 - Hotel Traylor Restaurant Ad - 10 Aug MC - Allentown PA.jpg 925 × 1,125; 181 KB
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1941 - Hotel Traylor - 17 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 927 × 1,238; 216 KB
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1941 - Hotel Traylor - 6 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 926 × 1,337; 233 KB
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1941 - Hotel Traylor - 8 Mar MC - Allentown PA.jpg 921 × 1,154; 211 KB
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1942 - Hotel Traylor - 12 Jun MC - Allentown PA.jpg 969 × 1,341; 226 KB
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1942 - Hotel Traylor - 14 Nov MC - Allentown PA.jpg 956 × 1,363; 220 KB
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1942 - Hotel Traylor - 9 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 960 × 1,352; 213 KB
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1943 - Blotter - Hotel Traylor - Allentown PA.jpg 1,199 × 656; 128 KB
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1943 - Hotel Traylor - 24 Nov MC - Allentown PA.jpg 960 × 891; 123 KB
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1945 - Hotel Traylor - 22 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 928 × 953; 159 KB
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1946 - Hotel Traylor - 9 Mar MC - Allentown PA.jpg 920 × 1,136; 227 KB
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1946 - Hotel Traylor - Stationary - Allentown PA.jpg 1,038 × 1,400; 330 KB
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1946 - Hotel Traylor- 4 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 925 × 697; 115 KB
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1947 - Hotel Traylor - 20 Sep MC - Allentown PA.jpg 850 × 767; 109 KB
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1948 - Hotel Traylor - 12 Jun MC - Allentown PA.jpg 956 × 791; 135 KB
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1948 - Hotel Traylor Restaurant - 25 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 925 × 744; 128 KB
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1950 - Hotel Traylor - 13 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 946 × 901; 161 KB
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1950 - Hotel Traylor.jpg 1,100 × 669; 227 KB
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1951 - Hotel Traylor - 21 Nov MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,305 × 1,361; 295 KB
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1952 - Hotel Traylor - 28 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,831 × 2,431; 653 KB
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1953 - Hotel Traylor - 13 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 943 × 1,381; 215 KB
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1953 - Hotel Traylor - 21 Jun MC - Allentown PA.jpg 941 × 1,388; 191 KB
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1953 - Hotel Traylor - 22 Feb MC - Allentown PA.jpg 846 × 1,346; 210 KB
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1953 - Hotel Traylor - 24 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 958 × 1,414; 207 KB
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1953- Hotel Traylor - 8 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 937 × 1,516; 242 KB
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1954 - Hotel Traylor - 12 Dec t MC - Allentown PA.jpg 905 × 1,381; 194 KB
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1954 - Hotel Traylor - 29 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 904 × 1,618; 217 KB
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1954 - Hotel Traylor Restaurant - 3 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 891 × 1,586; 209 KB
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1955 - Hotel Traylor - 21 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 2,146 × 1,506; 451 KB
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1955 - Hotel Traylor Souvenir - Allentown PA.jpg 507 × 923; 116 KB
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1955 - Hotel Traylor- 2 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,668 × 1,538; 284 KB
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1956 - Hotel Traylor - 21 Nov MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,249 × 1,785; 305 KB
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1956 - Hotel Traylor - 30 Sep MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,645 × 1,570; 342 KB
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1957 - Hotel Traylor - 12 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,611 × 1,376; 310 KB
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1957 - Hotel Traylor - 7 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,221 × 1,123; 210 KB
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1959 - Hotel Traylor - 21 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,651 × 2,297; 324 KB
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1959 - Hotel Traylor - 22 Nov MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,271 × 2,067; 379 KB
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1960 - Hotel Traylor - 22 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,316 × 3,176; 589 KB
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1961 - Hotel Traylor - 21 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,254 × 3,041; 397 KB
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1961 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Feb MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,224 × 1,338; 168 KB
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1961 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Nov MC - Allentown PA.jpg 796 × 2,056; 211 KB
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1961 - Hotel Traylor - 30 Jul MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,221 × 1,411; 254 KB
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1962 - Hotel Traylor - 14 Jun MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,229 × 1,193; 184 KB
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1962 - Hotel Traylor - 26 Aug MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,188 × 1,871; 313 KB
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1962 - Hotel Traylor - 27 May MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,224 × 1,208; 207 KB
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1963 - Hotel Traylor - 7 Dec MC - Allentown PA.jpg 833 × 2,341; 261 KB
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1964 - Hotel Traylor - 11 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 892 × 1,849; 235 KB
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1965 - Hotel Traylor - 18 Sep MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,234 × 1,157; 226 KB
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1965 - Room Key - Hotel Traylor - Allentown PA.jpg 1,600 × 899; 219 KB
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1966 - Hotel Traylor - 11 Jun MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,201 × 1,181; 186 KB
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1967 - Hotel Traylor - 14 Jan MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,201 × 1,143; 463 KB
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1968 - Hotel Traylor - 13 Jan MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,533 × 1,853; 542 KB
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1969 - Chateu Henri Restaurant - 27 Jun MC - Allentown PA.jpg 781 × 484; 94 KB
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1969 - Hotel Traylor - Placemat - Allentown PA.jpg 1,561 × 1,099; 384 KB
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1970 - Hotel Traylor - 11 Oct MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,346 × 3,041; 797 KB
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1970 - Hotel Traylor Postcard.jpg 1,100 × 700; 170 KB
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1971 - Hotel Traylor - 25 Jan MC - Allentown PA.jpg 738 × 1,013; 161 KB
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1972 - Hotel Traylor - 19 Nov 1 MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,674 × 3,907; 1,005 KB
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1972 - Hotel Traylor - 19 Nov 2 MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,158 × 1,753; 356 KB
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1972 - Hotel Traylor - 9 Sep MC - Allentown PA.jpg 803 × 953; 153 KB
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1975 - Hotel Traylor - 30 Aug MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,537 × 1,251; 371 KB
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1976 - Hotel Traylor - 11 Mar MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,087 × 1,411; 333 KB
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1979 - Hotel Traylor - 17 Nov MC - Allentown PA.jpg 1,565 × 2,745; 840 KB
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1979 - Murphy's Restraunt - Hotel Traylor - Allentown PA.jpg 1,599 × 1,032; 400 KB
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2021 - Main Entrance - Hotel Traylor - dAllentown PA.jpg 6,000 × 4,000; 4.36 MB