Category:Somach's, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Somach's was a woman's clothing store which later specialized in Wedding Gowns and similar attire in Allentown, PA. The store opened in April 1926 at 816 Hamilton Street, owned by George Somach. Somach moved to Allentown from New York City, where he had previously operated a chain of 12 stores. In addition to the Allentown store, he also owned stores in Bethlehem, Easton, Reading and Harrisburg. He was born in Russia in 1898, and had immigrated to the United States in 1905. The store sold general women's clothing until 1941 when he opened a second store at 21 North Seventh Street, originally for offices and as a warehouse, however the Seventh Street location became a retail store, his second in Allentown, where he opened a specialized bridal shop. Somach's operated from both locations until 1962, when the Hamilton Street store closed and the Seventh Street store became a bridal store only, selling gowns and other wedding apparel for women. Somach passed in October, 1962, and his family continued running the store along with his other business interests in the area. Somach's closed at the end of 1985 as part of the declining retail sector in Center City Allentown, and the building became vacant for a number of years.

In 1991, the Allentown Rescue Mission opened a thrift store on the first floor. Then in 1994, the building, along with three other buildings on the east side of North Seventh were torn down due to damage from the sinkhole that destroyed the Corporate Plaza building accross the street. These buildings were determined to be uneconomical to repair. Subsequently for about 20 years the land was an empty lot. In 2014, as part of the NIZ project, the land was redeveloped into a pedestrian walkway, known as the "Arts Walk" as a section of Court Street.

The building was erected about 1895 as the "L H Yeager Building". Buisnesses that used it were:

• 1895 - May 1896: Allentown House Furnishings L H Yeager
• May 1896 - Feb 1916: Allentown House Furnishings (L H Yeager & Charles G Tice)
• Mar 1915 - Dec 1922: Tice & Raymond Furniture
• Jan 1923 - May 1925: F O Raymond Furniture
• Nov 1925 - Dec 1938: Charles H Yeager (L H Yeager Co.)
• May 1941 - Somach's Bridal Botique