Category:Tallmans Restaurant

Oscar G. Tallman was one of the leading restaurant and tavern keepers in Allentown during the first half of the Twentieth Century.

He was born March 17, 1882, in Sheridan, Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pa., the son of Henry and Mary (Schreffler) Tallman. He worked on a farm and attended the public schools until seventeen years of age, and in 1900 came to Northampton, and for a period of seven years was employed there in various capacities. In 1904 Mr. Tallman came to Allentown and assumed the proprietorship of the cafe now know as “The Old Heidelberg" in the Heidelberg Hotel at South Sixth and Type Street.

In February 1909 he established Tallman's Cafe on Hamilton Street, near Seventh with Leh's Department store adjacent to the east at 632 Hamilton Street. The building was built in the 1870s, and was known as the "Democrat Building". It was owned by Haines & Rhue, who published the Allentown Democrat Newspaper. In 1879, Haines & Rhue moved to the second floor, with the main floor being rented by a number of businesses, primarily dry Goods stores. For several years it was the home of Breinig & Bachman, a men's clothing store which first established itself in the building in August, 1887; Breinig having left the H. M. Leh company next door. Breinig & Bachman left December 1891 when it moved into a new building on the southeast corner of South Sixth and Hamilton Streets, but returned in October 1893 when its new building burned down in a massive fire. It remained until the end of 1894 when its building was rebuilt.

The building was sold by the Allentown Democrat in 1909 to Oscar Tallman who renovated the property. The first floor becoming a combination lunch cafe and bar, and the second floor becoming a poolroom. The business prospered and Tallman was known as one of Allentown's leading sportsmen. In 1919 he took a railroad car of like-minded friends to the Jack Dempsey-Jess Willard bout in Ohio and repeated it over the years for other notable fights.

After World War I, Tallman's closed in 1920 in compliance with Prohibition and the Volstedead Act. In 1925, H. Leh & Company purchased the property and expanded its store including it. After the cafe at 626 Hamilton was closed, Tallman went into other businesses which included a drugstore and a tire company.

With the repeal of Prohibition, Tallman reopened his restaurant and tavern business to the southeast corner of 9th and Hamilton, across the street from Hess Brothers Department Store. At the new location, Tallman's was among the first restaurants to serve beer and liquors, being the second establishment in Allentown to receive a new liquor license. In 1950 Oscar Tallman retired, and the bushiness was sold, the new owner retaining the Tallman's name.

Tallman and his first wife, Minnie, had one child, Oscar J. Tallman. He grew up in Allentown and later became a member of the law firm Butz, Hudders and Tallman. Oscar J. Tallman became a prominent Republican politician in Lehigh County, and later a State Senator, becoming pro tem of the Pennsylvania Senate. Oscar G Tallman passed in December 1964 at age 82, his son in 1967 at age 65.

In early 1956, the owner of Tallman's restaurant died suddenly and the business was sold. The new owner reopened as "Rubes", a Chinese Restaurant and bar that itself stayed in business until closing in November 1977 when its owner retired. After Rubes closed, it became a series of short-lived clubs and restaurants. In 2004 the properies from 832-844 Hamilton were purchaced by the Alvin H Butz construction company, who tore down the old buildings and built a new six-story office building on the location as its new headuarters.