A Plan for the Plantings
West Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown philanthropist Harry C. Trexler wanted only the best for West Park. He hired a famous landscape designer from Philadelphia to help fulfill his vision. J. Franklin Meehan created the park's Planting Plan in 1906. He designed the park to look like an English garden with winding pathways.
Meehan selected rare and unusual plants for the park. Many of the trees and flowers he chose are still in the park today. He planted Norway maples, Japanese cherry trees, eastern white pines and oak trees. Today those saplings are full-grown trees.
[Photo captions, clockwise from top right, read]
J. Franklin Meehan, c. 1924.
West Park's trees near bandshell, c. 1920.
West Park under development.
West Park, c. 1908.
A blue spruce, Picea pungens "glauca," one of West Park's 58 different tree species.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Horticulture & Forestry • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1906.
Location. 40° 35.972′ N, 75° 29.404′ W. Marker is in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in Lehigh County. It can be reached from Linden Street. Memorial is near the military memorials in West Park, about 200 feet north of the intersection of Linden and Fulton
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Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and in Lehigh Valley. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Remembering Allentown's Heroes (here, next to this marker); Ignatz Gresser (a few steps from this marker); USAACS Sons & Daughters World War II Memorial (a few steps from this marker); The Allen Infantry (a few steps from this marker); First Defenders Memorial (a few steps from this marker); D-Day, June 6 1944 (a few steps from this marker); China-Burma-India Memorial (a few steps from this marker); U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Allentown.
Also see . . .
1. West Park, Allentown PA. (Submitted on June 14, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. J. Franklin Meehan. (Submitted on June 14, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 14, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 293 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 14, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 3. submitted on June 9, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
