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"Well, I'm living here in Allentown..."
So begins the Billy Joel song that’s burned into the brains of most Lehigh Valley residents. Despite its bleak assessment of the region’s blue-collar decline decades ago, the shout-out is a point of pride for the Piano Man’s local fans. On the other hand, the song also serves as a reference point for out-of-towners who otherwise wouldn’t know where to find Allentown on a map.
Alan Younkin and Michael Schelp used to be in the second group. They were both living in New York City when they met in 2017. They fell in love and married in Central Park in January of 2020. Once COVID-19 began to rear its ugly head, though, it quickly became apparent that a change of scenery was in order. “During the pandemic New York City was not a very nice place to live so we fled and wandered around, came upon Allentown and we fell in love with it,” Younkin says.
When asked what led them specifically to Allentown, Younkin and Schelp both cite—without hesitation—Joel’s 1982 hit. “We had never been [to Allentown],” says Younkin. “We just drove here, wandered around, saw West Park with the beautiful row houses and Masonic Temple. We just had to get out of our car and look around. Fortunately, there was a ‘for rent’ sign on one of the houses.”
They made the move to Allentown’s West Park Historic District in May of 2020 and bided their time as renters, hoping the next sign they would see in the neighborhood would read “for sale.” They only had to wait about a year and a half before that sign went up just a block away from the place they were renting. It was late in 2021 and the housing market was still red-hot, so they knew they had to act quickly, recalls Schelp: “It came on the market on a Tuesday, we saw it on Thursday, and there were a lot of bids, and we ended up buying it on Friday."
What they bought was a 2,300-square-foot, classic Victorian townhome dating back to 1910. “We liked it right away because it was right here on West Park,” Younkin says. “It was basically the same floor plan as what we had. It had been beautifully renovated.”
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The home is spread across four levels, including a finished basement with a bar and lounge area. Two of the home’s five bedrooms on the upper floors are used as offices. The main entrance opens into a three-season porch with leaded glass windows. Beyond that is a living room that’s spacious enough to include a grand piano and two separate seating areas. One side is awash in browns: a chocolate leather Restoration Hardware sofa, a Teddy Roosevelt safari chair and a rustic, wood-plank-top coffee table. The other side features what Schelp calls a “Judy Jetson” style sofa and chairs: modern white leather. The brown sofa was acquired from the previous owners, but the white furniture was purchased by the couple after much deliberation, and more than a few trial runs. “I’m a huge believer in comfort,” says Schelp. “We went shopping at like eight different stores. I was sitting down and standing up in 100 different chairs because I really want comfortable chairs.”
Both Younkin and Schelp say they love to entertain. It’s typical for guests to congregate in the kitchen. “It’s a bright, airy kitchen,” Younkin says. “The island is great. I’ll be cooking and our guests can sit on the barstools and we can serve some drinks before dinner.” If the weather cooperates, the party can then head outside to one of the property’s crown jewels: a rooftop terrace above the garage, which Younkin, who has farming in his blood, has lovingly cultivated with a mix of plants and greenery: potted banana trees, cannas, annuals and even corn from Younkin’s family farm in Iowa.
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“It just looks incredible,” Schelp says. “During the summer we spend at least 15, 20 minutes a day out there, and when friends come over, hours.” Younkin’s green thumb is coming in handy for the neighbors as well. Cannas multiply quickly, he says, so he often gives away the extras. “You can stand on our deck and see his flowers all over the neighborhood,” Schelp says. “He’s very generous. From 15th Street to 17th Street, there are his cannas.”
The more formal dining room is a striking contrast in light and dark: black walls framed by white trim, crown molding and chair rails. The table—which can be extended to seat up to a dozen people—belonged to Younkin’s mother’s family; he estimates it’s more than a century old. It’s one of the family heirlooms that has followed Younkin around through various moves. Another is upstairs in a spare bedroom: a four-poster bed that his relatives carted from Ohio to Iowa via covered wagon in the mid-nineteenth century.
Although there have been some bigger renovation projects—such as refinishing the floors, fixing the garage and repairing the front and back steps—Younkin and Schelp say their primary focus has been curating the décor and furnishings to make the home their own. “We want to preserve what it was,” Schelp says. “It’s just a beautiful home.” Adds Younkin: “I like the old architecture. I like a lot of the millwork, the wood floors. But it’s been updated so it feels fresh and modern.”
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"We want to preserve what it was. It's just a beautiful home."
They’re avid art collectors and have pieces throughout the home made by several local artists, including Khalil Allaik, Jay Echevarria, Egidio Galgano and Arta Brito, whose large charcoal drawing of a man resting his chin in his hands, gazing serenely at the viewer, is a focal point of the living room. They’ve also enlisted local craftsmen to make some of their furniture. Woodworker Bill Kreider used reclaimed wood from the old bleachers at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown and steel from Bethlehem Steel to make a pair of sideboards.
“It’s eclectic,” Schelp says. “It’s a lot of different styles. We entertain a lot, and people come over a lot. So you come in, you feel welcome, and there are a lot of interesting things to look at.” And it’s a constantly evolving tableau, Younkin says: “Sometimes you have to shuffle some things around. We’re always looking for something that catches our eye.”
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Younkin and Schelp are both retired. Previously Younkin was a veterinarian and Schelp worked in TV production and media. Now they’re very active with the West Park Civic Association, which includes serving as co-chairs of the annual Art in the Park event at West Park. They also founded the inaugural Allentown Film Festival in 2022. And, even though they still maintain an apartment in New York City, “This is our home base,” Schelp says. “We’ve really gotten integrated into the community. There’s something about the dynamic of this neighborhood where people form these friendships and these relationships that are very traditional and seem very natural.”
Before landing in Allentown, they had considered other possibilities: Connecticut, New York State, even Texas. But those zip codes just couldn’t compete with the Queen City. And that’s been a pleasant surprise. Says Schelp: “If you said to me in January of 2020, ‘You’re going to live in Allentown, Pennsylvania,’ I would have been like, ‘What? No way.’”
Well, they're living here in Allentown.
Published as "Inside a Classic Victorian Townhome in Allentown's West Part Historic District" in the March 2024 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
