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Today, the revitalized Mauch Chunk Opera House has grown into one of the region’s top music venues and one of Jim Thorpe’s biggest attractions, drawing hundreds of fans into town every weekend. The former New York City to Buffalo Lehigh Valley Railroad across the river is a present-day very active freight hauling railroad operated by Norfolk Southern. By selecting these seats, I acknowledge that I have accessibility needs, or am accompanying someone who has accessibility needs.
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The park is centered around a beautiful lake that is home to a popular beach during the summertime. There are also several miles of hiking and biking trails, including the aforementioned Switchback Railroad Trail. This train leaves from the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey train station at the northeastern end of town near the Lehigh River. While there are a variety of excursions you can take, the most popular options are their daily sightseeing tours, which are either 45 minutes or 70 minutes in length depending on the season. Parking, on the other hand, can be difficult to come by, especially on weekends in October (when it’s a great spot to see fall foliage in PA) and during the holiday season.
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The Stabin Museum is located on the outskirts of town, but it’s worth the distance to check out one of my favorite things to do in Jim Thorpe, PA. The Lehigh River in Carbon County is one of the most popular spots to go white water rafting in Pennsylvania, and on a busy weekend, you’ll see many people rafting down the river, especially if you head into Lehigh Gorge State Park. Regardless, if you stay the night in town, things calm down significantly in the evening and early morning, meaning you can really experience the quaintness of the town quite easily. The bottom of this article has a few suggestions for places to stay the night.
History of Anthracite Mining
In the 1950s Mauch Chunk looked for unique ways to escape poverty and despair. This mine was the longest-running anthracite coal mine in the world operating from 1855 until 1972. There are miles of tunnels here, some of which extend as far as 800 feet below the earth’s surface. The Switchback Railroad Trail extends for 18 miles from Jim Thorpe to Summit Hill, where the original coal mines were located. The railroad tracks are long gone, though you can still see some remnants from its past along the trail. Bright Path Brewing features a beautiful and airy taproom, and, during my visit, had 10 beers on draft, including a larger variety of lagers than many other breweries in PA that I’ve visited.
Too many seats
Jim Thorpe Travel Guide 2023 - visitPA
Jim Thorpe Travel Guide 2023.
Posted: Wed, 27 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Still, in an attempt to revive the area’s tourism, the community reached an agreement with Thrope’s wife to bury him in town if it was renamed after him. Tours take you through the solitary confinement area, the main cell block, the warden’s quarters, and more. The train ride offers a great way to explore the banks of the Lehigh River upstream of town. Today, there are many fantastic things to do in Jim Thrope, PA ranging from peaceful shopping to historical sights and adrenaline-pumping adventures.
Mauch Chunk Lake Park
With the mountainous setting and the quaint charm of the town, Jim Thorp’s tourism soared. Fortunately, the town didn’t have enough funds to bulldoze many of its dilapidated buildings as it originally planned. Among those are the Mauch Chunk Opera House and the Inn at Jim Thorpe. Since the town’s rebirth, storefronts and homes on Race and Broad Streets have been welcoming visitors with their unique charm and history. Now a fine inn, The Dolon House features the art, antiques and collections of four decades of travel by innkeepers Jeffri and Michael. Welcoming, comfortable and elegant along with all the service and amenities you would expect, your visit to Jim Thorpe will be special.
Start out easy on a beginner trail like Switchback, which is all downhill due to its former life as a gravity railroad route and graduate to the advanced Twin Peaks (/trails.htm). Blue Mountain Sports and Wear offers one-day bike rentals for $27 (). The snow doesn't fly until December here, but once it does it sticks around for months, transforming this rugged corner of the state into a winter sport playground.
Old Jail Museum
Film entertainment at the Capitol Theater had been dying a slow death. ”In 1960 the building was purchased by Berkeley Bags Company, a pocketbook manufacturer, and used for years as a warehouse.In 1974 it was obtained by the Mauch Chunk Historical Society for $1. They began a restoration project by building the current lobby and restrooms, adding a new stage, and starting the long process of returning the venue to its rightful place in the community as a performance venue.
Deb Callahan Band plays Friday night at Mauch Chunk Opera House - The Weekender
Deb Callahan Band plays Friday night at Mauch Chunk Opera House.
Posted: Wed, 19 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Jim Thorpe is a beautiful small town, but it is also one of the most popular destinations in PA. Because of this, it’s worth giving some thought to when you visit. Sweet memories are made in historic Jim Thorpe, and adventurers both young and old are welcome. Hugos has rediscovered photography, particularly medium-format film. He developed quite a following over the years for his beautiful images and videos on the opera house’s Instagram and Facebook pages. “I started my own Instagram account after lots of folks inquired about my pictures and posts, wondering what happened to me.
But for Dan Hugos, the founder of JTAMS with business partner Vincent DeGiosio, the company that produces shows at the opera house, it’s the final curtain. After 19 years, he sold his shares of the company to DeGiosio, and has retired. “I’ve recently been diagnosed with a neurological disease, so maintaining my health has been the number one priority for me. In the later part of the 20th century, outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, kayaking, and white water rafting gained popularity.
Pennsylvania Route 903 has its southern terminus at U.S. 209 in Jim Thorpe. It is a north–south route that runs northeast of town, connecting to PA 115 near the Pocono Raceway, Interstate 476, and PA 534 in Penn Forest Township. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. In the musical sense, yacht rock refers to the highly polished brand of soft rock that emanated from Southern California between 1976 and 1984. The term is meant to suggest the kind of smooth, mellow music that early yuppies likely enjoyed while sipping champagne on their yachts. Significant "yacht rockers" include Hall & Oates, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Toto and many more.
The opera house, built in 1881, needed constant restoration and renovation. Hugos spearheaded multiple capital improvement projects through the years. After receiving a grant from Senator Santorum’s office, they replaced the original 128-year-old standing seam metal roof, which leaked like a sieve. “In the early days, we had to tape off seats, so people didn’t sit and get a wet behind after it rained,” Hugos said.
The band’s music includes elements of Americana, bluegrass and acoustic rock. As the opera house concerts expanded, Hugos continued to travel from NYC on weekends while managing the business. In 2005, he took the leap and moved to Jim Thorpe full time, keeping things afloat financially by working as a database programmer for PA companies like Air Products, PPL, Carpenter Steel, CompAid, and DEKA Battery. “I was working full-time, non-stop, 7 days a week, but it was the only way to keep the opera house going,” he said. Jim Thorpe is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania approximately 29 miles (47 km) northwest of Allentown, 83 miles (134 km) northwest of Philadelphia, and 117 miles (188 km) west of New York City.
It features both national and local performers, and often offers free shows to spotlight upcoming artists. Located downtown, the opera house is surrounded by restaurants and artisan shops that visitors can enjoy while waiting for a show. Eager to get involved promoting the venue and the town, Hugos became the president of the Jim Thorpe Tourism Agency. He also managed the JimThorpe.org web site and partnered with WDIY to promote Jim Thorpe at Bethlehem’s MusikFest. In a poll conducted in 2009 by Budget Travel magazine, Jim Thorpe was awarded a top 10 spot on America's Coolest Small Towns.
His crypt was sealed with soil from his hometown in the Sac and Fox nation, the track fields from the Stockholm Olympics, and the grounds of the Carlisle Industrial Indian School. In 2007, a life-sized bronze statue of Thorpe in his football uniform was erected at the memorial. And so, in 1954, Mauch Chunk merged with East Mauch Chunk and became Jim Thorpe and the Carbon County seat. A prominent Carbon County town, Mauch Chunk remained a booming industrial and transportation center for more than a century. However, as the coal industry diminished and the Great Depression’s effects took hold, the town faced economic challenges.
Along with these sports, Jim Thorpe is popular among railroading fans for its passenger rail service, and is known for its extraordinary architecture. The town grew slowly in its first decade, then rapidly around 1818 grew larger as it became an anthracite coal-shipping center. (The other large city with growing coal mining in the region was Scranton, with a population of over 140,000.) Mauch Chunk is on a Lehigh River west side (right bank) flat where Mahoning Creek enters and is a tributary of the Lehigh River. The river's left bank community of East Mauch Chunk, which has more of the houses of modern Jim Thorpe, was settled later to support the short-lived Beaver Creek Railroad, the mines which spawned it, and the logging industry. The most popular route is to bike upriver through Lehigh Gorge State Park, with more than 20 miles of uninterrupted trail allowing you to bike to near White Haven, PA. On select days, the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway runs biking excursions that allow you to take the train upriver, and then bike back down the trail.
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