Smoke, Art, and Rebirth: the remarkable story of Cigar Factory in Allentown

There is a place on the globe where cigar smoke has been transformed into colors on canvases for a hundred years. It’s not easy to get there from 1\6th of a slavic landmass today, but times are changing, so you can save this post about the Cigar Factory in Allentown, where past and present are woven together in a marvelous pattern of change and creativity, for better times to come.

Imagine the late 19th century. Allentown is a small but ambitious American town where Bondy and Lederer Cigar Company decided to build their cigar factory. It was a time when real men wore cylinders even in the bathhouse, and cigars were considered a status symbol. Here 600 craftsmen worked, creating cigars whose flavor was so thick you could “cut it with a knife.”

But, as one popular “stamp” suggests, all good things come to an end. With the advent of mass production of cigarettes, which “cheap and surly” could be quickly smoked around the corner during a break in “labor exploits”, the fashion for cigars began to fade. In the 1960s the factory closed, leaving only dead spaces and memories of former greatness. Buddhists would say it was just the natural beginning of a new life.

After the last puffs of smoke had been weathered out of the deserted workshops by the draughts of the economic crisis and tax greed, the cigar curio was briefly converted into a knitting factory. However, this attempt was also unsuccessful, and the building fell back into neglect. It seemed that the factory would forever remain just a dead four-story brick reminder of a luxurious tobacco past. But fate had other plans for it.

In 2012, the factory got a second chance at life. The new owners, likely sybarites inspired by the spirit of creative investment and perhaps a couple glasses of good Californian, decided to turn it into an art space. Instead of leaving the building to its fate, they saw the potential for a “creative cluster.” As the Buddhist monks willed, at every end there is a new beginning. (which sounds a bit of a stretch, but there it is).

Inspired by this idea, on the first floor of the building they created a gallery where you can not only admire art, but also buy a couple of paintings to surprise your friends. The artist studios have opened the doors to creative people from all over the world who have come here to get ideas for contemporary art in the atmosphere of the old cigar factory.

As they say, old wood is the easiest thing to turn into a bonfire, but Cigar Factory has proven that it can be turned into something much more inspiring. The rebirth of the Cigar Factory has become a cultural phenomenon, making Allentown a trendy destination for artists and tourists. It’s like a monastery for creatives, where creatives of all stripes have gathered to create their masterpieces.

Thanks to this project, Allentown, which in 1982 Billy Joel sang about in the song of the same name as a depressing town from which everyone wants to escape, became an attractive place again, attracting new citizens and tourists like honey attracts bees.

Allentown has become a city with a unique cultural identity, where history and art intertwine in a unique lace. A place once known for its cigars is now famous for its contribution to art and culture. The Cigar Factory art space has become a symbol of creativity and innovation, inspiring other provincial towns to take similar steps.

The story of Cigar Factory is a prime example of how rebirth and change can be a source of new life and inspiration. Buddhism teaches those who preach it that every ending is the beginning of a new path, and this factory has proven that to be the case.

So the next time you enjoy a cigar, think of the amazing place that is Cigar Factory in Allentown and ponder: what could be your personal rebirth?

Maxim Privezentsev https://taplink.cc/max.privezentsev

13.8.2024