The CURRENT
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Serving Carbon County and Beyond
Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Center It’s Time To Visit Your Town’s Historical Archive
T
he Mauch Chunk Museum and Cultural Center Inc. and including its Ballroom are “Back on Track” after a Covid induced interlude. The first floor of the building is an award-winning museum dedicated to the local and nearby history. The second floor of the building features a grand ballroom used for wedding receptions, corporate events, and museum sponsored events. This beautiful space can accommodate 150 people and is available for rental. “The Story of Mauch Chunk,” the theme of the museum’s core exhibition, leads the visitor through the ages from the geological formation of coal in prehistoric times to the present. It focuses on such topics as the Lenape Indians, the discovery and mining of “black diamonds” (anthracite coal), the settlement of Mauch Chunk, the scramble to build waterways and railroads to transport coal to eastern seaboard cities, the unique Switchback Gravity Railroad, and Mauch Chunk in its industrial golden age, its decline and revival as the town of Mauch Chunk became Jim Thorpe in 1954 – repository for the body of the great native American Olympian. The theme is struggle, prosperity, decline and revival, the legacy, the architectural and natural beauty that is today’s Jim Thorpe.
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jimthorpecurrent.com I JULY 2021
Take a Ride Through the Streets of Jim Thorpe
There’s a new attraction on the historic streets of Jim Thorpe and just in time for summer! Jim Thorpe Trolley Company, a locally owned and operated business, has launched new historical, narrated trolley tours. Tours operate as a continuous 1-hour loop Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Places to see on the tours include Penn’s Peak, Lehigh Gorge State Park, Historic Opera House, Old Jail Museum, Stabin Museum
and Gallery, Carbon County Environmental Education, Mauch Chunk Lake, Switchback RR trail and the Jim Thorpe Downtown Historic District. In addition to checking out many of Jim Thorpe’s historic sights, the company also plans to run a “Coal Cracker” tour, wine tasting tour, and evening restaurant/pub tours down the road. You can find more information on the Jim Thorpe Trolley Tours at www.jimthorpetrolley.com
Broadway Grille Celebrates
New Chef, New Menu, New Music By Christopher Holland The Current Contributing Writer
O Mauch Chunk Museum & Cultural Center 41 W. Broadway in Jim Thorpe Supplementing pictorial exhibits are period artifacts, tourist souvenirs and unique working models of (1) Josiah White’s ingenious “bear trap lock” which permitted trains of coal arks to navigate the Lehigh River (2) a standard lock on the Lehigh Canal and (3) a 30 ft. model of the Switchback Gravity Railroad which connected the anthracite mine at Summit Hill with the Lehigh River nine miles distant. Built for the transportation of coal, the Switchback became the ultimate thrill roller coaster of 19th century rail excursionists, thrusting the small industrial town of Mauch Chunk into second place behind Niagara Falls as a tourist destination. A 14-minute video presentation introduces and prepares the visitor for their Continued on page 8
ne of the most well-known businesses in downtown Jim Thorpe just got a makeover. The Broadway Grille tucked inside the icon Inn at Jim Thorpe, one of town’s famous landmark Victorian buildings, is excited to announce it has made substantial improvements with a new chef and new menu. The Broadway Grille is owned by the Drury family, who also owns The Inn at Jim Thorpe. “We’re thrilled to announce that Ryan Zellner is the Broadway Grille’s new executive chef and general manager,” said Nancy Ziegler, the Grille’s marketing director. “He has a wide array of experience, most recently as executive chef at Bear Creek Mountain Resort and Conference Center and Blue Mountain Resort [in Macungie],” Ziegler said. Zellner has created exciting new menus and is currently working with a team of employees to make this year Broadway’s best yet. Ziegler said that since Zellner came in Broadway has been receiving loads of positive feedback and that everyone is excited by the new change and what is to come ahead. The Broadway is open year-round for breakfast, lunch and dinner and offers everything from soups and salads to burgers, sandwiches, steaks and seafood, and more.
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The pub offers an extensive craft beer list, specialty cocktails and international and local wines. The pub provides a hip, charming, historic atmosphere; an authentic Victorian pub and dining room with tin ceilings, gas fireplaces and castContinued on page 23