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Easton, PA
I moved to Easton about 4 years ago after living in several other cities around the country. I
tell friends who have not been here that Easton is a scruffy little town, where “scruffy” is a
term of endearment. And I explain it is scruffy because most of the old buildings in Easton
were not replaced, and were not well maintained. But the fact that the old architecture
survives makes Easton a unique town in the US.
It is instructive to consider why a town that has not lost its architectural heritage is unique in
this country. I think it is due to the national character that follows from our faith in progress.
This aspect of our character was noted by perhaps the greatest observer of the American
condition, Alexis de Tocqueville, who toured the US in 1831. So if better building methods
will be available in the future, it is not necessary to build structures with the expectation that
they will last beyond a lifetime, we don’t maintain them to last, and we knock them down
when they show a bit of wear. I think this aspect of our national character is harmful for our
society and culture. A positive effect of maintaining an architectural legacy is that a
perception of history is sustained in the people because the reminders of the past are a part of
everyday life. Furthermore, the American infatuation with the automobile has certainly
hastened the demise of the older, human scale architecture. Thus, the nonhuman scale is that
designed for automobiles. It is required that businesses provide parking, and large roads are
built with tax dollars that in effect are subsidies for large businesses. Walking to attend to
daily errands in most places in the US is virtually impossible because of distance and
impassable roads. Our lives have lost much of the human regard for place because most of
America looks alike, as the new construction is most likely to be for national chains. And
because we get in our cars to shop at those large chain stores where we never know the
shopkeepers, much of the daily social intercourse between people has been lost in our society.
But Easton is different and that is why I like it. The old architecture and the human scale,
along with the natural beauty of rivers and hills make it a wonderful place for an urban hike (in
spite of the blight running through it called US 22 that is a monument to the evil practice of
eminent domain). Local historians must provide the story of how and why the architecture
has survived over the decades. But I understand part of the story of the slow but steady
rejuvenation of many of the buildings here over the last 15 years. This part of the story
concerns my favorite place in Easton, the southwest corner of Northampton and 7th streets
where Porters’ Pub is located.
Some of you may remember the old Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney movies of the 30s
where a group of kids decide to raise money buy putting on a show. The next scene would
depict an extravagant musical production. It beggared belief that a group of kids put on a
show like that. I imagine the scene being much the same when the Porter brothers decided to
undertake the project of restoring an old building, in a bad neighborhood of an economically
depressed city, while furthermore starting a viable restaurant in that location, when most new
restaurants fail even in good locations. Larry and Ken were in their early twenties and Jeff
was still a teenager. It is still difficult to believe that such a young group was able to make a
business like this succeed.
From the moment I first saw and then entered Porters’ I felt it would be the place for me in
Easton. The building dates from 1833, and is restored to reflect its age. The interior maintains
the traditional ambiance with stone and brick walls, a wood floor, and is highlighted by a
mahogany bar that beckons the thirsty traveler for a libation and a conversation. Another
striking and unique feature of the interior is what at first glance appears to be a pewter ceiling,
but in reality are the over 2000 mugs owned by patrons who have earned a mug by drinking 60
beers from around the world and from distinctive micro brews across the US.
The Porters, with their pub, and other buildings in Easton, have led the drive to restore instead
of destroy the architectural legacy of Easton. The dictionary defines an institution as a
significant practice, relationship, or organization in a society or culture. The pub opened in
1990; in the restaurant business this is an institution. There is another venerable pub in an old
building in Easton that I know, and I think Bachman’s Public House is nice, but it would be
infinitely better if one could actually drink a beer there.
I believe a necessary, and most important condition for a great pub is an active owner who
gives the place its personality. The Porter brothers each give a unique aspect to the
personality of the bar, the staff and the clientele. But Ken’s wife Stacey, who is a manager, is
most influential in infusing the atmosphere with just plain fun, while maintaining the standards
of a well-run restaurant. I suppose I should mention that the menu spans the range from pub
food to fine dining. I have found the food always good and sometimes excellent.
Perhaps my favorite pastime at the pub, in all of Easton, is to sit outside in my little corner of
Europe, drinking Yeungling, and reading. O.K., it is a stretch to call the three small tables on
Northampton St. anything like Europe. In fact it seems a rough neighborhood to some, but as
a true theater of life, along with the rough comes the nice, the interesting, and the humorous; it
is Easton.
Ira Katz
