Verona Street

"Verona Street was kind of neat in those days because it was sloped, slanted. And when it snowed, the city would put ashes on Morton Street and we could sleigh ride right from the top of Packer Avenue all the way down to the bottom of Morton Street." -Mr. James Ruhf, former resident of 443 Verona Street

Imagine stopping for a hot dog in Lehigh's brand new STEPS Sciences building, or sledding through the Maginnes History building and Campus Square. It might seem unlikely today, but before Lehigh's redevelopment these were common activities for the residents on Verona Street.

Located on the Western end of the neighborhood, Verona Street stood in between Vine and New Street. Verona was an alley, smaller than the neighboring New and Vine Streets, and with fewer homes as well. Many of the lots were occupied by car garages and long, beautiful gardens, belonging to homes on Vine and New, whose backs faced Verona. While fewer in number, the street did have several row homes full of children sledding in the winter, playing sports in the field across Broughal Middle School in the summer, and sneaking into Lehigh sporting events in their free time. At the bottom of Verona was a mom and pop grocery store, which one former resident recalls visiting frequently to buy baseball cards and get a two cent deposit for recycling coke bottles! The center of attention on Verona Street was certainly Gus's Luncheonette. Located near the top of the street, Gus's was a very popular eatery for both Leigh residents and members of the neighborhood.

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