LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. — For years, they’ve been a curious fixture of daily life in the more rural outposts of the Lehigh Valley: small, weathered sheds that appear to be bus shelters.
Drive through the surrounding townships of Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton, and you’ll spot them dotting roadsides and parking lots.
These aging little buildings have sparked countless conversations among natives and confused newcomers on social media.
“Does anyone know what these shed things are? They’re all over the Valley, and I’m curious,” posted one Reddit user recently, echoing a question that has puzzled younger generations of Lehigh Valley residents for years.
These ubiquitous structures are advertising kiosks disguised as bus shelters or perhaps vice versa, installed in the late 20th century and designed to possibly circumvent Pennsylvania’s strict billboard zoning regulations while keeping local businesses visible to the community.
The shelters were built by Interstate Shelter All, a company founded in 1961 by George Thorbahn, who discovered the franchise opportunity while working in the advertising department at The Philadelphia Bulletin.
The concept originated in Maine in the late 1950s, when entrepreneurs developed the idea of providing school bus safety shelters for children, supported by local companies through advertising.
The business model quickly spread throughout fifteen states, offering franchising opportunities to interested individuals like Thorbahn.
He then acquired territories covering three counties surrounding Philadelphia, including the Lehigh Valley region.
After beginning operations and installing his first bus shelters, Thorbahn secured his initial advertisers within six months: Herr’s Foods, R. M. Crossan, and Kaufman Gas.
Interstate Shelter All’s legacy endures through its tiny landmarks scattered across the Lehigh Valley and Thorbahn’s son, who took over the family business in 2001 and expanded it to over 350 advertising spaces across three states.
While the wooden shelters have been left to weather over the decades, many advertisements pasted on their exteriors remain surprisingly intact, creating an inadvertent time capsule of the region’s commercial past.
Many of these businesses are still in operation today. Namely, Whitehall Door, a garage installation company out of Whitehall, Leiser’s Rental Barn & Mower Shop, now in Forks Township, and Yocco’s: “the Hot Dog King” with several locations dispersed around Allentown.
Longtime Valley residents remember when these bus shelters first appeared. They often materialized in areas where traditional billboards were banned or restricted by local ordinances.
For many, these little shelters have become part of the regional landscape — staples to the area as familiar as the covered bridges in Northampton County.
Today, as new residents continue to discover these unique fixtures and longtime Valley inhabitants finally learn their purpose, the advertising bus shelters serve as reminders of how the Lehigh Valley has adapted and evolved throughout its rich history.