The ‘Ballroom in the Clouds’ — a/k/a Flagstaff Park — brings back fond memories of a simpler time.
When I was a kid, I remember picnics at the facility and dancing on the ballroom floor to the 1960s tunes from the jukebox sung by groups such as Diana Ross and the Supremes and The Fifth Dimension. In the ’70s, I saw Robin Trower grace its property.
Years before when my parents were growing up, the ballroom hosted live bands from the Big Band Era including the Dorsey Brothers.
Tomorrow the property will go through another transition with a new beginning as the run-down property goes up for auction.
Plans for the property’s renovation and expansion in late 2018 to include a 48-room hotel, rooftop restaurant, a renovated 350-seat ballroom and 
gondola never materialized.
Personally, I’m glad. I hope (and pray) a buyer will choose to maintain the natural ambiance surrounding this location. Growing up with the Flagstaff Road literally beyond our back yard, I loved the solitude, wildlife and beauty it offered.
I’d love to see rustic cabins instead of a four-story hotel, a labyrinth instead of a paved parking lot and an artists’ retreat instead of another tourist-centered building.
I know progress continues but I believe Asa Packer was onto something when he chose to build Lehigh University in the Lehigh Valley instead of Jim Thorpe.
I hope the new owner will honor the ambiance and beauty of Flagstaff Park. It’s a new beginning I hope will hold onto the roots of history.
