Allentown, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Allentown is a city
located in Lehigh County
, Pennsylvania
, in the United States
. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census
, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently the fastest growing city in Pennsylvania. It is also the county seat
of Lehigh County.
Located on the Lehigh River
, Allentown is the largest of three adjacent cities that make up a region of eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey
known as the Lehigh Valley
, Allentown is 60 miles (96.6 km) north of Philadelphia, the fifth most populous city in the United States, 80 miles (128.7 km) east of Harrisburg, the state capital, and 90 miles (144.8 km) west of New York City
, the nation's largest city.
Two four-year colleges, Cedar Crest College
and Muhlenberg College
, are located in Allentown. Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom
, a very popular amusement park, is located just outside of the city.
Commercial airline service to and from the city is available through Lehigh Valley International Airport
(LVIA) . General aviation
and charter service is offered by LVIA and Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport
.
The city is connected to the Interstate Highway System
by Interstate 78
and Interstate 476
, the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike
, which provide access connections to the major urban areas of other Northeastern United States urban areas. Also U.S. Route 22
, the Lehigh Valley Thruway, provides a limited access east-west highway connection to the Interstate Highway System to the northern parts of the city. Commuter train service between Allentown and Philadelphia ended in 1979 when state funding to operate the service ceased.
Allentown is a two-time winner of the All-America City Award
, being recognized in 1962 and 1974–1975.
, a wealthy shipping merchant, former mayor of the city of Philadelphia and then-Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania
. The property was part of a 5000 acres (20.2 km²) plot Allen purchased on September 10, 1735 from his business partner Joseph Turner
, who was assigned the warrant to the land by Thomas Penn
, son of William Penn
, on May 18, 1732. The tract was originally surveyed on November 23, 1736. A subsequent survey done in 1753 by David Schultz for a road from Easton
to Reading
, of which present-day Union and Jackson streets were links, shows the location of log house owned by Allen, situated near the western bank of the Jordan Creek, which was believed to have been built around 1740. Used primarily as a hunting and fishing lodge, here Allen entertained prominent guests including his brother-in-law, James Hamilton
, and colonial governor John Penn
.
The original plan for the town, now in the archives of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
, comprised forty-two city blocks and consisted of 756 lots, mostly 60 feet (18.3 m) in width and 230 feet (70.1 m) in depth. The town was located between present-day Fourth and Tenth Streets, and Union and Liberty Streets. Many streets on the original plan were named for Allen's children: Margaret (present-day Fifth Street), William (now Sixth), James (now Eighth), Ann (now Ninth) and John (now Walnut). Allen Street (now Seventh) was named for Allen himself, and was the main thoroughfare. Hamilton Street was named for James Hamilton
. Gordon Street was named for Sir Patrick Gordon, Deputy Governor
of Colonial Pennsylvania from 1726–1736. Chew Street was named for Benjamin Chew
, and Turner Street was named for Allen's business partner, Joseph Turner
.
Allen hoped that Northampton Town would displace Easton as the seat of Northampton County
and also become a commercial center due to its location along the Lehigh River and its proximity to Philadelphia. Allen gave the property to his son James in 1767. Three years later, in 1770, James built a summer residence, Trout Hall, in the new town, near the site of his father's former hunting lodge.
On March 18, 1811, the town was formally incorporated as the Borough
of Northamptown. On March 6, 1812, Lehigh County was formed from the western half of Northampton County, and Northampton Town was selected as the county seat. The town was officially renamed "Allentown" on April 16, 1838, after years of popular usage. Allentown was formally incorporated as a city on March 12, 1867.
(then known as the Pennsylvania State House bell) was successfully hidden from the British
during the American Revolutionary War
. After George Washington
's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine
on September 11, 1777, the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia was defenseless, and that city prepared for British attack. The Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
ordered that eleven bells, including the State House bell and the bells from Philadelphia's Christ Church
and St. Peter's Church
, be taken down and removed from the city to prevent the British, who would melt the bells down to cast into cannon
s, from taking possession of them. The bells were transported north to Northampton-Towne, and hidden in the basement
of the Old Zion Reformed Church, in what is now center city Allentown. Today, a shrine and museum in the church's basement, known as the Liberty Bell Museum
, marks the spot where the bell was hidden.
After the Battle of Trenton
on December 26, 1776, Hessian prisoners-of-war were kept in the vicinity of present-day Seventh and Gordon Streets. The Old Zion Reformed Church, and a house near James (now Eighth) and Hamilton Streets, served as hospitals for injured and sick Continental Army
troops. In 1777, a factory manufacturing paper cartridge
s for musket
s was relocated here from nearby Bethlehem. That same year, a shop of sixteen armorers was established along the Little Lehigh Creek
, and employed in the repair of weapons and the manufacture of saddle
s and scabbard
s.
, however, expanded the city's commerce and industrial capacity greatly. With this, the town underwent significant industrialization, ultimately becoming a major center for heavy industry and manufacturing. While Allentown was not as large as neighboring Bethlehem
at the time, the local iron industry — which included the Allentown Iron Company (established 1846) and the Allentown Rolling Mills (established 1860) — employed the majority of Allentown's workforce. Railroads, such as the Lehigh Valley Railroad
, were vital to the movement of raw materials and finished goods, and employed a significant workforce during this time. This period of rapid economic growth in the region was halted by two events, the Panic of 1873
and the Long Depression
.
In addition to the iron and railroad industries, Allentown also had a strong tradition in the brewing
of beer
and was home to several notable breweries, including the Horlacher Brewery (founded 1897, closed 1978), the Neuweiler Brewery (founded 1875, closed 1968) and Schaefer Beer
, whose brewery was later owned by Pabst Brewing Company
and Guinness
but is now owned by the Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams
.
and textile industry
. The Adelaide Silk Mill, one of the largest in the world at the time, opened in Allentown in 1881. By 1928, there were more than 140 silk and textile mills in the Lehigh Valley, making it the second largest industry in the region. By the 1930s, the silk industry was in worldwide decline, as synthetics
were taking the place of silk. Catoir Silk Mill, the last silk mill in Allentown, closed in 1989. In 1905, Mack Trucks
moved to Allentown, beginning Allentown's focus on heavy industrial manufacturing. Today, Allentown's economy, like most of Pennsylvania's, is based in the service industries
with some manufacturing. Deindustrialization
has caused many of the factories and corporations headquartered in Allentown to close or move. For example, Mack Trucks
is now located in Greensboro, North Carolina
, LSI Corporation
(formerly Agere Systems, which merged with LSI Logic) moved its headquarters to California
, and numerous factories have ceased operation. On the other hand, the Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) operates a business incubator, the Bridgeworks, which helps attract and support young commercial and manufacturing businesses.
, the city has a total area of 18 square miles (46.6 km²). 17.8 square miles (46.1 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) is water. Bodies of water include the Jordan Creek and its tributary, the Little Lehigh Creek
, which join within the city limits and empty into the Lehigh River
. Other bodies of water within the city limits include Lake Muhlenberg
in Cedar Creek Parkway and a pond in Trexler Park.
The city sits within the Lehigh Valley
, a geographic region bounded by Blue Mountain
, a ridge of the Appalachian mountain range, which varies from 1,000 to 1600 feet (487.7 m) in height about 17 miles (27.4 km) north of the city, and South Mountain
, a ridge of 500 to 1000 feet (304.8 m) in height that borders the southern edge of the city.
The city is the county seat of Lehigh County
. The adjacent counties are Carbon County
to the north; Northampton County
to the northeast and east; Bucks County
to the southeast; Montgomery County
to the south; and Berks County
and Schuylkill County
to the west.
zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year.
The average temperature in January is 27.1 °F (-2.7 °C), and the lowest officially recorded temperature was -16 °F in 1912. July averages 73.3 °F (22.9 °C), and the highest temperature on record was 105 °F (41 °C) in 1966. Early fall and mid-winter are generally driest, with February being the driest month with only 2.75 inches (70 mm) of average precipitation.
Snowfall is variable, with some winters bringing light snow and others bringing numerous significant snowstorms. Average snowfall is 32.4 inches (82 cm) per year, with the months of January and February receiving the highest at just over 11 and 9 inches each. Rainfall is generally spread throughout the year, with eight to twelve wet days per month, at an average annual rate of 110.54 centimetres (43.5 in).
Center City
, which includes the downtown area and the 7th Street retail and residential corridor, is the city's central business district and the host to various city, county and federal government centers. To the east of Center City are "The Wards," the areas that developed as residential areas during the city's industrial boom of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Just east of the Lehigh River
are the city's East Side residential neighborhoods, most of which border the various routes to nearby Bethlehem
. South of Center City, and across the Little Lehigh Creek
, are the city's South Side neighborhoods, which border Emmaus
. Lastly, there is West End Allentown, which comprises most neighborhoods west of 15th Street.
neighborhoods mainly consist of a variety of Victorian and Federal rowhomes
. The stately homes around West Park are mostly Victorian and Craftsman. The houses on the city's tree-lined streets in the West End were mostly built in the 1920s and 40's. Houses in the City's East Side and South Side are a mixture of architectural styles and are generally single and twin family homes built from the 1940s through the 1960s with century old Victorians in the mix. Allentown also has loft apartments in converted mills and historic brick manufacturing buildings and modern and historic high-rise apartment buildings.
The PPL Building is Allentown's tallest building at 322 feet (98.1 m). It is 23 stories high and is located at the northwest corner of 9th and Hamilton Street. A Lehigh Valley icon, this Art Deco tower can be seen from places throughout the Lehigh Valley; in clear weather, the tower can be seen as far north as the ski resort pass over Blue Mountain
. One of the city's older still-standing structures, Allentown Symphony Hall, at 23 North Sixth Street in Center City, was constructed in 1896.
The City of Allentown is characterized by a large stock of historic homes, commercial structures and century-old industrial buildings.
There are three historic districts in Allentown, Old Allentown, the Old Fairgrounds and West Park neighborhoods. Old Allentown and Old Fairgrounds are Center City neighborhoods that hold a joint house tour organized by Old Allentown Preservation Association (OAPA) once a year in September. The West Park neighborhood also offers a tour of this district's larger Victorian and Craftsman-style homes.
performs at Allentown Symphony Hall, located on North Sixth Street in center city. The city also has a musical heritage of civilian concert band
s, and is home to the Allentown Band
, the oldest civilian concert band in the United States. The Allentown Band, Marine Band of Allentown
, Municipal Band of Allentown
and the Pioneer Band of Allentown
all regularly perform at the bandshell in the city's West Park.
The city houses a collection of public sculptures, including the DaVinci Horse, located on 5th Street. This sculpture is one of three in the world.
The Allentown Art Museum
, located on North Fifth Street in Center City
, is home to a collection of more than 13,000 pieces of art, along with an associated library. The Baum School of Art
, located in downtown Allentown at 5th and Linden Streets, offers credit and non-credit classes in painting, drawing, ceramics, fashion design, jewelry making and more.
Civic Theatre of Allentown
has an 80-plus year history of producing theatre in the Lehigh Valley. Started by two Morning Call
reporters in 1927 as “Civic Little Theatre,” the current day Civic Theatre of Allentown relies on a paid professional staff, volunteer board of directors from the community, and volunteers from the region. Civic Theatre stands on three pillars: theatre, film and education. Civic is a professionally directed, managed and run theatre that utilizes community actors in its live theatre productions. Civic also operates the Lehigh Valley’s only full-time cinema exclusively showing art, independent and foreign films and a theatre school that has been served the Valley’s youth for more than 50 years.
heritage remain present in its cuisine, and foodstuffs such as scrapple
, chow-chow
, Lebanon bologna
, cole slaw
and apple butter
are often found offered in local diner
s and the Allentown Farmer's Market. Shoofly pie
, birch beer
, and funnel cake
s are regularly found at local fairs. Several local churches make and sell fastnachts
as a fundraiser for Fastnacht Day
, the day before the start of Lent
.
As the population of the city has increased, many national restaurant and fast food chains have established a presence in the city. More recently, growth of the city's ethnic populations has led to the opening of many family run restaurants specializing in ethnic cuisine. Ethnic food types represented include Chinese, Colombian, Dominican, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Lebanese, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Thai and West Indian.
Due in part to Allentown's proximity to Philadelphia, cheesesteaks are also popular. Yocco's Hot Dogs
, a regionally well-known hot dog
and cheesesteak establishment with six area locations, was founded in 1922 by Theodore Iacocca, uncle of Lee Iacocca
. In addition, A-Treat
, a regionally-popular brand of carbonated
soft drink
s, has been manufactured in Allentown since 1918.
, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
.
that dates back to 1884. In 2008, Allentown unveiled Coca-Cola Park, a $50.25 million, 8,100-seat stadium. The stadium was constructed in east-side Allentown to serve as the home field for the Philadelphia Phillies
' AAA-level Minor League baseball
team, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs
. The IronPigs, a member of the International League
, are the first Major League
-affiliated club to play in the city since 1960.
, an Eastern Professional Basketball League
team, from 1958 to 1981. The Jets were one of the most dominant franchises in the league's history, winning eight playoff championships and twelve division titles. The team’s home games were played in Rockne Hall at Allentown Central Catholic High School
.
, which has been the training ground for numerous Olympians and U.S. national gymnastics champions, is based in Allentown. In 2003, CNN
aired a documentary on Parkettes, Achieving the Perfect 10
, which depicted it as a hugely demanding and competitive training program.
. The team had a five-year league record of 76–49–25, and won the league championship in 1980. Due to increasing competition from other soccer leagues, and decreasing attendance, the team folded in 1983. The team was resurrected in 2007 as the Pennsylvania Stoners
, and competes in the National Premier Soccer League
(NPSL). Based in Allentown, the team originally played its home games at J. Birney Crum Stadium
. In 2008, the team captured the NPSL league championship. Since 2009, the Stoners play their home games at Whitehall-Coplay School District
's Zephyr Sports Complex in nearby Whitehall. The Easton
-based Northampton Laurels FC, of the Women's Premier Soccer League
, also play at J. Birney Crum Stadium.
Allentown's economy has historically been and continues to be manufacturing based. The city serves as the location of corporate headquarters for several large, global companies, including Air Products & Chemicals
, PPL
, and others. The largest employer in Allentown is Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network
, with more than 7,800 employees.
In 2008, after more than 100 years in the city, Mack Trucks announced that their Allentown-based corporate headquarters would be relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina
in 2009, though Mack continues to operate its primary manufacturing facility in neighboring Lower Macungie Township. It was expected that the move would result in the loss of approximately 600 jobs.
between 5th and 10th Streets was the primary shopping district in Allentown until the mid-1970s. The "Downtown", as it was referred to, was anchored by Hess's
(9th and Hamilton); H. Leh and Company (7th and Hamilton), and Zollinger and Harned (6th and Hamilton) department stores. Along Hamilton street were scores of retail businesses; large banks; movie theaters and various small restaurants and lunch counters. On the second and third stories, professional offices could be found in many of the smaller buildings with storefronts on the first floor. Alfred L. Reichenbach, Mayor of Allentown in the late 1910s, traveled to Europe and saw beautiful hanging gardens and floral lamp posts in Paris and in some cities in Germany. He was also an amateur horticulturist and enjoyed all varieties of flowers and anyone visiting the mayor's office during his tenure would find vases of flowers for all seasons on his desk and tables. In fact, it was he who had floral boxes planted outside the mayor's window so he, and his fellow citizens, could enjoy seasonal floral designs. He believed that it would be a good way to beautify the downtown shopping district and encouraged the City Council with idea of purchasing the floral lamp posts during the renovations of Hamilton Street in 1916.
Businesses generally operated from 9am to 5pm Monday-Saturday, staying open until 9pm on Thursdays and starting in the mid-1960s, also on Monday nights. Until 1952, Lehigh Valley Transit street trolleys operated east-west along the length of Hamilton Street, and also north and south along 8th Street. The major transit station downtown being at 8th & Hamilton.
In the 1950s, a privately owned parking lot system (Park & Shop) to accommodate shoppers and downtown workers began to be built by razing old buildings generally within a block of Hamilton between Walnut and Linden streets, with Hamilton Street merchants providing validation for shoppers parking tickets. In the early 1970s, Hess's and Leh's built large, private multilevel covered parking decks connected to their department stores to attract customers.
In 1966, the Whitehall Mall
opened along MacArthur Road
, just north of Allentown in Whitehall Township
. It was the first enclosed shopping center north of Philadelphia when it opened. Having two major department stores (Sears & Roebuck and Zollinger and Harned) as anchor stores when it opened, its popularity led to the rise of a sprawling retail district along MacArthur Road that continued to expand into the early 1990s. After a major renovation in 1998, the Whitehall Mall's anchors included Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohl's
, and Sears.
In the early 1970s, Hess's South, a satellite location of the Hess's downtown store, expanded to become the South Mall
, located in South Allentown, at the city's border with Salisbury Township
and Emmaus
. Today, the South Mall's anchors include Gold's Gym
, Petco
, Staples, Stein Mart
, and The Bon-Ton
.
In 1976, the Lehigh Valley Mall
opened, just south of the Whitehall Mall, at the intersection of U.S. Route 22
and MacArthur Road. With more than 140 stores, the Lehigh Valley Mall became the largest shopping mall in the region, and presently has anchors including Boscov's
, JCPenney and Macy's
. A large outdoor shopping addition opened in October 2007, and includes stores such as Apple
and Barnes & Noble
. Most recently, The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley
, a large, upscale outdoor shopping mall, opened just south of the city, near Pennsylvania Route 309
and Interstate 78
, in Upper Saucon Township
.
in 1966 were steadily reducing the number of shoppers along Hamilton Street. Consumers preferred the convenience of easy access via automobile, and the enclosed Whitehall Mall to the pedestrian outdoor sidewalk shopping which was found along Hamilton Street. The City of Allentown hired the firm of David M. Walker Associates in 1969 to explore the needs of Center City. The 1969 Walker Report concluded that automobile traffic had taken over the downtown shopping area and that a traffic-free business district between Linden, Walnut, Sixth and Tenth Streets be developed and to convert the downtown Hamilton Street shopping area to a "Semimall", later known as "Hamilton Mall". Traffic would no longer be allowed on Hamilton Street. The intersection of Eighth and Hamilton would be closed as well as all half streets intersecting Hamilton. This would create a large pedestrian shopping "superblock" between Center Square and 9th Street, with two smaller shopping blocks between Sixth and Seventh and Ninth and Tenth. Center Square would become a large, pedestrian only area with Seventh street being reduced to one lane on each side of the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument. Hamilton Street would be completely rebuilt, with the existing street removed and replaced by a raised brick walking surface. Large, enclosing canopies would be built on each side of the street to provide shoppers protection from the weather, and small buses would operate east-west between 6th and 10th Streets picking up and dropping off shoppers to give them easy access to retail stores.
During a 30-day test in April 1971, traffic on Hamilton Street was shut down between Sixth and Tenth and Lehigh Valley Transit provided small buses, free of charge for shoppers. Walnut Street, which traditionally ran one way east to west, was reversed to run west-east, with traffic along Hamilton Street being diverted south to Walnut at Twelfth street for eastbound travel. Traffic moving westbound on Hamilton Street was diverted north at Sixth, then moved west along Linden to Twelfth, then south to Hamilton, giving the center city a circular traffic flow around the pedestrian-only Center City.
Problems quickly arose. It was difficult for small merchants downtown to receive deliveries, since the half streets were blocked and the narrow streets did not allow turnarounds of small delivery trucks. Also, the new restriction prohibiting automobile traffic on Hamilton Street was unpopular, and the proposed closing of the Eighth and Hamilton intersection was deemed impractical, since it blocked a major north-south route from South Allentown. Within a week, Eighth Street was reopened. The plan was also changed to allow limited two-lane automobile traffic on Hamilton Street one-way west to east, with limited drop-off and pick-up only parking. Traffic lights were installed at each major street and half street with a speed limit of 20 mi/h. The sidewalks would be expanded outwards with canopies covering them.
Final plans were developed and approval was given by City Council in October 1971. Construction of Hamilton Mall began in early 1972, with construction lasting until 1974. Starting at 10th street and proceeding east, one full block at a time was closed to traffic with the existing street surface and sidewalks removed (including the old trolley tracks which had been asphalted over in the 1950s) along with the sidewalks on each side of the street. In addition, the famous downtown sidewalk street lights, which contained hanging flower gardens, were scrapped. Retail store street signs were also removed, including the large signature Hess's department store sign because they interfered with the sidewalk street canopies. The large parking areas at Center Square and comfort station under the square were also removed and turned into large brick sidewalks, along with the resurfacing of Seventh Street between Linden and Walnut Streets.
The construction of Hamilton Mall caused severe disruption in the downtown shopping area for more than two years. During that time, merchants and Center City employees experienced enormous difficulties as sections of Hamilton Street were closed for months at a time. The sidewalks along Hamilton Street were reduced to single path walkways, and piles of rubble, construction material, the sounds of heavy construction equipment took over the downtown area. During the construction period shoppers tended to avoid the downtown area and shop in the suburban malls and shopping centers.
Officially opened in 1974, Hamilton Mall never lived up to the expectations of the city planners. Large numbers of shoppers did not return to the downtown area. The opening of Lehigh Valley Mall
in 1976 and other, smaller malls in the suburbs with outside satellite stores increased the number of businesses closing along Hamilton Street. The major expansion of MacArthur Road
in Whitehall Township
also led to fewer and fewer shoppers on Hamilton Mall. Improvements were made along Hamilton Mall by removing the overhead sidewalk canopies and installing a new generation of street lights, designed to replicate the hanging flower gardens of the ones removed in the construction were erected to improve the Mall's appearance. Parking meters were installed to allow longer term, but still limited parking. However, by the late 1970s, increased suburbanization
led to a general decline in the popularity of the downtown shopping district. Retail shopping downtown declined with the closing of Leh's (1987) and Zollinger's (1978) downtown and culminated with the last major department store, Hess's, being sold-off in 1994, eventually being closed and subsequently demolished in 2000. Instead of a shopping Mecca, the use of downtown Allentown has turned into office buildings and increasingly has become a center-city campus for city and county government workers, along with those of PPL
.
Print
Allentown-based print media include The Morning Call
, the city's daily newspaper, and Pulse Weekly
, an arts and entertainment newspaper.
(designated market area). The four major Philadelphia-based network stations serving Allentown include: KYW-TV
(CBS
), WCAU (NBC
), WPVI
(ABC
) and WTXF
(Fox
). Other available Philadelphia stations include: WPHL-TV
, WPSG
, and others. Several New York City stations also serve the area, including WPIX
and WWOR-TV
.
Additionally, the city is served by three Lehigh Valley television stations: WFMZ Channel 69
(independent
) and WBPH-TV
(Christian
), both in Allentown, and WLVT Channel 39
(PBS
) in Bethlehem.
. Stations licensed to Allentown include WAEB-AM
(talk
, news
and sports
), WAEB-FM
(Top 40
music), WDIY
(NPR and public radio), WHOL
(tropical music
), WLEV
(adult contemporary music
), WMUH
(Muhlenberg College
campus radio
), WSAN (Fox Sports Radio
and Philadelphia Phillies
broadcasts), WZZO
(hard rock
music) and others. In addition, many New York City and Philadelphia stations can be received in Allentown.
.
The unemployment rate for the entire Lehigh Valley
area is 9.8% as of February 2010, with Allentown's unemployment rate estimated at over 10%.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 106,632 people and 25,135 families residing in the city. The population density
was 6,011.5 inhabitants per square mile (2,320.8/km²). There were 45,960 housing units at an average density of 2,591.1 per square mile (1,000.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.55% White, 7.85% African American, 0.33% Native American, 2.27% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 13.37% from other races, and 3.55% from two or more races. 24.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.
There were 42,032 households in the city, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18, 39.4% had married couples
living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% had non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The city's average household size is 2.42 and the average family size was 3.09.
The city's population broken down by age ranges was 24.8% under 18, 11.2% from 18–24, 29.8% from 25–44, 19.1% from 45–64, and 15.1% 65 years or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there are 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,016, and the median income for a family was $37,356. Males had a median income of $30,426 versus $23,882 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $16,282. 18.5% of the population and 14.6% of families were below the poverty line. 29.4% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Elected "at-large
", the mayor serves a four year term under the city's home rule
charter. The current city mayor is Democrat Ed Pawlowski
, who replaced Roy C. Afflerbach
after his single-term in office from 2002 to 2006. The legislative branch, the Allentown City Council, consists of seven council members elected at large for four-year staggered terms. City Council holds regular public meetings in order to enact legislation in the form of ordinances and resolutions. The current president of the City Council is Michael D'Amore. The City Controller, who is responsible for the oversight of the city's finances, is also elected and serves a four-year term.
Federally, Allentown is part of Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district
, represented by Republican Charlie Dent
, elected in 2004. The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Bob Casey, Jr.
. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Republican Pat Toomey
, elected in 2010. The Governor of Pennsylvania is Republican Tom Corbett
.
Allentown was named the 12th most conservative in America by the non-partisan Bay Area Center.
’s 2010 Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report.
The decline was led by a 31 percent drop in the number of homicides from 13 to 9. Motor vehicle theft fell 11.4 percent. Burglary was down 6.1 percent. Reported robberies, rapes and property crimes also fell. There were slight increases in the number of aggravated assaults and arsons. The number of violent crimes in the city has fallen more than 30 percent since 2006.
, which is the fourth largest school district
in Pennsylvania, with 18,118 students (based on 2005–2006 enrollment data).
The city maintains two public high schools for grades 9–12, William Allen High School
, which serves students from the southern and western parts of the city, and Louis E. Dieruff High School
, which serves students from the eastern and northern parts. Each of these Allentown area high schools competes athletically in the Lehigh Valley Conference
. Both schools play their home football
games at J. Birney Crum Stadium
.
Allentown School District's four middle schools, for grades 6–8, include: Francis D. Raub Middle School, Harrison-Morton Middle School, South Mountain Middle School and Trexler Middle School. The city is served by 16 elementary schools, for kindergarten through fifth grade, including: Central, Cleveland, Hiram W. Dodd, Jackson, Jefferson, Lehigh Parkway, Lincoln, McKinley, Midway Manor, Mosser, Muhlenberg, Ritter, Roosevelt, Sheridan, Union Terrace and Washington. The Roberto Clemente Charter School
, also located in the Allentown School District, is a Title I charter school
which provides educational services to mainly Hispanic
students in grades 6 through 12.
The Allentown School District is currently undertaking a 10 year, $120 million facilities improvement plan. The plan includes renovation of all 23 schools in the district. Most of the schools to be renovated will be expanded. Two additional elementary schools and a fifth middle school are expected to be built.
and Lehigh Valley Christian High School
, though both schools draw students from both Allentown and the city's suburbs. Other Allentown-based parochial schools (serving grades K-8) include: Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena School, Holy Spirit School, Lehigh Christian Academy, Mercy Special Learning Center, Our Lady Help of Christians School, Sacred Heart School, Saint Francis of Assisi School, Saint Paul School, and Saint Thomas More School. The Roman Catholic-affiliated parochial schools in Allentown are operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown
. The Grace Montessori School is a pre-school and early elementary Montessori
school run as an outreach of Grace Episcopal Church. The Swain School, a non-sectarian private school founded in 1929, is also located in Allentown. The city also has a private Jewish
school, the Jewish Day School.
and Muhlenberg College
. A satellite campus of Lehigh Carbon Community College
(LCCC), a comprehensive community college which offers two and four year degree programs, continuing education and industry training, is located in Center City Allentown.
, is located three miles (5 km) northeast of Allentown in Hanover Township
. Newark (New Jersey) International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport
, which are within an hour to an hour-and-a-half driving distance of Allentown, provide additional flight services to Lehigh Valley
residents. The region is also served by Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport , a two-runway general aviation facility located in South Allentown used predominantly by private aviation.
, which runs from Harrisburg
in the west to New York City
's Holland Tunnel
in the east; the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike
, (which is part of I-476), runs from Plymouth Meeting
outside Philadelphia in the south to Interstate 81
at Clarks Summit
in the north; Pennsylvania Route 309
, which runs from Philadelphia in the south to The Poconos
in the north; and U.S. Route 22
, which runs from Cincinnati, Ohio
in the west to Newark, New Jersey
in the east. Public parking within Allentown is managed by the Allentown Parking Authority
.
There are nine major inbound roads to Allentown: Airport Road
, Cedar Crest Boulevard, Fullerton Avenue, Hamilton Boulevard
, Lehigh Street
, Mauch Chunk Road, Pennsylvania Route 145
(MacArthur Road), Tilghman Street, and Union Boulevard.
Public transportation within Allentown is provided by LANTA, a public bus system serving Lehigh and Northampton Counties. Several private bus lines, including Bieber Tourways, Susquehanna Trailways and Trans-Bridge Lines
, provide bus service from Allentown to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal
, Philadelphia's Greyhound Terminal
, Atlantic City
's Bus Terminal
, and other regional locations.
, Conrail
, Lehigh and New England Railroad
, Lehigh Valley Railroad
, and Reading Railroad
. While Allentown currently has no passenger rail service (the last public rail service, which was part of the Bethlehem-Philadelphia service provided by Conrail under contract with SEPTA
, ceased operating in 1979), several of the Allentown-area stations once used for passenger service have been preserved through their current commercial use. In November 2008, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), along with both Lehigh and Northampton Counties, commissioned a study to explore the merits of expanding the New Jersey Transit
line to the Lehigh Valley, which would potentially include stops in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.
Allentown is a regional center for commercial freight rail traffic. Currently, Norfolk Southern's
primary hump classification yards are located in Allentown, and the city is also served by the R.J. Corman Railroad Group
.
Allentown and the Lehigh Valley area were once served only by the 215 area code from 1947 (when the North American Numbering Plan
of the Bell System
went into effect) until 1994. With the city and region's growing population, however, Allentown and its surrounding areas were afforded area code 610
in 1994. Today, the city of Allentown is covered by 610. An overlay area code, 484, was added to the 610 service area in 1999. A plan to introduce area code 835 as an additional overlay was rescinded in 2001.
, Sacred Heart Hospital, the Lehigh Valley Health Network
, the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and the Allentown State Hospital
.
, also known as PP&L. UGI provides natural gas
for homes. Two cable systems, RCN Corporation
(originally Twin County Cable) and Service Electric Cable TV, Inc.
, have served the city since the 1960s. The area's only landfill, IESI Bethlehem, is located in nearby Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
. Water, sewer, waste, recycling, and yard waste are controlled by the city.
. Inspired by the City Beautiful movement
in the early 20th century, Trexler helped create West Park, a 6.59 acres (26,668.8 m²) park in what was then a community trash pit and sandlot baseball field in an upscale area of the city. The park, which opened in 1909, features a bandshell, designed by noted Philadelphia
architect Horace Trumbauer
, which has long been home to the Allentown Band
and other community bands. Trexler also facilitated the development of Trexler Park, Cedar Parkway, Allentown Municipal Golf Course and the Trout Nursery in Lehigh Parkway. Trexler was also responsible for the development of the Trexler Trust, which to this day continues to provide private funding for the maintenance and development of Allentown's park system.
City parks in Allentown include Bicentennial Park
(4,600 seat mini-stadium built for sporting events), Cedar Creek Parkway (127 acres, including Lake Muhlenberg
, Cedar Beach and the Malcolm W. Gross Memorial Rose Garden), East Side Reservoir (15 acres), Kimmets Lock Park (5 acres), Lehigh Canal Park (55 acres), Lehigh Parkway
(999 acres), Old Allentown Cemetery (4 acres), Jordan Park, South Mountain Reservoir (157 acres), Trexler Memorial Park (134 acres), Trout Creek Parkway (100 acres), Joe Daddona Park (19 acres) and West Park (6.59 acres).
, an arts and crafts festival established in 1986, is held each May at Cedar Beach Park in Allentown. The Great Allentown Fair
runs annually, in early September, on the grounds of the Allentown Fairgrounds, where it has been held since 1889. The first Allentown Fair was held in 1852, and between 1852 and 1899 it was held at the "Old Allentown Fairgrounds," which was located north of Liberty Street between 5th and 6th streets. The J. Birney Crum Stadium plays host to the Collegiate Marching Band Festival
, held annually since 1995, as well as other marching band festivals and competitions.
, the AAA-level minor league team affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies
of Major League Baseball
. J. Birney Crum Stadium
, used for Lehigh Valley Conference
football and other purposes, has a seating capacity in excess of 15,000. The city has no large indoor stadium, but major indoor sporting and concert events are held at Stabler Arena
, in neighboring Bethlehem.
, Fountain Pool, Irving Pool, Jordan Pool and Mack Pool.
city has led to many references to the city in popular culture:
: Ma'alot-Tarshiha
, Israel
Vinci, Tuscany, Italy
Lelów
, Poland
Allentown also has two designated "twin cities": Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
, United States
Easton, Pennsylvania
, United States
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
located in Lehigh County
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
-Climate:Most of the county's climate is considered to fall in the humid continental climate zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently the fastest growing city in Pennsylvania. It is also the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Lehigh County.
Located on the Lehigh River
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River, a tributary of the Delaware River, is a river located in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. Part of the Lehigh, along with a number of its tributaries, is designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River by the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources...
, Allentown is the largest of three adjacent cities that make up a region of eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
known as the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
, Allentown is 60 miles (96.6 km) north of Philadelphia, the fifth most populous city in the United States, 80 miles (128.7 km) east of Harrisburg, the state capital, and 90 miles (144.8 km) west of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the nation's largest city.
Two four-year colleges, Cedar Crest College
Cedar Crest College
Cedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. During the 2006-2007 academic year, the college had 1,000 full-time and 800 part-time undergraduates and 85 graduate students...
and Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
, are located in Allentown. Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park features nine roller coasters, other adult and children's rides, and a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom....
, a very popular amusement park, is located just outside of the city.
Commercial airline service to and from the city is available through Lehigh Valley International Airport
Lehigh Valley International Airport
Lehigh Valley International Airport , formerly Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton International Airport, is a public airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania....
(LVIA) . General aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
and charter service is offered by LVIA and Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport
Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport
Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport is a public use airport located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. The airport is located on Lehigh Street, two nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Lehigh-Northampton Airport...
.
The city is connected to the Interstate Highway System
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
by Interstate 78
Interstate 78
Interstate 78 is an Interstate Highway in the Northeast United States, running 144 miles from Interstate 81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown, Pennsylvania, and western and northern New Jersey to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan in New York City.I-78 is a major road...
and Interstate 476
Interstate 476
Interstate 476 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania....
, the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...
, which provide access connections to the major urban areas of other Northeastern United States urban areas. Also U.S. Route 22
U.S. Route 22
U.S. Route 22 is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 near the Newark Liberty International Airport.US 22 also carries the names of the William...
, the Lehigh Valley Thruway, provides a limited access east-west highway connection to the Interstate Highway System to the northern parts of the city. Commuter train service between Allentown and Philadelphia ended in 1979 when state funding to operate the service ceased.
Allentown is a two-time winner of the All-America City Award
All-America City Award
The All-America City Award is given by the National Civic League annually to ten cities in the United States.The oldest community recognition program in the nation, the award recognizes communities whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon...
, being recognized in 1962 and 1974–1975.
Founding
The area that is today the center of Allentown was laid out as Northampton Town in 1762 by William AllenWilliam Allen (loyalist)
William Allen was a wealthy merchant, Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania, and mayor of Philadelphia. At the time of the American Revolution, Allen was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Philadelphia...
, a wealthy shipping merchant, former mayor of the city of Philadelphia and then-Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania
Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as Pennsylvania Colony, was founded in British America by William Penn on March 4, 1681 as dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II...
. The property was part of a 5000 acres (20.2 km²) plot Allen purchased on September 10, 1735 from his business partner Joseph Turner
Joseph Turner (loyalist)
Joseph Turner was a seaman, merchant, iron manufacturer, and politician in colonial and post-colonial Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Turner was born in 1701 in Hampshire, England. He came to America in January 1714 without his parents. Early Philadelphia records identify him as a sea captain in 1724...
, who was assigned the warrant to the land by Thomas Penn
Thomas Penn
Thomas Penn was a son of William Penn, founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony that became the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Thomas Penn was born in Bristol, England after his father returned there in 1701 because of financial difficulties...
, son of William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
, on May 18, 1732. The tract was originally surveyed on November 23, 1736. A subsequent survey done in 1753 by David Schultz for a road from Easton
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
to Reading
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
, of which present-day Union and Jackson streets were links, shows the location of log house owned by Allen, situated near the western bank of the Jordan Creek, which was believed to have been built around 1740. Used primarily as a hunting and fishing lodge, here Allen entertained prominent guests including his brother-in-law, James Hamilton
James Hamilton (Pennsylvania)
James Hamilton , son of the well-known Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton, was a prominent lawyer and governmental figure in colonial Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.-Life:...
, and colonial governor John Penn
John Penn (governor)
John Penn was the last governor of colonial Pennsylvania, serving in that office from 1763 to 1771 and from 1773 to 1776...
.
The original plan for the town, now in the archives of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824 and based in Philadelphia. The Society's building, designed by Addison Hutton and listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places, houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items...
, comprised forty-two city blocks and consisted of 756 lots, mostly 60 feet (18.3 m) in width and 230 feet (70.1 m) in depth. The town was located between present-day Fourth and Tenth Streets, and Union and Liberty Streets. Many streets on the original plan were named for Allen's children: Margaret (present-day Fifth Street), William (now Sixth), James (now Eighth), Ann (now Ninth) and John (now Walnut). Allen Street (now Seventh) was named for Allen himself, and was the main thoroughfare. Hamilton Street was named for James Hamilton
James Hamilton (Pennsylvania)
James Hamilton , son of the well-known Philadelphia lawyer Andrew Hamilton, was a prominent lawyer and governmental figure in colonial Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.-Life:...
. Gordon Street was named for Sir Patrick Gordon, Deputy Governor
Deputy Governor
A Deputy governor is a gubernatorial official who is subordinated to a governor, rather like a Lieutenant governor.-British colonial cases:In the British empire, there were such colonial offices in :...
of Colonial Pennsylvania from 1726–1736. Chew Street was named for Benjamin Chew
Benjamin Chew
Benjamin Chew was a third-generation American, a Quaker-born legal scholar, a prominent and successful Philadelphia lawyer, head of the Pennsylvania Judiciary System under both Colony and Commonwealth, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of Pennsylvania...
, and Turner Street was named for Allen's business partner, Joseph Turner
Joseph Turner (loyalist)
Joseph Turner was a seaman, merchant, iron manufacturer, and politician in colonial and post-colonial Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Turner was born in 1701 in Hampshire, England. He came to America in January 1714 without his parents. Early Philadelphia records identify him as a sea captain in 1724...
.
Northampton County, Pennsylvania
As of the 2010 census, the county was 86.3% White, 5.0% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 2.2% were two or more races, and 3.8% were some other race. 10.5% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.As of the census of...
and also become a commercial center due to its location along the Lehigh River and its proximity to Philadelphia. Allen gave the property to his son James in 1767. Three years later, in 1770, James built a summer residence, Trout Hall, in the new town, near the site of his father's former hunting lodge.
On March 18, 1811, the town was formally incorporated as the Borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Northamptown. On March 6, 1812, Lehigh County was formed from the western half of Northampton County, and Northampton Town was selected as the county seat. The town was officially renamed "Allentown" on April 16, 1838, after years of popular usage. Allentown was formally incorporated as a city on March 12, 1867.
Liberty Bell and the American Revolutionary War
Allentown holds historical significance as the location where the Liberty BellLiberty Bell
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...
(then known as the Pennsylvania State House bell) was successfully hidden from the British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. After George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine
Battle of Brandywine
The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...
on September 11, 1777, the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia was defenseless, and that city prepared for British attack. The Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania comprised the executive branch of the Pennsylvania State government between 1777 and 1790...
ordered that eleven bells, including the State House bell and the bells from Philadelphia's Christ Church
Christ Church, Philadelphia
Christ Church is an Episcopal church located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1695 by members of the Church of England, who built a small wooden church on the site by the next year. When the congregation outgrew this structure some twenty years later, they decided to erect a new...
and St. Peter's Church
St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia
St. Peter's Church is a historic church located on the corner of Third and Pine Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It opened for worship on September 4, 1761 and served as a place of worship for many of the United States Founding Fathers during the period of the Continental Congresses. The...
, be taken down and removed from the city to prevent the British, who would melt the bells down to cast into cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s, from taking possession of them. The bells were transported north to Northampton-Towne, and hidden in the basement
Basement
__FORCETOC__A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system...
of the Old Zion Reformed Church, in what is now center city Allentown. Today, a shrine and museum in the church's basement, known as the Liberty Bell Museum
Liberty Bell Museum
The Liberty Bell Museum is a non-profit organization and museum located in Zion's United Church of Christ in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, marks the spot where the bell was hidden.
After the Battle of Trenton
Battle of Trenton
The Battle of Trenton took place on December 26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, after General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton, New Jersey. The hazardous crossing in adverse weather made it possible for Washington to lead the main body of the...
on December 26, 1776, Hessian prisoners-of-war were kept in the vicinity of present-day Seventh and Gordon Streets. The Old Zion Reformed Church, and a house near James (now Eighth) and Hamilton Streets, served as hospitals for injured and sick Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
troops. In 1777, a factory manufacturing paper cartridge
Paper cartridge
Paper cartridge refers to one of various types of small arms ammunition used before the advent of the metallic cartridge. These cartridges consisted of a paper cylinder or cone containing the bullet, gunpowder, and, in some cases, a primer or a lubricating and anti-fouling agent...
s for musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s was relocated here from nearby Bethlehem. That same year, a shop of sixteen armorers was established along the Little Lehigh Creek
Little Lehigh Creek
The Little Lehigh Creek is approximately long, in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is also sometimes referred to as the Little Lehigh River. It is called the Little Lehigh because it is the largest tributary of the Lehigh River....
, and employed in the repair of weapons and the manufacture of saddle
Saddle
A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...
s and scabbard
Scabbard
A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. Scabbards have been made of many materials over the millennia, including leather, wood, and metals such as brass or steel.-Types of scabbards:...
s.
American Industrial Revolution
Prior to the 1830s, Allentown was a small town with only local markets. The arrival of the Lehigh CanalLehigh Canal
The Lehigh Canal was constructed by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company to carry anthracite from the upper Lehigh Valley to the urban markets of the northeast, especially Philadelphia...
, however, expanded the city's commerce and industrial capacity greatly. With this, the town underwent significant industrialization, ultimately becoming a major center for heavy industry and manufacturing. While Allentown was not as large as neighboring Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
at the time, the local iron industry — which included the Allentown Iron Company (established 1846) and the Allentown Rolling Mills (established 1860) — employed the majority of Allentown's workforce. Railroads, such as the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...
, were vital to the movement of raw materials and finished goods, and employed a significant workforce during this time. This period of rapid economic growth in the region was halted by two events, the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
and the Long Depression
Long Depression
The Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis, felt most heavily in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing strong economic growth fueled by the Second Industrial Revolution in the decade following the American Civil War. At the time, the episode was labeled the Great...
.
In addition to the iron and railroad industries, Allentown also had a strong tradition in the brewing
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
and was home to several notable breweries, including the Horlacher Brewery (founded 1897, closed 1978), the Neuweiler Brewery (founded 1875, closed 1968) and Schaefer Beer
Schaefer Beer
Schaefer Beer is a brand of American beer. Schaefer Beer was first produced in 1842 by the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company. The name "Schaefer" is derived from the last name of founding brothers Frederick and Maximiliam Schaefer....
, whose brewery was later owned by Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company
Pabst Brewing Company is an American company that dates its origins to a brewing company founded in 1844 by Jacob Best and by 1889 named after Frederick Pabst. It is currently the holding company contracting for the brewing of over two dozen brands of beer and malt liquor from defunct companies...
and Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
but is now owned by the Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
.
Early 20th century to present
Economic recovery in the early 20th century was brought about by the silkSilk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
and textile industry
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
. The Adelaide Silk Mill, one of the largest in the world at the time, opened in Allentown in 1881. By 1928, there were more than 140 silk and textile mills in the Lehigh Valley, making it the second largest industry in the region. By the 1930s, the silk industry was in worldwide decline, as synthetics
Synthetic fiber
Synthetic fibers are the result of extensive research by scientists to improve on naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by forcing, usually through extrusion, fiber forming materials through holes into the air, forming a thread...
were taking the place of silk. Catoir Silk Mill, the last silk mill in Allentown, closed in 1989. In 1905, Mack Trucks
Mack Trucks
Mack Trucks is an American truck-manufacturing company and a former manufacturer of buses and trolley buses. A wholly owned subsidiary of Renault Véhicules Industriels since 1990, Mack Trucks is currently a subsidiary of AB Volvo. The company's headquarters are located in Greensboro, North Carolina...
moved to Allentown, beginning Allentown's focus on heavy industrial manufacturing. Today, Allentown's economy, like most of Pennsylvania's, is based in the service industries
Tertiary sector of industry
The tertiary sector of the economy is one of the three economic sectors, the others being the secondary sector and the primary sector .The service sector consists of the "soft" parts of the economy, i.e...
with some manufacturing. Deindustrialization
Deindustrialization
Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially heavy industry or manufacturing industry. It is an opposite of industrialization.- Multiple interpretations :There are multiple...
has caused many of the factories and corporations headquartered in Allentown to close or move. For example, Mack Trucks
Mack Trucks
Mack Trucks is an American truck-manufacturing company and a former manufacturer of buses and trolley buses. A wholly owned subsidiary of Renault Véhicules Industriels since 1990, Mack Trucks is currently a subsidiary of AB Volvo. The company's headquarters are located in Greensboro, North Carolina...
is now located in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, LSI Corporation
LSI Corporation
LSI Corporation is an electronics company based in Milpitas, California that designs semiconductors and software that accelerate storage and networking in datacenters and mobile networks.-History:...
(formerly Agere Systems, which merged with LSI Logic) moved its headquarters to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and numerous factories have ceased operation. On the other hand, the Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) operates a business incubator, the Bridgeworks, which helps attract and support young commercial and manufacturing businesses.
Topography
Allentown is located at 40°36'6" North, 75°28'38" West (40.601697, −75.477328). According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 18 square miles (46.6 km²). 17.8 square miles (46.1 km²) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) is water. Bodies of water include the Jordan Creek and its tributary, the Little Lehigh Creek
Little Lehigh Creek
The Little Lehigh Creek is approximately long, in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is also sometimes referred to as the Little Lehigh River. It is called the Little Lehigh because it is the largest tributary of the Lehigh River....
, which join within the city limits and empty into the Lehigh River
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River, a tributary of the Delaware River, is a river located in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. Part of the Lehigh, along with a number of its tributaries, is designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River by the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources...
. Other bodies of water within the city limits include Lake Muhlenberg
Lake Muhlenberg
Lake Muhlenberg is a lake located in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States.Part of the Cedar Beach Parkway and part of the city's park system, Lake Muhlenberg is stocked for fishing and is a refuge for many ducks and Canada geese.The lake is so-named due to its proximity to Muhlenberg...
in Cedar Creek Parkway and a pond in Trexler Park.
The city sits within the Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
, a geographic region bounded by Blue Mountain
Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania)
Blue Mountain is a ridge that forms the eastern edge of the Appalachian mountain range in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It cuts across the eastern half of the state from New Jersey to Maryland, providing a distinct boundary between a number of Pennsylvania's geographical and cultural regions...
, a ridge of the Appalachian mountain range, which varies from 1,000 to 1600 feet (487.7 m) in height about 17 miles (27.4 km) north of the city, and South Mountain
South Mountain (eastern Pennsylvania)
South Mountain is a colloquial name applied to features in the mountain range extending south and south west from the Lehigh Valley to the Lebanon Valley regions of Pennsylvania. At times, it also been known as Durham Hills, Reading Hills, and the Lehigh Mountains...
, a ridge of 500 to 1000 feet (304.8 m) in height that borders the southern edge of the city.
The city is the county seat of Lehigh County
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
-Climate:Most of the county's climate is considered to fall in the humid continental climate zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year....
. The adjacent counties are Carbon County
Carbon County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. The population density was 154 people per square mile . There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 80 per square mile...
to the north; Northampton County
Northampton County, Pennsylvania
As of the 2010 census, the county was 86.3% White, 5.0% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 2.2% were two or more races, and 3.8% were some other race. 10.5% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.As of the census of...
to the northeast and east; Bucks County
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
to the southeast; Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
to the south; and Berks County
Berks County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...
and Schuylkill County
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
-Notable people:*Boxing heavyweight great Muhammad Ali had his training camp in Deer Lake.*Charles Justin Bailey, commanding general of the 81st Division in World War I, was born in Tamaqua on June 21, 1859....
to the west.
Surrounding municipalities
Further details (including smaller communities) can be found in the location box at the bottom of this article.Climate
Allentown's climate is considered to fall in the humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
zone. Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year.
The average temperature in January is 27.1 °F (-2.7 °C), and the lowest officially recorded temperature was -16 °F in 1912. July averages 73.3 °F (22.9 °C), and the highest temperature on record was 105 °F (41 °C) in 1966. Early fall and mid-winter are generally driest, with February being the driest month with only 2.75 inches (70 mm) of average precipitation.
Snowfall is variable, with some winters bringing light snow and others bringing numerous significant snowstorms. Average snowfall is 32.4 inches (82 cm) per year, with the months of January and February receiving the highest at just over 11 and 9 inches each. Rainfall is generally spread throughout the year, with eight to twelve wet days per month, at an average annual rate of 110.54 centimetres (43.5 in).
Neighborhoods
Center City
Center City, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Center City is the downtown and Central Business District of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It has a dense population and is currently undergoing an urban revitalizaton process.-Boundaries:...
, which includes the downtown area and the 7th Street retail and residential corridor, is the city's central business district and the host to various city, county and federal government centers. To the east of Center City are "The Wards," the areas that developed as residential areas during the city's industrial boom of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Just east of the Lehigh River
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River, a tributary of the Delaware River, is a river located in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. Part of the Lehigh, along with a number of its tributaries, is designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River by the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources...
are the city's East Side residential neighborhoods, most of which border the various routes to nearby Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
. South of Center City, and across the Little Lehigh Creek
Little Lehigh Creek
The Little Lehigh Creek is approximately long, in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is also sometimes referred to as the Little Lehigh River. It is called the Little Lehigh because it is the largest tributary of the Lehigh River....
, are the city's South Side neighborhoods, which border Emmaus
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located five miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Emmaus was 11,313 at the 2000 census...
. Lastly, there is West End Allentown, which comprises most neighborhoods west of 15th Street.
Architecture
Allentown's Center CityCenter City, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Center City is the downtown and Central Business District of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It has a dense population and is currently undergoing an urban revitalizaton process.-Boundaries:...
neighborhoods mainly consist of a variety of Victorian and Federal rowhomes
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
. The stately homes around West Park are mostly Victorian and Craftsman. The houses on the city's tree-lined streets in the West End were mostly built in the 1920s and 40's. Houses in the City's East Side and South Side are a mixture of architectural styles and are generally single and twin family homes built from the 1940s through the 1960s with century old Victorians in the mix. Allentown also has loft apartments in converted mills and historic brick manufacturing buildings and modern and historic high-rise apartment buildings.
The PPL Building is Allentown's tallest building at 322 feet (98.1 m). It is 23 stories high and is located at the northwest corner of 9th and Hamilton Street. A Lehigh Valley icon, this Art Deco tower can be seen from places throughout the Lehigh Valley; in clear weather, the tower can be seen as far north as the ski resort pass over Blue Mountain
Blue Mountain Ski Area
Blue Mountain is a ski resort located near Palmerton, Pennsylvania, on Blue Mountain in the northern part of the Lehigh Valley, in Pennsylvania...
. One of the city's older still-standing structures, Allentown Symphony Hall, at 23 North Sixth Street in Center City, was constructed in 1896.
The City of Allentown is characterized by a large stock of historic homes, commercial structures and century-old industrial buildings.
There are three historic districts in Allentown, Old Allentown, the Old Fairgrounds and West Park neighborhoods. Old Allentown and Old Fairgrounds are Center City neighborhoods that hold a joint house tour organized by Old Allentown Preservation Association (OAPA) once a year in September. The West Park neighborhood also offers a tour of this district's larger Victorian and Craftsman-style homes.
Culture
Arts and entertainment
The Allentown Symphony OrchestraAllentown Symphony Orchestra
The Allentown Symphony Orchestra is a major regional symphony orchestra based in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1951, the orchestra's current home is the historic, 1200-seat Allentown Symphony Hall, located in downtown Allentown...
performs at Allentown Symphony Hall, located on North Sixth Street in center city. The city also has a musical heritage of civilian concert band
Concert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
s, and is home to the Allentown Band
Allentown Band
The Allentown Band is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is oldest civilian concert band in the United States, having been in continuous existence since its first documented performance on July 4, 1828, although its origins may trace back to as early...
, the oldest civilian concert band in the United States. The Allentown Band, Marine Band of Allentown
Marine Band of Allentown
The Marine Band of Allentown is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded 1903, the band played over 130 engagements during its first year. Despite its name, the Marine Band has no affiliation to the military or the United States Marine...
, Municipal Band of Allentown
Municipal Band of Allentown
The Municipal Band of Allentown is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The band was established in 1923 as the Allentown Police Band, which was renamed to the Municipal Band of Allentown in 1941...
and the Pioneer Band of Allentown
Pioneer Band of Allentown
The Pioneer Band of Allentown is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded 1889, the band had previous been known as the First Ward Band and the Mingo Band...
all regularly perform at the bandshell in the city's West Park.
The city houses a collection of public sculptures, including the DaVinci Horse, located on 5th Street. This sculpture is one of three in the world.
The Allentown Art Museum
Allentown Art Museum
The Allentown Art Museum is an art museum located in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was founded in 1934 by a group organized by noted Pennsylvania impressionist painter, Walter Emerson Baum. With its collection of over 13,000 works of art, the Allentown Art Museum...
, located on North Fifth Street in Center City
Center City, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Center City is the downtown and Central Business District of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It has a dense population and is currently undergoing an urban revitalizaton process.-Boundaries:...
, is home to a collection of more than 13,000 pieces of art, along with an associated library. The Baum School of Art
Baum School of Art
The Baum School of Art is a non-profit community art school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States.In 2007-2008, the school had a total enrollment of 3,326 students, 1,911 of which were children and teens, and 1,415 of which were adults...
, located in downtown Allentown at 5th and Linden Streets, offers credit and non-credit classes in painting, drawing, ceramics, fashion design, jewelry making and more.
Civic Theatre of Allentown
Civic Theatre of Allentown
Civic Theatre of Allentown is a historic community center that hosts theatre, arts education and film. It is located on 19th street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The theatre was developed by Rubin Maiken and Alex Minker, and opened Sept. 17, 1928...
has an 80-plus year history of producing theatre in the Lehigh Valley. Started by two Morning Call
The Morning Call
The Morning Call is a daily newspaper based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The newspaper is owned by the Tribune Company, whose other publications include the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun....
reporters in 1927 as “Civic Little Theatre,” the current day Civic Theatre of Allentown relies on a paid professional staff, volunteer board of directors from the community, and volunteers from the region. Civic Theatre stands on three pillars: theatre, film and education. Civic is a professionally directed, managed and run theatre that utilizes community actors in its live theatre productions. Civic also operates the Lehigh Valley’s only full-time cinema exclusively showing art, independent and foreign films and a theatre school that has been served the Valley’s youth for more than 50 years.
Cuisine
Vestiges of Allentown's Pennsylvania GermanCuisine of the Pennsylvania Dutch
Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine is the typical and traditional fare of the Pennsylvania Dutch, and it has had a considerable influence on the areas in which they originally settled, Central and Southeastern Pennsylvania, as well as the neighboring areas that they have migrated to over time...
heritage remain present in its cuisine, and foodstuffs such as scrapple
Scrapple
Scrapple, also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name pon haus, is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is formed into a semi-solid congealed loaf, and slices of the scrapple are then panfried before serving...
, chow-chow
Chow-chow
Chow-chow is a Nova Scotian and American pickled relish made from a combination of vegetables. Mainly green tomato, cabbage, chayote, red tomatoes, onions, carrots, beans, asparagus, cauliflower and peas are used...
, Lebanon bologna
Lebanon bologna
Lebanon bologna is a type of cured, smoked, fermented, semi-dry sausage. This all-beef sausage is similar in appearance and texture to salami, although it is somewhat darker colored. Lebanon bologna has a distinct tangy flavor, more so than other fermented meat products such as summer sausage...
, cole slaw
Cole Slaw
Cole Slaw is an album by jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson recorded for the Argo label in 1964 and performed by Donaldson with Herman Foster, Earl May, Bruno Carr, and Ray Barretto.The album was awarded 3 stars in an Allmusic review....
and apple butter
Apple butter
Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce, produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives apple butter a much longer shelf life as a preserve...
are often found offered in local diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
s and the Allentown Farmer's Market. Shoofly pie
Shoofly pie
Shoofly pie is a fluffy molasses pie considered traditional among the Pennsylvania Dutch and also known in Southern cooking.The term "shoo-fly pie" first appeared in print in 1926...
, birch beer
Birch beer
Birch beer is a carbonated soft drink made from herbal extracts, usually from birch bark. It has a taste similar to root beer. Various types of birch beer are available, distinguished by color. The color depends on the species of birch tree from which the sap is extracted...
, and funnel cake
Funnel cake
Funnel cake or funnelcake is a regional food popular in North America at carnivals, fairs, sporting events, and seaside resorts. Funnel cakes are made by pouring batter into hot cooking oil in a circular pattern and deep frying the overlapping mass until golden-brown. When made at concession...
s are regularly found at local fairs. Several local churches make and sell fastnachts
Fasnachts
A Fasnacht, sometimes spelled Fastnacht or Faschnacht, is a fatty doughnut treat served traditionally on Fastnacht Day , the day before Lent starts. Fasnachts were made as a way to empty the pantry of lard, sugar, fat, and butter, which were traditionally fasted from during Lent.Basel, Switzerland...
as a fundraiser for Fastnacht Day
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
, the day before the start of Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
.
As the population of the city has increased, many national restaurant and fast food chains have established a presence in the city. More recently, growth of the city's ethnic populations has led to the opening of many family run restaurants specializing in ethnic cuisine. Ethnic food types represented include Chinese, Colombian, Dominican, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Lebanese, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Thai and West Indian.
Due in part to Allentown's proximity to Philadelphia, cheesesteaks are also popular. Yocco's Hot Dogs
Yocco's Hot Dogs
Yocco's Hot Dogs is a regionally-famous hot dog and cheesesteak establishment with six restaurants, each located in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. Yocco's was founded in 1922 by Theodore Iacocca, uncle of Lee Iacocca...
, a regionally well-known hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
and cheesesteak establishment with six area locations, was founded in 1922 by Theodore Iacocca, uncle of Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...
. In addition, A-Treat
A-Treat Bottling Company
The A-Treat Bottling Company is a beverage company, with headquarters in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States, that manufactures and bottles the regionally-popular A-Treat brand of carbonated soft drinks.-History:...
, a regionally-popular brand of carbonated
Carbonation
Carbonation is the process of dissolving carbon dioxide in water. The process usually involves carbon dioxide under high pressure. When the pressure is reduced, the carbon dioxide is released from the solution as small bubbles, which cause the solution to "fizz." This effect is seen in carbonated...
soft drink
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s, has been manufactured in Allentown since 1918.
Museums
- Allentown Art MuseumAllentown Art MuseumThe Allentown Art Museum is an art museum located in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was founded in 1934 by a group organized by noted Pennsylvania impressionist painter, Walter Emerson Baum. With its collection of over 13,000 works of art, the Allentown Art Museum...
, art cultural heritage - America On WheelsAmerica On WheelsAmerica On Wheels is an over-the-road transportation museum located in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States.The museum offers over of exhibit space divided into three main galleries and several smaller exhibits...
, automotive transportation - Da Vinci Science Center, science
- Lehigh Valley Heritage MuseumLehigh County Historical SocietyLehigh County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1904, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley...
, local history - Liberty Bell MuseumLiberty Bell MuseumThe Liberty Bell Museum is a non-profit organization and museum located in Zion's United Church of Christ in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, history - Mack Trucks Historical Museum, automotive transportation
- Museum of Indian CultureMuseum of Indian CultureThe Museum of Indian Culture is a non-profit organization and educational center. Founded in 1980, it is dedicated to presenting, preserving, and perpetuating the history of the Lenape and other Northeastern Woodland Indian cultures. The Museum of Indian Culture is located in the Lehigh Parkway at...
, Native American
Theme parks
Allentown is home to the area's premier amusement parkAmusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park features nine roller coasters, other adult and children's rides, and a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom....
.
Sports
| Club | League | Sport | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lehigh Valley IronPigs Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a minor league baseball team that plays in the International League. The IronPigs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The team plays their home games at Coca-Cola Park, which is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania... |
IL International League The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States... |
Baseball | Coca-Cola Park | 2008 | 0 |
| Northampton Laurels FC | WPSL Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League is a national women's soccer league in the United States and Puerto Rico, and is on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the W-League and below Women's Professional Soccer.... |
Soccer | J. Birney Crum Stadium J. Birney Crum Stadium J. Birney Crum Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The stadium seats 15,000 and is used by several area high schools and the Pennsylvania Stoners of the NPSL and the Northampton Laurels of the WPSL soccer teams. J... |
2005 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania Stoners Pennsylvania Stoners Pennsylvania Stoners is an American soccer team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2007, the team plays in National Premier Soccer League , a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Eastern Keystone Division.The team plays its home... |
NPSL National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League is a United States soccer league recognized by the United States Soccer Federation and FIFA as a Division IV league... |
Soccer | Zephyr Sports Complex Whitehall High School (Pennsylvania) Whitehall High School is a public high school, based in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley region, in the United States. It is the only high school in the Whitehall-Coplay School District. As of the 2006-2007 academic school year, 1,393 students attend the... |
1979 | 2 (1980, 2008) |
| Philadelphia Force Philadelphia Force The Philadelphia Force was/is a women's professional softball team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. From 2006 to 2009 it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch league until a failed sales in September of 2009 but the team's future is in question and is still undecided... |
NPF National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch , formerly the Women's Pro Softball League , is the only professional women's softball league in the United States. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. The NPF revived the league in 2004 and currently features four teams: USSSA Pride, Akron Racers, Chicago... |
Softball | Bicentennial Park Bicentennial Park (Allentown) Bicentennial Park is a stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park, officially named Earl F. Hunsicker Bicentennial Park, is primarily used for baseball and softball.... |
2006 | 0 |
Baseball
Allentown has a history in the sport of professional baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
that dates back to 1884. In 2008, Allentown unveiled Coca-Cola Park, a $50.25 million, 8,100-seat stadium. The stadium was constructed in east-side Allentown to serve as the home field for the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
' AAA-level Minor League baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a minor league baseball team that plays in the International League. The IronPigs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The team plays their home games at Coca-Cola Park, which is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
. The IronPigs, a member of the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
, are the first Major League
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
-affiliated club to play in the city since 1960.
Basketball
Allentown hosted the Allentown JetsAllentown Jets
The Allentown Jets were a minor league basketball team that played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League from 1958 to 1981. The team was one of the most dominant franchises in CBA/Eastern League history, winning eight playoff championships and twelve division titles.Originally formed in...
, an Eastern Professional Basketball League
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
team, from 1958 to 1981. The Jets were one of the most dominant franchises in the league's history, winning eight playoff championships and twelve division titles. The team’s home games were played in Rockne Hall at Allentown Central Catholic High School
Allentown Central Catholic High School
Allentown Central Catholic High School is a private, parochial school located at 301 North Fourth Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
.
Gymnastics
Parkettes National Gymnastics Training CenterParkettes National Gymnastics Training Center
Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center, or Parkettes for short, is a gymnastics club located in Allentown, Pennsylvania that had its beginnings in the early 1960s with a middle school gymnastics program in Allentown that gradually grew into an intramural program and then into a facility that...
, which has been the training ground for numerous Olympians and U.S. national gymnastics champions, is based in Allentown. In 2003, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
aired a documentary on Parkettes, Achieving the Perfect 10
Achieving The Perfect 10
Achieving The Perfect 10, is a made for CNN documentary movie released on August 10, 2003, about young girls training gymnastics at the highly competitive Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
, which depicted it as a hugely demanding and competitive training program.
Soccer
Allentown is also home to the Stoners, a professional soccer team. From 1979–1983, the Stoners were members of the American Soccer LeagueAmerican Soccer League
The American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...
. The team had a five-year league record of 76–49–25, and won the league championship in 1980. Due to increasing competition from other soccer leagues, and decreasing attendance, the team folded in 1983. The team was resurrected in 2007 as the Pennsylvania Stoners
Pennsylvania Stoners
Pennsylvania Stoners is an American soccer team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2007, the team plays in National Premier Soccer League , a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Eastern Keystone Division.The team plays its home...
, and competes in the National Premier Soccer League
National Premier Soccer League
The National Premier Soccer League is a United States soccer league recognized by the United States Soccer Federation and FIFA as a Division IV league...
(NPSL). Based in Allentown, the team originally played its home games at J. Birney Crum Stadium
J. Birney Crum Stadium
J. Birney Crum Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The stadium seats 15,000 and is used by several area high schools and the Pennsylvania Stoners of the NPSL and the Northampton Laurels of the WPSL soccer teams. J...
. In 2008, the team captured the NPSL league championship. Since 2009, the Stoners play their home games at Whitehall-Coplay School District
Whitehall-Coplay School District
Whitehall-Coplay School District is a public school district located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It serves the borough of Coplay and Whitehall Township.-Schools:*Whitehall High School*Whitehall-Coplay Middle School...
's Zephyr Sports Complex in nearby Whitehall. The Easton
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
-based Northampton Laurels FC, of the Women's Premier Soccer League
Women's Premier Soccer League
The Women's Premier Soccer League is a national women's soccer league in the United States and Puerto Rico, and is on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the W-League and below Women's Professional Soccer....
, also play at J. Birney Crum Stadium.
Economy
Air Products & Chemicals
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. is an international corporation whose principal business is selling gases and chemicals for industrial uses. Air Products' headquarters is in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. Air Products is the Lehigh...
, PPL
PPL (utility)
PPL, formerly known as PP&L or Pennsylvania Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Montana, and delivers electricity to...
, and others. The largest employer in Allentown is Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network
Lehigh Valley Hospital
Lehigh Valley Hospital, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is the largest hospital in the Lehigh Valley and the flagship hospital of the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network .-Lehigh Valley Health Network:...
, with more than 7,800 employees.
In 2008, after more than 100 years in the city, Mack Trucks announced that their Allentown-based corporate headquarters would be relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
in 2009, though Mack continues to operate its primary manufacturing facility in neighboring Lower Macungie Township. It was expected that the move would result in the loss of approximately 600 jobs.
Shopping
The Center City area along Hamilton StreetPennsylvania Route 222
Pennsylvania Route 222 is a -long state highway contained entirely in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and its immediate suburbs mostly along Hamilton Boulevard. The route, in center city Allentown, is aligned along West Hamilton, West Linden, and West Walnut Streets...
between 5th and 10th Streets was the primary shopping district in Allentown until the mid-1970s. The "Downtown", as it was referred to, was anchored by Hess's
Hess's
Hess's was a department store chain based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States.- History :The department store known as Hess Brothers was founded on February 19, 1897, by Charles and Max Hess. Max Hess came to Allentown in 1896 on a business trip and envisioned a...
(9th and Hamilton); H. Leh and Company (7th and Hamilton), and Zollinger and Harned (6th and Hamilton) department stores. Along Hamilton street were scores of retail businesses; large banks; movie theaters and various small restaurants and lunch counters. On the second and third stories, professional offices could be found in many of the smaller buildings with storefronts on the first floor. Alfred L. Reichenbach, Mayor of Allentown in the late 1910s, traveled to Europe and saw beautiful hanging gardens and floral lamp posts in Paris and in some cities in Germany. He was also an amateur horticulturist and enjoyed all varieties of flowers and anyone visiting the mayor's office during his tenure would find vases of flowers for all seasons on his desk and tables. In fact, it was he who had floral boxes planted outside the mayor's window so he, and his fellow citizens, could enjoy seasonal floral designs. He believed that it would be a good way to beautify the downtown shopping district and encouraged the City Council with idea of purchasing the floral lamp posts during the renovations of Hamilton Street in 1916.
Businesses generally operated from 9am to 5pm Monday-Saturday, staying open until 9pm on Thursdays and starting in the mid-1960s, also on Monday nights. Until 1952, Lehigh Valley Transit street trolleys operated east-west along the length of Hamilton Street, and also north and south along 8th Street. The major transit station downtown being at 8th & Hamilton.
In the 1950s, a privately owned parking lot system (Park & Shop) to accommodate shoppers and downtown workers began to be built by razing old buildings generally within a block of Hamilton between Walnut and Linden streets, with Hamilton Street merchants providing validation for shoppers parking tickets. In the early 1970s, Hess's and Leh's built large, private multilevel covered parking decks connected to their department stores to attract customers.
In 1966, the Whitehall Mall
Whitehall Mall
The Whitehall Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States.The mall is located northeast of Allentown, on MacArthur Road at its intersection with Grape Street. It is located directly across Grape Street from the Lehigh Valley Mall...
opened along MacArthur Road
Pennsylvania Route 145
Pennsylvania Route 145 , unofficially known as "the gateway to Allentown", is a long north–south state highway in the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania...
, just north of Allentown in Whitehall Township
Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania
Whitehall Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Whitehall Township was 24,896 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. It was the first enclosed shopping center north of Philadelphia when it opened. Having two major department stores (Sears & Roebuck and Zollinger and Harned) as anchor stores when it opened, its popularity led to the rise of a sprawling retail district along MacArthur Road that continued to expand into the early 1990s. After a major renovation in 1998, the Whitehall Mall's anchors included Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohl's
Kohl's
Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating , 1,089 stores in 49 states. In 1998, it entered the S&P 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500...
, and Sears.
In the early 1970s, Hess's South, a satellite location of the Hess's downtown store, expanded to become the South Mall
South Mall
The South Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States, immediately outside of the city of Allentown....
, located in South Allentown, at the city's border with Salisbury Township
Salisbury Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Salisbury Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The township borders Allentown Bethlehem, and Emmaus, in the Lehigh Valley region....
and Emmaus
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located five miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Emmaus was 11,313 at the 2000 census...
. Today, the South Mall's anchors include Gold's Gym
Gold's Gym
Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an international chain of co-ed fitness centers originally started in California by Joe Gold. Each gym features a wide array of exercise equipment, group exercise classes and personal trainers to assist clients...
, Petco
PETCO
PETCO is a chain of retail stores that offers pet supplies and services such as grooming and dog training. Founded in 1965 and incorporated in Delaware, it is headquartered in San Diego, California...
, Staples, Stein Mart
Stein Mart
Stein Mart is a nationwide department store based in Jacksonville, Florida. The company reported a profit of nearly $24 million in 2009 with operation of 264 stores in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Stein Mart has locations primarily in the Southeast and Texas. Stein Mart's stores carry...
, and The Bon-Ton
The Bon-Ton
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. is a regional department store company based in York, Pennsylvania, chiefly operating 275 stores, including 11 furniture galleries, in 23 states throughout the northern United States. Stores carrying its namesake nameplate serve the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions of...
.
In 1976, the Lehigh Valley Mall
Lehigh Valley Mall
The Lehigh Valley Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall located in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the largest shopping mall in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania....
opened, just south of the Whitehall Mall, at the intersection of U.S. Route 22
U.S. Route 22
U.S. Route 22 is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 near the Newark Liberty International Airport.US 22 also carries the names of the William...
and MacArthur Road. With more than 140 stores, the Lehigh Valley Mall became the largest shopping mall in the region, and presently has anchors including Boscov's
Boscov's
Boscov's is an American department store founded by Solomon Boscov in 1911. The first store was in Reading, Pennsylvania, and today 40 stores are spread throughout the Mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, and Delaware....
, JCPenney and Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
. A large outdoor shopping addition opened in October 2007, and includes stores such as Apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
and Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
. Most recently, The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley
The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley
The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley is a lifestyle center in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States.It is located near the Stabler Center near Center Valley, Pennsylvania...
, a large, upscale outdoor shopping mall, opened just south of the city, near Pennsylvania Route 309
Pennsylvania Route 309
Pennsylvania Route 309 is a major highway which runs for 134 miles through Pennsylvania in the United States. It connects Philadelphia and its northern suburbs to Allentown, Hazleton, and Wilkes-Barre. A limited-access highway portion of PA 309 in the Wilkes-Barre area is known as the North...
and Interstate 78
Interstate 78
Interstate 78 is an Interstate Highway in the Northeast United States, running 144 miles from Interstate 81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown, Pennsylvania, and western and northern New Jersey to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan in New York City.I-78 is a major road...
, in Upper Saucon Township
Upper Saucon Township, Pennsylvania
Upper Saucon Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state, and geographically in the Saucon Valley....
.
Hamilton Mall
By the late 1960s, the development of suburban strip shopping centers (Lehigh, Crest Plaza, Two Guys, Mountainville, and Parkway) in the area during the late 1950s and 1960s and especially the opening of the indoor Whitehall MallWhitehall Mall
The Whitehall Mall is an enclosed shopping mall located in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States.The mall is located northeast of Allentown, on MacArthur Road at its intersection with Grape Street. It is located directly across Grape Street from the Lehigh Valley Mall...
in 1966 were steadily reducing the number of shoppers along Hamilton Street. Consumers preferred the convenience of easy access via automobile, and the enclosed Whitehall Mall to the pedestrian outdoor sidewalk shopping which was found along Hamilton Street. The City of Allentown hired the firm of David M. Walker Associates in 1969 to explore the needs of Center City. The 1969 Walker Report concluded that automobile traffic had taken over the downtown shopping area and that a traffic-free business district between Linden, Walnut, Sixth and Tenth Streets be developed and to convert the downtown Hamilton Street shopping area to a "Semimall", later known as "Hamilton Mall". Traffic would no longer be allowed on Hamilton Street. The intersection of Eighth and Hamilton would be closed as well as all half streets intersecting Hamilton. This would create a large pedestrian shopping "superblock" between Center Square and 9th Street, with two smaller shopping blocks between Sixth and Seventh and Ninth and Tenth. Center Square would become a large, pedestrian only area with Seventh street being reduced to one lane on each side of the Soldier's and Sailor's Monument. Hamilton Street would be completely rebuilt, with the existing street removed and replaced by a raised brick walking surface. Large, enclosing canopies would be built on each side of the street to provide shoppers protection from the weather, and small buses would operate east-west between 6th and 10th Streets picking up and dropping off shoppers to give them easy access to retail stores.
During a 30-day test in April 1971, traffic on Hamilton Street was shut down between Sixth and Tenth and Lehigh Valley Transit provided small buses, free of charge for shoppers. Walnut Street, which traditionally ran one way east to west, was reversed to run west-east, with traffic along Hamilton Street being diverted south to Walnut at Twelfth street for eastbound travel. Traffic moving westbound on Hamilton Street was diverted north at Sixth, then moved west along Linden to Twelfth, then south to Hamilton, giving the center city a circular traffic flow around the pedestrian-only Center City.
Problems quickly arose. It was difficult for small merchants downtown to receive deliveries, since the half streets were blocked and the narrow streets did not allow turnarounds of small delivery trucks. Also, the new restriction prohibiting automobile traffic on Hamilton Street was unpopular, and the proposed closing of the Eighth and Hamilton intersection was deemed impractical, since it blocked a major north-south route from South Allentown. Within a week, Eighth Street was reopened. The plan was also changed to allow limited two-lane automobile traffic on Hamilton Street one-way west to east, with limited drop-off and pick-up only parking. Traffic lights were installed at each major street and half street with a speed limit of 20 mi/h. The sidewalks would be expanded outwards with canopies covering them.
Final plans were developed and approval was given by City Council in October 1971. Construction of Hamilton Mall began in early 1972, with construction lasting until 1974. Starting at 10th street and proceeding east, one full block at a time was closed to traffic with the existing street surface and sidewalks removed (including the old trolley tracks which had been asphalted over in the 1950s) along with the sidewalks on each side of the street. In addition, the famous downtown sidewalk street lights, which contained hanging flower gardens, were scrapped. Retail store street signs were also removed, including the large signature Hess's department store sign because they interfered with the sidewalk street canopies. The large parking areas at Center Square and comfort station under the square were also removed and turned into large brick sidewalks, along with the resurfacing of Seventh Street between Linden and Walnut Streets.
The construction of Hamilton Mall caused severe disruption in the downtown shopping area for more than two years. During that time, merchants and Center City employees experienced enormous difficulties as sections of Hamilton Street were closed for months at a time. The sidewalks along Hamilton Street were reduced to single path walkways, and piles of rubble, construction material, the sounds of heavy construction equipment took over the downtown area. During the construction period shoppers tended to avoid the downtown area and shop in the suburban malls and shopping centers.
Officially opened in 1974, Hamilton Mall never lived up to the expectations of the city planners. Large numbers of shoppers did not return to the downtown area. The opening of Lehigh Valley Mall
Lehigh Valley Mall
The Lehigh Valley Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall located in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the largest shopping mall in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania....
in 1976 and other, smaller malls in the suburbs with outside satellite stores increased the number of businesses closing along Hamilton Street. The major expansion of MacArthur Road
Pennsylvania Route 145
Pennsylvania Route 145 , unofficially known as "the gateway to Allentown", is a long north–south state highway in the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania...
in Whitehall Township
Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania
Whitehall Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Whitehall Township was 24,896 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
also led to fewer and fewer shoppers on Hamilton Mall. Improvements were made along Hamilton Mall by removing the overhead sidewalk canopies and installing a new generation of street lights, designed to replicate the hanging flower gardens of the ones removed in the construction were erected to improve the Mall's appearance. Parking meters were installed to allow longer term, but still limited parking. However, by the late 1970s, increased suburbanization
Suburbanization
Suburbanization a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. It is one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl. Many residents of metropolitan regions work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs...
led to a general decline in the popularity of the downtown shopping district. Retail shopping downtown declined with the closing of Leh's (1987) and Zollinger's (1978) downtown and culminated with the last major department store, Hess's, being sold-off in 1994, eventually being closed and subsequently demolished in 2000. Instead of a shopping Mecca, the use of downtown Allentown has turned into office buildings and increasingly has become a center-city campus for city and county government workers, along with those of PPL
PPL (utility)
PPL, formerly known as PP&L or Pennsylvania Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Montana, and delivers electricity to...
.
Media
The Morning Call
The Morning Call is a daily newspaper based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The newspaper is owned by the Tribune Company, whose other publications include the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun....
, the city's daily newspaper, and Pulse Weekly
Pulse Weekly
The Valley Beat is a weekly magazine based in the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania....
, an arts and entertainment newspaper.
Television
Allentown is part of the Philadelphia DMAMedia market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
(designated market area). The four major Philadelphia-based network stations serving Allentown include: KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
(CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
), WCAU (NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), WPVI
WPVI-TV
WPVI-TV, channel 6, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. WPVI has its studios located on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd, and its transmitter is located in the...
(ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
) and WTXF
WTXF-TV
WTXF-TV, virtual channel 29 , is an owned-and-operated station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Broadcasting Company, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
(Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
). Other available Philadelphia stations include: WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV
WPHL-TV, channel 17, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, owned by the Tribune Company and currently affiliated with the News Corporation-owned MyNetworkTV television network. This makes it the largest non-O&O station of the network...
, WPSG
WPSG
WPSG, channel 57, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WPSG is owned by the CBS Corporation and is the east coast flagship station for the CW Television Network, which is owned jointly by CBS and Time Warner...
, and others. Several New York City stations also serve the area, including WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
and WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
.
Additionally, the city is served by three Lehigh Valley television stations: WFMZ Channel 69
WFMZ-TV
WFMZ-TV, virtual channel 69 , is a general interest independent television station in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which is part of the Philadelphia DMA. Its studio and transmitter are located on South Mountain in Allentown.-Background:...
(independent
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
) and WBPH-TV
WBPH-TV
WBPH-TV is a television station in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania DMA. The station, owned by Sonshine Family Television Corporation, broadcasts programming as a FamilyNet affiliate, Worship Network programming, special interest programs that are produced in-house, and religious programming...
(Christian
Religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting refers to broadcasting by religious organizations, usually with a religious message. Many religious organizations have long recorded content such as sermons and lectures, and have moved into distributing content on their Internet websites.While this article emphasises...
), both in Allentown, and WLVT Channel 39
WLVT-TV
WLVT-TV "PBS 39" is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station serving the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania in the United States.The station signed on September 7, 1965 as a National Educational Television affiliate...
(PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
) in Bethlehem.
Radio
Allentown's radio market is ranked 68th largest in the United States by ArbitronArbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
. Stations licensed to Allentown include WAEB-AM
WAEB (AM)
WAEB is a news, talk and sports radio station in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. WAEB broadcasts at 790 kHz AM.The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications.-History:...
(talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
, news
All-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
and sports
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
), WAEB-FM
WAEB-FM
WAEB-FM, commonly known as "B104", is a CHR/Pop radio station located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States and owned by Clear Channel Communications. WAEB-FM broadcasts at 104.1 MHz FM.-History:...
(Top 40
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
music), WDIY
WDIY
-External links:*...
(NPR and public radio), WHOL
WHOL
WEST and WHOL are radio stations broadcasting a Spanish Tropical format, emphasizing Tropical music from the Tropics and Spain. They are owned by Matthew P. Braccili. WEST previously employed a Middle Of The Road diversified format for many years under several owners.-WEST:WEST began operations...
(tropical music
Tropical music
Musica tropical or tropical music is a broad term for vocal and instrumental music with "tropical" flavor usually associated with the Afro-Caribbean music. It is part of an even broader category of Latin music. Usually it is an upbeat dance music, but also includes ballads. It features complex,...
), WLEV
WLEV
-External links:*...
(adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
), WMUH
WMUH
WMUH is a college radio station, supported through Muhlenberg College, located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania in the United States....
(Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
), WSAN (Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
and Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
broadcasts), WZZO
WZZO
WZZO, popularly known as "95.1 WZZO", is a popular rock radio station located in Whitehall Township, outside of Allentown, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States.WZZO broadcasts locally at 95.1 MHz FM...
(hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
music) and others. In addition, many New York City and Philadelphia stations can be received in Allentown.
Demographics
As of the 2010 census, the city was 58.5% White (43.2% non-hispanic white), 12.5% Black or African American (11.6% non-hispanic black), 0.8% Native American, 2.2% Asian, and 5.0% were two or more races. 42.8% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry, mostly made up of Puerto RicansPuerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
.
The unemployment rate for the entire Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
area is 9.8% as of February 2010, with Allentown's unemployment rate estimated at over 10%.
As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 106,632 people and 25,135 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 6,011.5 inhabitants per square mile (2,320.8/km²). There were 45,960 housing units at an average density of 2,591.1 per square mile (1,000.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.55% White, 7.85% African American, 0.33% Native American, 2.27% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 13.37% from other races, and 3.55% from two or more races. 24.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.
| Allentown Compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Census United States Census, 2010 The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals... |
Allentown | PA | U.S. |
| Total population | 118,032 | 12,702,379 | 308,745,538 |
| Population, percent change, 2000-2010 | +10.7% | +3.4% | +9.7% |
| Population density | 6,557.3/sq. mi. | 275.8/sq. mi. | 81.4/sq. mi. |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 43.2% | 79.5% | 63.7% |
| Black (non-Hispanic) | 11.6% | 10.8% | 12.2% |
| Hispanic (any race) | 42.8% | 5.7% | 16.3% |
| Asian | 2.2% | 2.7% | 4.8% |
There were 42,032 households in the city, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18, 39.4% had married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% had non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The city's average household size is 2.42 and the average family size was 3.09.
The city's population broken down by age ranges was 24.8% under 18, 11.2% from 18–24, 29.8% from 25–44, 19.1% from 45–64, and 15.1% 65 years or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there are 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,016, and the median income for a family was $37,356. Males had a median income of $30,426 versus $23,882 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,282. 18.5% of the population and 14.6% of families were below the poverty line. 29.4% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Politics and elections
Allentown operates as a Pennsylvania third-class city with the "strong-mayor" version of the mayor-council form of government since 1970 wherein the mayor serves as chief executive and administrative officer for the municipality and City Council serves as the legislative and oversight body providing checks and balances on the system.Elected "at-large
At-Large
At-large is a designation for representative members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body , rather than a subset of that membership...
", the mayor serves a four year term under the city's home rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
charter. The current city mayor is Democrat Ed Pawlowski
Ed Pawlowski
Ed Pawlowski is the mayor of Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. He has held this office since January 2006.Pawlowski is a Democrat...
, who replaced Roy C. Afflerbach
Roy C. Afflerbach
Roy C. Afflerbach is an American lobbyist and former Pennsylvania state senator and Representative. He was Mayor of Allentown, Pennsylvania, the third largest city in Pennsylvania, from 2002 to 2006...
after his single-term in office from 2002 to 2006. The legislative branch, the Allentown City Council, consists of seven council members elected at large for four-year staggered terms. City Council holds regular public meetings in order to enact legislation in the form of ordinances and resolutions. The current president of the City Council is Michael D'Amore. The City Controller, who is responsible for the oversight of the city's finances, is also elected and serves a four-year term.
Federally, Allentown is part of Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District is located in eastern Pennsylvania, comprising all of Northampton County, most of Lehigh County, and small parts of Berks and Montgomery Counties...
, represented by Republican Charlie Dent
Charlie Dent
Charles "Charlie" Dent is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party.The district includes all of Northampton County, most of Lehigh County, and small parts of Berks and Montgomery Counties....
, elected in 2004. The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Democrat Bob Casey, Jr.
Bob Casey, Jr.
Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Jr. is the senior U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served as Pennsylvania Treasurer, and Pennsylvania Auditor General. He is the son of former Governor Bob Casey, Sr..He is the first Democrat elected to a full term in...
. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Republican Pat Toomey
Pat Toomey
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Toomey, Sr. is the junior United States Senator for Pennsylvania and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, Toomey served as a U.S. Representative for three terms, but did not seek a fourth in compliance with a pledge he had made while running for office in 1998...
, elected in 2010. The Governor of Pennsylvania is Republican Tom Corbett
Tom Corbett
Thomas W. Corbett is the 46th and current Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. He is a former Attorney General of Pennsylvania and was elected to that office in 2004 and reelected in 2008...
.
Allentown was named the 12th most conservative in America by the non-partisan Bay Area Center.
Crime
For 2010, crime is down in the City of Allentown for the fourth consecutive year. The statistics were released May 25, 2011 as part of the FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
’s 2010 Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report.
The decline was led by a 31 percent drop in the number of homicides from 13 to 9. Motor vehicle theft fell 11.4 percent. Burglary was down 6.1 percent. Reported robberies, rapes and property crimes also fell. There were slight increases in the number of aggravated assaults and arsons. The number of violent crimes in the city has fallen more than 30 percent since 2006.
Fire Department
The city of Allentown is protected by the professional firefighters of the Allentown Fire Department( AFD). The AFD operates six fire stations in the city, and also operates a fire apparatus fleet of seven engines, two trucks, one Haz-Mat Unit, one Dive Unit, one Bomb Squad, one Fireboat, one Deputy Chief's unit, and one Battalion Chief's Unit . The AFD responds to approximately 15,000 emergency calls annually, of which nearly 10,000 are for EMS assists.| Engine Company | Truck Company | Special Unit | Command Unit | Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine 4, Engine 9 | Battalion Chief, Deputy Chief | 733 Chew St. | ||
| Engine 6 | Truck 2 | Bomb Squad | 643 Ridge Ave. | |
| Engine 10 | Truck 1 | 2145 Turner St. | ||
| Engine 11(Quint) | Haz-Mat. Unit, Dive Unit | 1901 Lehigh St Lehigh Street Lehigh Street is a major road that connects Emmaus, Pennsylvania in the west to Allentown, Pennsylvania in the east, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States... . |
||
| Engine 13 | Fireboat 1 | 720 N. Irving St. | ||
| Engine 14 | 164 W. Susquehanna St. |
Public schools
The City of Allentown is served by the Allentown School DistrictAllentown School District
The Allentown School District is a large urban public school district located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Serving most of the city of Allentown, it is the fourth largest school district in Pennsylvania, with 17,962 students, with 15.7% White, 17.4% Black, 64.4% Hispanic,...
, which is the fourth largest school district
School district
School districts are a form of special-purpose district which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools.-United States:...
in Pennsylvania, with 18,118 students (based on 2005–2006 enrollment data).
The city maintains two public high schools for grades 9–12, William Allen High School
William Allen High School
William Allen High School is one of two public high schools of the Allentown School District located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
, which serves students from the southern and western parts of the city, and Louis E. Dieruff High School
Louis E. Dieruff High School
Louis E. Dieruff High School is a public high school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The school is named after Louis E. Dieruff, a noted educator in the Allentown School District....
, which serves students from the eastern and northern parts. Each of these Allentown area high schools competes athletically in the Lehigh Valley Conference
Lehigh Valley Conference
The Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 12 large high schools from Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States...
. Both schools play their home football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games at J. Birney Crum Stadium
J. Birney Crum Stadium
J. Birney Crum Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The stadium seats 15,000 and is used by several area high schools and the Pennsylvania Stoners of the NPSL and the Northampton Laurels of the WPSL soccer teams. J...
.
Allentown School District's four middle schools, for grades 6–8, include: Francis D. Raub Middle School, Harrison-Morton Middle School, South Mountain Middle School and Trexler Middle School. The city is served by 16 elementary schools, for kindergarten through fifth grade, including: Central, Cleveland, Hiram W. Dodd, Jackson, Jefferson, Lehigh Parkway, Lincoln, McKinley, Midway Manor, Mosser, Muhlenberg, Ritter, Roosevelt, Sheridan, Union Terrace and Washington. The Roberto Clemente Charter School
Roberto Clemente Charter School
Roberto Clemente Charter School is a Title I charter school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States.The school, which is located at 4th and Walnut Streets in Allentown, serves students in grades 6 through 12....
, also located in the Allentown School District, is a Title I charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
which provides educational services to mainly Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
students in grades 6 through 12.
The Allentown School District is currently undertaking a 10 year, $120 million facilities improvement plan. The plan includes renovation of all 23 schools in the district. Most of the schools to be renovated will be expanded. Two additional elementary schools and a fifth middle school are expected to be built.
Private schools
Allentown has two parochial high schools, Allentown Central Catholic High SchoolAllentown Central Catholic High School
Allentown Central Catholic High School is a private, parochial school located at 301 North Fourth Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
and Lehigh Valley Christian High School
Lehigh Valley Christian High School
Lehigh Valley Christian High School is a private, parochial, high school located in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania.-History:LVCHS was established in 1988 as a cooperative among three Lehigh Valley, Christian elementary schools -- Bethlehem Christian School, Lehigh Christian Academy, and Phillipsburg...
, though both schools draw students from both Allentown and the city's suburbs. Other Allentown-based parochial schools (serving grades K-8) include: Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena School, Holy Spirit School, Lehigh Christian Academy, Mercy Special Learning Center, Our Lady Help of Christians School, Sacred Heart School, Saint Francis of Assisi School, Saint Paul School, and Saint Thomas More School. The Roman Catholic-affiliated parochial schools in Allentown are operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown
Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown is a Roman Catholic diocese comprising the Pennsylvania counties of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill, in the United States. Its cathedral is the Cathedral Church of Saint Catharine of Siena, located in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
. The Grace Montessori School is a pre-school and early elementary Montessori
Montessori method
Montessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori. Montessori education is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years old.-Overview:...
school run as an outreach of Grace Episcopal Church. The Swain School, a non-sectarian private school founded in 1929, is also located in Allentown. The city also has a private Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
school, the Jewish Day School.
Colleges and universities
Two four-year colleges are located in Allentown: Cedar Crest CollegeCedar Crest College
Cedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. During the 2006-2007 academic year, the college had 1,000 full-time and 800 part-time undergraduates and 85 graduate students...
and Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
. A satellite campus of Lehigh Carbon Community College
Lehigh Carbon Community College
Lehigh Carbon Community College is a two-year community college located in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. The school serves as the primary granter of associate degrees in the Allentown area....
(LCCC), a comprehensive community college which offers two and four year degree programs, continuing education and industry training, is located in Center City Allentown.
Infrastructure
Airports
The city's primary airport, Lehigh Valley International AirportLehigh Valley International Airport
Lehigh Valley International Airport , formerly Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton International Airport, is a public airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania....
, is located three miles (5 km) northeast of Allentown in Hanover Township
Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Hanover Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Hanover Township is a suburb of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The township's population was 1,913 at the 2000 census....
. Newark (New Jersey) International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport
Philadelphia International Airport
Philadelphia International Airport is a major airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley region and in Pennsylvania...
, which are within an hour to an hour-and-a-half driving distance of Allentown, provide additional flight services to Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
residents. The region is also served by Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport , a two-runway general aviation facility located in South Allentown used predominantly by private aviation.
Roads
Four expressways run through the Allentown area, with associated exits to the city: Interstate 78Interstate 78
Interstate 78 is an Interstate Highway in the Northeast United States, running 144 miles from Interstate 81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown, Pennsylvania, and western and northern New Jersey to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan in New York City.I-78 is a major road...
, which runs from Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
in the west to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Holland Tunnel
Holland Tunnel
The Holland Tunnel is a highway tunnel under the Hudson River connecting the island of Manhattan in New York City with Jersey City, New Jersey at Interstate 78 on the mainland. Unusual for an American public works project, it is not named for a government official, politician, or local hero or...
in the east; the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...
, (which is part of I-476), runs from Plymouth Meeting
Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Plymouth Meeting is a census-designated place in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the northern terminus of the "Blue Route" and the southern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension . The population was 6,177 at the 2010 census...
outside Philadelphia in the south to Interstate 81
Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania
Interstate 81 is an long north–south Interstate Highway, stretching from Dandridge, Tennessee to Fisher's Landing, New York at the US/Canadian border...
at Clarks Summit
Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
Clarks Summit is a borough in Lackawanna County northwest of Scranton in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,116 at the 2010 census. It is also the northern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension, I-476.-History:...
in the north; Pennsylvania Route 309
Pennsylvania Route 309
Pennsylvania Route 309 is a major highway which runs for 134 miles through Pennsylvania in the United States. It connects Philadelphia and its northern suburbs to Allentown, Hazleton, and Wilkes-Barre. A limited-access highway portion of PA 309 in the Wilkes-Barre area is known as the North...
, which runs from Philadelphia in the south to The Poconos
The Poconos
The Pocono Mountains is a region located in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States. The Poconos, located chiefly in Monroe and Pike counties , are an upland of the larger Allegheny Plateau...
in the north; and U.S. Route 22
U.S. Route 22
U.S. Route 22 is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 near the Newark Liberty International Airport.US 22 also carries the names of the William...
, which runs from Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
in the west to Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
in the east. Public parking within Allentown is managed by the Allentown Parking Authority
Allentown Parking Authority
The Allentown Parking Authority is responsible for both off and on-street parking within the City of Allentown, Pennsylvania.The Allentown Parking Authority owns and manages five parking garages in downtown/center city, Allentown and leases 29 surface lots plus one parking ramp which make up a...
.
There are nine major inbound roads to Allentown: Airport Road
Pennsylvania Route 987
Pennsylvania Route 987 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, running north from U.S. Route 22 past Lehigh Valley International Airport to Pennsylvania Route 946.-Route description:...
, Cedar Crest Boulevard, Fullerton Avenue, Hamilton Boulevard
Pennsylvania Route 222
Pennsylvania Route 222 is a -long state highway contained entirely in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and its immediate suburbs mostly along Hamilton Boulevard. The route, in center city Allentown, is aligned along West Hamilton, West Linden, and West Walnut Streets...
, Lehigh Street
Lehigh Street
Lehigh Street is a major road that connects Emmaus, Pennsylvania in the west to Allentown, Pennsylvania in the east, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, Mauch Chunk Road, Pennsylvania Route 145
Pennsylvania Route 145
Pennsylvania Route 145 , unofficially known as "the gateway to Allentown", is a long north–south state highway in the Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania...
(MacArthur Road), Tilghman Street, and Union Boulevard.
Buses
Trans-Bridge Lines
Trans-Bridge Lines is a line-run operator servicing the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania and the southwestern Skylands Region of New Jersey with line run service between New York City and the Lehigh Valley, via the I-78 corridor daily, and charter and casino service in the same region...
, provide bus service from Allentown to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal
Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City...
, Philadelphia's Greyhound Terminal
Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal
The Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal is the primary intercity bus station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located at 1001 Filbert Street in Center City Philadelphia, immediately north of The Gallery at Market East shopping mall and the SEPTA Market East Station, a few hundred feet east of the...
, Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
's Bus Terminal
Atlantic City Bus Terminal
The Atlantic City Bus Terminal is a regional bus station and a major stop for New Jersey Transit buses in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Located at the 1900 block of Atlantic Avenue, the station is now only half its size as part of it was built for a Polo Ralph Lauren store in the Atlantic City Outlets...
, and other regional locations.
Rail
Historically, Allentown has been served by Central Railroad of New JerseyCentral Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
, Conrail
Consolidated Rail Corporation
The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. The federal government created it to take over the potentially profitable lines of bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and...
, Lehigh and New England Railroad
Lehigh and New England Railroad
The Lehigh and New England Railroad was a connection from northeastern Pennsylvania towards the Poughkeepsie Bridge across the Hudson River. Originally planned as a continuous line east to Boston, plans were later cut back to a section west of the river....
, Lehigh Valley Railroad
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...
, and Reading Railroad
Reading Company
The Reading Company , usually called the Reading Railroad, officially the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway until 1924, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states...
. While Allentown currently has no passenger rail service (the last public rail service, which was part of the Bethlehem-Philadelphia service provided by Conrail under contract with SEPTA
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit—bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolley bus—that serve 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia,...
, ceased operating in 1979), several of the Allentown-area stations once used for passenger service have been preserved through their current commercial use. In November 2008, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), along with both Lehigh and Northampton Counties, commissioned a study to explore the merits of expanding the New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
line to the Lehigh Valley, which would potentially include stops in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.
Allentown is a regional center for commercial freight rail traffic. Currently, Norfolk Southern's
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
primary hump classification yards are located in Allentown, and the city is also served by the R.J. Corman Railroad Group
R.J. Corman Railroad Group
R.J. Corman Railroad Group, LLC is a railroad holding company owned by Richard J. "Rick" Corman. Corman first established the company in 1973. It owns short-line railroad lines in seven states .-Lines Owned:R.J. Corman operates the following subsidiaries:*R.J...
.
Telecommunications
North American Numbering Plan
The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan administered by Neustar which encompasses 24 countries and territories, including the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 nations of the Caribbean...
of the Bell System
Bell System
The Bell System was the American Bell Telephone Company and then, subsequently, AT&T led system which provided telephone services to much of the United States and Canada from 1877 to 1984, at various times as a monopoly. In 1984, the company was broken up into separate companies, by a U.S...
went into effect) until 1994. With the city and region's growing population, however, Allentown and its surrounding areas were afforded area code 610
Area codes 610 and 484
Area codes 610 and 484 are telephone area codes which serve the eastern and southeastern regions of Pennsylvania. The area includes the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Reading, along with much of the Delaware Valley , including most of the Philadelphia Main Line...
in 1994. Today, the city of Allentown is covered by 610. An overlay area code, 484, was added to the 610 service area in 1999. A plan to introduce area code 835 as an additional overlay was rescinded in 2001.
Health systems
Allentown is home to several hospitals and health networks, including St. Luke's Health NetworkSt. Luke's Health Network
St. Luke's Health Network is the second largest health care provider in the Lehigh Valley . Its main hospital, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1872. The three other hospitals of the network are located in Allentown, PA, Quakertown, PA, and Coaldale, PA, providing a total 734...
, Sacred Heart Hospital, the Lehigh Valley Health Network
Lehigh Valley Hospital
Lehigh Valley Hospital, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is the largest hospital in the Lehigh Valley and the flagship hospital of the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network .-Lehigh Valley Health Network:...
, the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and the Allentown State Hospital
Allentown State Hospital
Allentown State Hospital was a psychiatric hospital located at 1600 Hanover Ave. in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It served the counties of Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Monroe, and Pike. It was one of seven remaining psychiatric hospitals in Pennsylvania....
.
Utilities
Electricity in Eastern Pennsylvania is provided by PPLPPL (utility)
PPL, formerly known as PP&L or Pennsylvania Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Montana, and delivers electricity to...
, also known as PP&L. UGI provides natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
for homes. Two cable systems, RCN Corporation
RCN Corporation
RCN Corporation, founded in 1993 and based in Herndon, Virginia, is the first American facilities-based competitive provider of bundled telephone, cable television and high-speed internet service delivered over its own fiber-optic local network to consumers in the Boston, New York, Eastern...
(originally Twin County Cable) and Service Electric Cable TV, Inc.
Service Electric
Service Electric Cable TV, Inc. is a cable television company serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. Through three affiliates, the company operates systems in the Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre , Kutztown, Hazleton, Sunbury, Mahanoy City and Bloomsburg , and Sparta, New Jersey...
, have served the city since the 1960s. The area's only landfill, IESI Bethlehem, is located in nearby Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
. Water, sewer, waste, recycling, and yard waste are controlled by the city.
Parks and recreation
City parks
The City of Allentown has one of the best park systems in the country. Much of the city's park system can be attributed to the efforts of industrialist Harry Clay TrexlerHarry Clay Trexler
Henry Clay Trexler was an American industrialist who built a business empire in Allentown, Pennsylvania.- Early life :...
. Inspired by the City Beautiful movement
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy concerning North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of using beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. The movement, which was originally associated mainly with Chicago,...
in the early 20th century, Trexler helped create West Park, a 6.59 acres (26,668.8 m²) park in what was then a community trash pit and sandlot baseball field in an upscale area of the city. The park, which opened in 1909, features a bandshell, designed by noted Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
architect Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of the campus of Duke University...
, which has long been home to the Allentown Band
Allentown Band
The Allentown Band is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is oldest civilian concert band in the United States, having been in continuous existence since its first documented performance on July 4, 1828, although its origins may trace back to as early...
and other community bands. Trexler also facilitated the development of Trexler Park, Cedar Parkway, Allentown Municipal Golf Course and the Trout Nursery in Lehigh Parkway. Trexler was also responsible for the development of the Trexler Trust, which to this day continues to provide private funding for the maintenance and development of Allentown's park system.
City parks in Allentown include Bicentennial Park
Bicentennial Park (Allentown)
Bicentennial Park is a stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park, officially named Earl F. Hunsicker Bicentennial Park, is primarily used for baseball and softball....
(4,600 seat mini-stadium built for sporting events), Cedar Creek Parkway (127 acres, including Lake Muhlenberg
Lake Muhlenberg
Lake Muhlenberg is a lake located in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States.Part of the Cedar Beach Parkway and part of the city's park system, Lake Muhlenberg is stocked for fishing and is a refuge for many ducks and Canada geese.The lake is so-named due to its proximity to Muhlenberg...
, Cedar Beach and the Malcolm W. Gross Memorial Rose Garden), East Side Reservoir (15 acres), Kimmets Lock Park (5 acres), Lehigh Canal Park (55 acres), Lehigh Parkway
Lehigh Parkway
Lehigh Parkway is a large public park along the Little Lehigh River in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States.It is the most prominent park of the city and follows the Little Lehigh Creek for three miles from the center of the city to Cedar Crest Boulevard.The park features many...
(999 acres), Old Allentown Cemetery (4 acres), Jordan Park, South Mountain Reservoir (157 acres), Trexler Memorial Park (134 acres), Trout Creek Parkway (100 acres), Joe Daddona Park (19 acres) and West Park (6.59 acres).
Festivals
Mayfair Festival of the ArtsMayfair (festival)
Mayfair is a music and arts festival held annually at Cedar Beach Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It has been held Memorial Day weekend since 1986. Admission is $5.-2010 Performers:...
, an arts and crafts festival established in 1986, is held each May at Cedar Beach Park in Allentown. The Great Allentown Fair
Great Allentown Fair
The Great Allentown Fair is an annual fair and agricultural show that is held at the Allentown Fairgrounds in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is operated by the Lehigh County Agricultural Society...
runs annually, in early September, on the grounds of the Allentown Fairgrounds, where it has been held since 1889. The first Allentown Fair was held in 1852, and between 1852 and 1899 it was held at the "Old Allentown Fairgrounds," which was located north of Liberty Street between 5th and 6th streets. The J. Birney Crum Stadium plays host to the Collegiate Marching Band Festival
Collegiate Marching Band Festival
The Collegiate Marching Band Festival, also called the CMBF, is an annual event held in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which showcases college and university marching bands of all sizes and styles from across the Northeastern United States. First held in 1996, the event typically takes places in early...
, held annually since 1995, as well as other marching band festivals and competitions.
Stadiums
The city has two large capacity outdoor stadiums. Coca-Cola Park, with an overall capacity of 10,000, was constructed in 2007 and is the home field for the Lehigh Valley IronPigsLehigh Valley IronPigs
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a minor league baseball team that plays in the International League. The IronPigs are the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The team plays their home games at Coca-Cola Park, which is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
, the AAA-level minor league team affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. J. Birney Crum Stadium
J. Birney Crum Stadium
J. Birney Crum Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The stadium seats 15,000 and is used by several area high schools and the Pennsylvania Stoners of the NPSL and the Northampton Laurels of the WPSL soccer teams. J...
, used for Lehigh Valley Conference
Lehigh Valley Conference
The Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 12 large high schools from Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States...
football and other purposes, has a seating capacity in excess of 15,000. The city has no large indoor stadium, but major indoor sporting and concert events are held at Stabler Arena
Stabler Arena
Stabler Arena is Lehigh University's 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, located on its Goodman Campus in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, in neighboring Bethlehem.
Other recreational sites
Other recreational sites in Allentown include Allentown Municipal Golf Course, Cedar Beach Pool, Dorney Park & Wildwater KingdomDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park features nine roller coasters, other adult and children's rides, and a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom....
, Fountain Pool, Irving Pool, Jordan Pool and Mack Pool.
Notable people
Allentown is the birthplace of, or home to, several notable Americans, including:- Thom BrowneThom BrowneThom Browne is an American fashion designer. He is the founder and head of design for Thom Browne, a New York City-based menswear brand...
, fashion designer - Frank N. D. BuchmanFrank N. D. BuchmanFranklin Nathaniel Daniel Buchman , best known as Dr. or Rev. Frank Buchman, was a Protestant Christian evangelist who founded the Oxford Group...
, founder of the Oxford GroupOxford GroupThe Oxford Group was a Christian movement that had a following in Europe, China, Africa, Australia, Scandinavia and America in the 1920s and 30s. It was initiated by an American Lutheran pastor, Frank Buchman, who was of Swiss descent...
and Moral Re-ArmamentMoral Re-ArmamentMoral Re-Armament was an international Christian moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from the American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman, a Lutheran, headed MRA for 23 years, from 1938 until his death in 1961...
religious movements - Leon CarrLeon CarrLeon Carr was a prolific American songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist and conductor, best known for his marketing jingles used in advertisements for Mounds candy , Chevrolet Leon Carr (June 10, 1910 – March 27, 1976) was a prolific American songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist and...
, BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
composer and television advertising songwriter - Michaela ConlinMichaela ConlinMichaela Conlin is an American stage and television actress best known for her work on the Fox TV series Bones, as Angela Montenegro.-Early life:...
, actress, Fox'sFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
BonesBones (TV series)Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent... - Gloria EhretGloria EhretGloria Jean Ehret is an American professional golfer best known for winning the 1966 LPGA Championship.Ehret was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She attended St. Petersburg Junior College. She turned professional in 1965. Ehret finished fifth in the LPGA Championship in her rookie season and won...
, professional golferProfessional golferIn golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
, winner of the 1966 LPGA ChampionshipLPGA ChampionshipThe LPGA Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Wegmans LPGA Championship, is the second-longest running tournament in the history of the Ladies Professional Golf Association surpassed only by the U.S. Women's Open. It is one of four majors on the LPGA tour... - Peter Gruner, professional wrestler known as Billy Kidman
- Tim HeideckerTim HeideckerTim Heidecker is an American actor, comedian, musician, writer and director. He is one half of the comedy team of Tim and Eric...
, star of Adult SwimAdult SwimAdult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is an American sketch comedy television series, created by and starring Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, which premiered February 11, 2007 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim comedy block and ran until May 2010... - Lee IacoccaLee IacoccaLido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...
, former chairman of ChryslerChryslerChrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
Corporation - Keith JarrettKeith JarrettKeith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
, jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician - Michael JohnsMichael Johns (executive)Michael Johns is an American health care executive, former federal government of the United States official and conservative policy analyst and writer.-Biography:...
, health care executive and former White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
speechwriter - Brian KnobbsBrian KnobbsBrian Yandrisovitz , better known as Brian Knobbs, is an American professional wrestler, best known as one half of the tag team The Nasty Boys along with Jerry Sags.-The Nasty Boys:...
, former professional wrestler - William MarchantWilliam MarchantWilliam Marchant was a playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the play that served as the basis for the 1957 Walter Lang movie, The Desk Set....
, playwright and screenwriter - Ed McCaffreyEd McCaffreyEdward Thomas McCaffrey is a former American football wide receiver who played for the New York Giants , San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos of the National Football League...
, former professional football player, Denver BroncosDenver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... - Lara Jill MillerLara Jill MillerLara Jill Miller is an American television, stage and voice actress.-Biography:Miller was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania on April 20, 1967. She graduated from Allentown's William Allen High School...
, voice actress, Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network (United States)Cartoon Network is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting which primarily airs animated programming. The channel was launched on October 1, 1992 after Turner purchased the animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1991...
's The Life and Times of Juniper LeeThe Life and Times of Juniper LeeThe Life and Times of Juniper Lee was an American animated television series, created by Judd Winick and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The show premiered on Cartoon Network on May 30, 2005. The series ended on April 9, 2007... - Andre ReedAndre ReedAndre Darnell Reed is a former professional American football player. He played wide receiver in the National Football League for 16 seasons, 15 with the Buffalo Bills and one with the Washington Redskins .Reed ranks tenth in NFL history in total career receptions with 951.-Football career:Reed...
, former professional football player, Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... - Matthew Riddle, professional UFCUltimate Fighting ChampionshipThe Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
mixed martial fighterMixed martial artsMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be... - Jerry SagsJerry SagsJerome Saganovich is an American professional wrestler best known as Jerry Sags. He is one half of the tag team The Nasty Boys along with Brian Knobbs.-Career:...
, former professional wrestler - Amanda SeyfriedAmanda SeyfriedAmanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer-songwriter and former child model. She began her career as a child model when she was 11, and at 15 began her career as an actress, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on As the World Turns and All My...
, model and actress, The CW'sThe CW Television NetworkThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
Veronica MarsVeronica MarsVeronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
, HBO's Big LoveBig LoveBig Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy...
and the films Mamma Mia!Mamma Mia! (film)Mamma Mia! is a 2008 musical/romantic comedy film adapted from the 1999 West End/2001 Broadway musical of the same name, based on the songs of successful pop group ABBA, with additional music composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson...
and Dear John - Andrea TantarosAndrea TantarosAndrea K. Tantaros is a political analyst and commentator on Fox News, Fox Business Channel and writes for the New York Daily News and Newsmax magazine. Her columns appear in the New York Daily News every Thursday.-Early life:...
, political analyst and commentator - Christine TaylorChristine TaylorChristine Taylor-Stiller is an American actress.- Early life :Taylor was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Skip Taylor, an owner of a security company. She grew up in neighboring Wescosville, Pennsylvania...
, actress and wife of actor Ben StillerBen StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.... - Donald VoorheesDonald VoorheesDonald Voorhees was an American composer and conductor who received an Emmy Award nomination for "Individual Achievements in Music" for his work on the television series, The Bell Telephone Hour.-Career:Starting in 1926, Voorhees' orchestra recorded prolifically for Columbia,...
, EmmyEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-nominated orchestraOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l conductorConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... - Lauren WeisbergerLauren WeisbergerLauren Weisberger is an American novelist and author of the 2003 bestseller The Devil Wears Prada, a speculated roman à clef of her real life experience as a put-upon assistant to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour....
, author, The Devil Wears Prada
In popular culture
Allentown's reputation as a rugged blue collarBlue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
city has led to many references to the city in popular culture:
- Allentown is mentioned in the 2011 movie The Hangover Part II when Ed HelmsEd HelmsEdward Paul "Ed" Helms is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as Andy Bernard on the US version of the sitcom/mockumentary The Office and for his role as Dr. Stu Price in The Hangover films.- Early life :Helms was born and raised...
sings a cover of Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's song "AllentownAllentown (song)"Allentown" is a song by American singer Billy Joel, which first appeared on Joel's The Nylon Curtain album, accompanied by a conceptual music video. It later appeared on Joel's Greatest Hits: Volume II , 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert , The Essential Billy Joel , and "12 Gardens Live" albums...
". - Allentown is mentioned in the song "Fed to Death" by indie rockIndie rockIndie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Say AnythingSay Anything (band)Say Anything is an American indie-punk band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Max Bemis. The band was formed in 2000 with Bemis and four of his friends. Within two years, they self-released two EPs, Junior Varsity and In Your Dreams, and the full-length Baseball: An Album by Sayanything.In...
. It is the opening song on their 2009 album Say AnythingSay Anything (album)Say Anything is the fourth full-length and self-titled studio album by American rock band Say Anything, after originally being scheduled to be released through RCA Records on October 13, 2009, it was delayed to November 3...
. - Allentown is mentioned in the 2008 movie The Wrestler as a location where Mickey RourkeMickey RourkePhilip Andre "Mickey" Rourke, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter and retired boxer, who has appeared primarily as a leading man in action, drama, and thriller films....
(playing Randy "The Ram" Robinson) had wrestled leading up to his comeback. - On August 10, 2003, CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
broadcast Achieving the Perfect 10Achieving The Perfect 10Achieving The Perfect 10, is a made for CNN documentary movie released on August 10, 2003, about young girls training gymnastics at the highly competitive Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
, a critical documentary about the Parkettes National Gymnastics Training CenterParkettes National Gymnastics Training CenterParkettes National Gymnastics Training Center, or Parkettes for short, is a gymnastics club located in Allentown, Pennsylvania that had its beginnings in the early 1960s with a middle school gymnastics program in Allentown that gradually grew into an intramural program and then into a facility that...
, located in Allentown. - The TV production company Medstar TelevisionMedstar TelevisionMedstar Television Inc. is a television production company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania.-History:Medstar was incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania in 1981 by Paul Dowling and William Ferretti to produce medical news and health information. From the start, Medstar financed, produced and...
, which produced the series Medical Detectives from 1996 to 2000, and the series Forensic FilesForensic FilesForensic Files is an American documentary-style series which reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and even outbreaks of illness. The show is broadcast on truTV, narrated by Peter Thomas, and produced by Medstar Television, in association with truTV...
from 2000 on, is headquartered in Allentown. Locations throughout the city have been used as settings for dramatic reenactments of crimes profiled by the shows. - The 1990 dark comedy film, I Love You to DeathI Love You to DeathI Love You to Death is a 1990 American dark comedy film directed by Lawrence Kasdan. It is loosely based on an attempted murder that happened in 1984, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where Frances Toto repeatedly tried to kill her husband, Anthony...
, directed by Lawrence KasdanLawrence KasdanLawrence Edward "Larry" Kasdan is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah , an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores.His Brother is the writer/producer Mark...
, is based on an attempted murder that happened in 1984 in Allentown. - Allentown's Dorney ParkDorney Park & Wildwater KingdomDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park features nine roller coasters, other adult and children's rides, and a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom....
was a film location for John Waters'John Waters (filmmaker)John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
Hairspray, released in 1988. - The city is the subject of the popular Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
song, "AllentownAllentown (song)"Allentown" is a song by American singer Billy Joel, which first appeared on Joel's The Nylon Curtain album, accompanied by a conceptual music video. It later appeared on Joel's Greatest Hits: Volume II , 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert , The Essential Billy Joel , and "12 Gardens Live" albums...
", originally released on The Nylon CurtainThe Nylon CurtainThe Nylon Curtain is the eighth studio album by Billy Joel. It was released by Columbia Records on September 23, 1982 and produced by Phil Ramone....
album in 1982. Joel's song uses Allentown as a metaphor for the resilience of working classWorking classWorking class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
Americans in distressed industrial cities during the recessionRecessionIn economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
of the early 1980s. - Allentown is the hometown of up and coming showgirl Peggy Sawyer in the long-running, Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical 42nd Street42nd Street (musical)42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit...
, released in 1980, and its associated Academy Award-nominated movie42nd Street (film)-Cast:*Warner Baxter as Julian Marsh, director*Bebe Daniels as Dorothy Brock, star*George Brent as Pat Denning, Dorothy's old vaudeville partner*Ruby Keeler as Peggy Sawyer, the newcomer*Guy Kibbee as Abner Dillon, the show's backer...
. When Sawyer expresses her desire to leave Broadway to return to Allentown, the show's director and entire cast successfully dissuade her by singing the famed musical number "The Lullaby of Broadway." - Allentown is mentioned twice in the 1970 Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
song "The Train," which appears as the first song on his album WatertownWatertown (album)Watertown is a 1970 studio album by the American singer Frank Sinatra.It is Sinatra's most ambitious concept album, an experiment perhaps first started on the 1966 album That's Life...
. - Allentown was the film location for much of James NeilsonJames Neilson (director)James D. Neilson was an American television director, known for his work with Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.-Directing:...
's film Where Angels Go, Trouble FollowsWhere Angels Go, Trouble FollowsWhere Angels Go, Trouble Follows is a movie comedy starring Rosalind Russell and Stella Stevens. The film is a sequel to The Trouble with Angels and was written by Blanche Hanalis from a story by Jane Trahey, and directed by James Neilson....
, released in 1969. - Hiding The Bell, a 1968 historical fiction novel by Ruth Nulton Moore, chronicles the events surrounding the hiding of the Liberty BellLiberty BellThe Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...
in Allentown in 1777. - Allentown was the subject of the 1963 Irving GordonIrving GordonIrving Gordon was an American songwriter.-Biography:Irving Gordon was born in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, he studied violin, and after attending public schools in New York City, went to work in the Catskill Mountains at some of the resort hotels in the area...
song "Allentown JailAllentown Jail"Allentown Jail" is a folk song. Written by Irving Gordon, it tells the story of a man who is caught stealing a diamond for his girlfriend and ends up in the Allentown jail....
", which was subsequently recorded by several other artists, including The Kingston TrioThe Kingston TrioThe Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
, The LettermenThe LettermenThe Lettermen are an American male pop music vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959...
, The SeekersThe SeekersThe Seekers are an Australian folk-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States...
and Jo StaffordJo StaffordJo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
. - In the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie, character Rosie Alvarez is from Allentown. In the song "Spanish Rose," she sings: "I'm just a Spanish Tamale according to Mae/ Right off the boat from the tropics, far, far away/ Which is kinda funny, since where I come from is Allentown, PA."
- Allentown is mentioned in the 1957 book, On the RoadOn the RoadOn the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
, by Jack KerouacJack KerouacJean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
.
Landmarks and popular locations
- 19th Street Theatre (opened 1928), 527 N. 19th St. Home of Civic Theatre of AllentownCivic Theatre of AllentownCivic Theatre of Allentown is a historic community center that hosts theatre, arts education and film. It is located on 19th street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The theatre was developed by Rubin Maiken and Alex Minker, and opened Sept. 17, 1928...
, which stages plays and hosts fine arts film series. - Albertus L. Meyers BridgeAlbertus L. Meyers BridgeThe Albertus L. Meyers Bridge is a reinforced concrete open-spandrel arch bridge located in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States....
(built 1913), 8th & Union Sts. Also known as the Eighth Street Bridge, once the longest and highest concrete bridge in the world. - Allentown Art MuseumAllentown Art MuseumThe Allentown Art Museum is an art museum located in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was founded in 1934 by a group organized by noted Pennsylvania impressionist painter, Walter Emerson Baum. With its collection of over 13,000 works of art, the Allentown Art Museum...
(built 1934), 31 N. 5th St. Collection of over 13,000 works of art, along with an associated library. - Allentown Cemetery Park (established 1765), 10th & Linden Sts. Burial site of the city's earliest residents, including American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and War of 1812War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
veterans. - Allentown Fairgrounds (established 1889), 400 N. 17th St. Home of the Allentown FairGreat Allentown FairThe Great Allentown Fair is an annual fair and agricultural show that is held at the Allentown Fairgrounds in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is operated by the Lehigh County Agricultural Society...
(started 1852), Allentown Farmers Market, Agri-Plex exhibit hall and The Ritz restaurant. - Allentown Post Office (built 1933–34), 5th & Hamilton Sts. Classical Moderne-style building with Art Deco ornamentation. Interior murals of local historical scenes by New York artist Gifford Reynolds BealGifford BealGifford Beal was an American artist noted for his work as a painter, watercolorist, printmaker and muralist.-Early life:Born in New York City, Gifford Beal was the youngest son in a family of six surviving children...
. - Allentown Symphony HallSymphony Hall (Allentown)Allentown Symphony Hall is a 1200-seat performing arts venue located in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is owned and operated by the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, which has the distinction of being the smallest symphony in the United States to own its own performance hall...
(built 1896), 23 N. 6th St. Owned by the Allentown Symphony Association, a 1200-seat performing arts facility that is home to the Allentown Symphony OrchestraAllentown Symphony OrchestraThe Allentown Symphony Orchestra is a major regional symphony orchestra based in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1951, the orchestra's current home is the historic, 1200-seat Allentown Symphony Hall, located in downtown Allentown...
, as well as Pennsylvania Sinfonia, Community Concerts of Allentown, Allentown Band and Community Music School of the Lehigh Valley. - Bogert's Covered Bridge (built 1841), S. 24th St. & Fish Hatchery Rd. One of the region's oldest covered bridges, a 145 feet (44.2 m) span over the Little Lehigh CreekLittle Lehigh CreekThe Little Lehigh Creek is approximately long, in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is also sometimes referred to as the Little Lehigh River. It is called the Little Lehigh because it is the largest tributary of the Lehigh River....
in Allentown's Lehigh ParkwayLehigh ParkwayLehigh Parkway is a large public park along the Little Lehigh River in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States.It is the most prominent park of the city and follows the Little Lehigh Creek for three miles from the center of the city to Cedar Crest Boulevard.The park features many...
. - Frank Buchman House, 117 N. 11th St. Home of Frank N. D. BuchmanFrank N. D. BuchmanFranklin Nathaniel Daniel Buchman , best known as Dr. or Rev. Frank Buchman, was a Protestant Christian evangelist who founded the Oxford Group...
(1878–1961), founder of the Oxford GroupOxford GroupThe Oxford Group was a Christian movement that had a following in Europe, China, Africa, Australia, Scandinavia and America in the 1920s and 30s. It was initiated by an American Lutheran pastor, Frank Buchman, who was of Swiss descent...
and Moral Re-ArmamentMoral Re-ArmamentMoral Re-Armament was an international Christian moral and spiritual movement that, in 1938, developed from the American minister Frank Buchman's Oxford Group. Buchman, a Lutheran, headed MRA for 23 years, from 1938 until his death in 1961...
religious movements. - Butz-Groff House (built 1872), 111 N. 4th St. Dark stone Victorian home in what was once the center of Allentown's most fashionable residential district. Built by attorney Samuel A. Butz and later owned by his grandson, Joseph C. Groff.
- Cedar Crest CollegeCedar Crest CollegeCedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. During the 2006-2007 academic year, the college had 1,000 full-time and 800 part-time undergraduates and 85 graduate students...
(founded 1867), 100 College Dr. Liberal arts college with an 84 acres (339,936.2 m²) campus on the city's western edge. - Centre Square and Soldiers & Sailors Monument (built 1899), 7th & Hamilton Sts. Monument honoring American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
veterans from the 47th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. - William F. Curtis ArboretumWilliam F. Curtis ArboretumWilliam F. Curtis Arboretum , sometimes called Curtis Arboretum, is an arboretum located on the campus of Cedar Crest College, in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States...
(started 1915), 100 College Dr. Located at Cedar Crest College, a collection of 140 species of trees registered with the American Public Gardens AssociationAmerican Public Gardens AssociationThe American Public Gardens Association is an association of public-garden institutions and professionals primarily in the United States and Canada....
. - Earl F. Hunsicker Bicentennial ParkBicentennial Park (Allentown)Bicentennial Park is a stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The park, officially named Earl F. Hunsicker Bicentennial Park, is primarily used for baseball and softball....
(built 1939, renovated 1976), Lehigh & S. Howard Sts. Originally Fairview Field, home to the city's Minor League BaseballMinor league baseballMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
teams, 1939–47. As Bicentennial Park, hosted the Allentown AmbassadorsAllentown AmbassadorsThe Allentown Ambassadors were an independent baseball team that competed in the Northeast League and the Northern League from 1997 until 2003. They played their home games at Allentown, Pennsylvania's Bicentennial Park.- History :...
, 1997–2003. - Hess'sHess'sHess's was a department store chain based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States.- History :The department store known as Hess Brothers was founded on February 19, 1897, by Charles and Max Hess. Max Hess came to Allentown in 1896 on a business trip and envisioned a...
Department Store (closed 1996 and demolished in 2000). - Homeopathic Healing Art Plaque, 31 S. Penn St. Marks the location of the world's first medical college exclusively devoted to the practice of homeopathic medicineHomeopathyHomeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
. Established in 1835, the college went bankrupt in 1845 and relocated to Philadelphia, where it developed into what is today Hahnemann UniversityDrexel University College of MedicineDrexel University College of Medicine is the medical school of Drexel University. The medical school has the nation's largest enrollment for a private medical school, and represents the consolidation of two medical schools: the nation's first medical school for women and the first U.S. college of...
Hospital. - J. Birney Crum StadiumJ. Birney Crum StadiumJ. Birney Crum Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The stadium seats 15,000 and is used by several area high schools and the Pennsylvania Stoners of the NPSL and the Northampton Laurels of the WPSL soccer teams. J...
(built 1948), 22nd & Turner Sts. Home football field of Allentown's three high schools, a 15,000-capacity stadium once the largest in Pennsylvania. - Muhlenberg CollegeMuhlenberg CollegeMuhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
(founded 1848), 2400 Chew St. Liberal arts college located on an 81 acres (327,795.7 m²) campus in Allentown's West End. - Old Allentown Cemetery (established 1846), N. Fountain & Linden Sts. City's second oldest cemetery, located next to Allentown Cemetery Park. Burial site of Tilghman Good (1830–87), two-term mayor and commander of the 47th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. - Old Court House County Museum, 5th & Hamilton Sts.
- Old Zion Reformed Church and Liberty Bell Shrine Museum, 622 Hamilton St. Located on Hamilton StreetPennsylvania Route 222Pennsylvania Route 222 is a -long state highway contained entirely in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and its immediate suburbs mostly along Hamilton Boulevard. The route, in center city Allentown, is aligned along West Hamilton, West Linden, and West Walnut Streets...
in center city Allentown, the temporary hiding place of the Liberty BellLiberty BellThe Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...
in 1777–78 during the Revolutionary WarAmerican RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. - Portland Place (built 1902), 718 Hamilton St. Former headquarters of Lehigh Portland Cement Company, remodeled in the art decoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style in 1939–40. Over the front door was a glass relief by artist Oronzio Maldarelli, the largest glass mural panel in the world at the time. When the company (now Lehigh Cement Company) relocated, the sculpture was installed in the building's new lobby. - PPL Building (built 1928), 9th & Hamilton Sts. Allentown's tallest building (23 stories), headquarters to PPL CorporationPPL (utility)PPL, formerly known as PP&L or Pennsylvania Power and Light, is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. It currently controls about 19,000 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Montana, and delivers electricity to...
. - Revolutionary War Plaque (erected 1926), 8th & Hamilton Sts. On the side of the Farr Building, marks the site of a hospital for Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
soldiers in 1777–78. - Sterling Hotel (1890), 343–45 Hamilton St. Three-story, Romanesque-styleRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
brick hotel. Now a popular bar and music venue. Placed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, 1984. - Trout Hall (built 1770), 414 Walnut St. Oldest house in Allentown, built by James Allen, son of William AllenWilliam Allen (loyalist)William Allen was a wealthy merchant, Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania, and mayor of Philadelphia. At the time of the American Revolution, Allen was one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Philadelphia...
, the city's founder. - Yocco's Hot DogsYocco's Hot DogsYocco's Hot Dogs is a regionally-famous hot dog and cheesesteak establishment with six restaurants, each located in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. Yocco's was founded in 1922 by Theodore Iacocca, uncle of Lee Iacocca...
(opened 1922). Regionally-popular restaurant chain with six Lehigh ValleyLehigh ValleyThe Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
locations, including three in Allentown.
Museums and cultural organizations
- Allentown Art MuseumAllentown Art MuseumThe Allentown Art Museum is an art museum located in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was founded in 1934 by a group organized by noted Pennsylvania impressionist painter, Walter Emerson Baum. With its collection of over 13,000 works of art, the Allentown Art Museum...
- Allentown BandAllentown BandThe Allentown Band is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is oldest civilian concert band in the United States, having been in continuous existence since its first documented performance on July 4, 1828, although its origins may trace back to as early...
- Allentown Public Library
- Allentown Symphony OrchestraAllentown Symphony OrchestraThe Allentown Symphony Orchestra is a major regional symphony orchestra based in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1951, the orchestra's current home is the historic, 1200-seat Allentown Symphony Hall, located in downtown Allentown...
- America On WheelsAmerica On WheelsAmerica On Wheels is an over-the-road transportation museum located in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the United States.The museum offers over of exhibit space divided into three main galleries and several smaller exhibits...
- Baum School of ArtBaum School of ArtThe Baum School of Art is a non-profit community art school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States.In 2007-2008, the school had a total enrollment of 3,326 students, 1,911 of which were children and teens, and 1,415 of which were adults...
- Chen Arts Group
- Civic Theatre of AllentownCivic Theatre of AllentownCivic Theatre of Allentown is a historic community center that hosts theatre, arts education and film. It is located on 19th street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The theatre was developed by Rubin Maiken and Alex Minker, and opened Sept. 17, 1928...
- Da Vinci Science Center
- Lehigh County Historical Society and Lehigh Valley Heritage Center MuseumLehigh County Historical SocietyLehigh County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1904, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley...
- Lehigh Valley Arts Council
- Liberty Bell MuseumLiberty Bell MuseumThe Liberty Bell Museum is a non-profit organization and museum located in Zion's United Church of Christ in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
- Marine Band of AllentownMarine Band of AllentownThe Marine Band of Allentown is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded 1903, the band played over 130 engagements during its first year. Despite its name, the Marine Band has no affiliation to the military or the United States Marine...
- Municipal Band of AllentownMunicipal Band of AllentownThe Municipal Band of Allentown is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The band was established in 1923 as the Allentown Police Band, which was renamed to the Municipal Band of Allentown in 1941...
- MunOpCo Music Theatre
- Museum of Indian CultureMuseum of Indian CultureThe Museum of Indian Culture is a non-profit organization and educational center. Founded in 1980, it is dedicated to presenting, preserving, and perpetuating the history of the Lenape and other Northeastern Woodland Indian cultures. The Museum of Indian Culture is located in the Lehigh Parkway at...
- Pioneer Band of AllentownPioneer Band of AllentownThe Pioneer Band of Allentown is a civilian concert band based in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded 1889, the band had previous been known as the First Ward Band and the Mingo Band...
- The Theatre Outlet
Sister cities and twin cities
Allentown has three official sister cities as designated by Sister Cities InternationalSister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
: Ma'alot-Tarshiha
Ma'alot-Tarshiha
Ma'alot-Tarshiha is a mixed city in the North District in Israel, some 20 km east of Nahariya, about 600 meter above sea level. The city was established in 1963 through a municipal merger of the Arab town of Tarshiha and the Jewish town of Ma'alot...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
Vinci, Tuscany, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Lelów
Lelów
Lelów is a village in Częstochowa County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Lelów...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Allentown also has two designated "twin cities": Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
External links
- City of Allentown – PA – Official Site.
- Allentown QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau.
- Allentown Travel Information.
- Allentown travel guide from WikitravelWikitravel-External links:* *...
.