Allentown, Pennsylvania
Home rule municipality
Center City Allentown Americus Hotel on Hamilton Street Allentown Art Museum Miller Symphony Hall Muhlenberg College
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  "The A" "The Queen City",[1] "A-Town",[2] "Band City USA",[3] "Peanut City",[4] "Silk City".[5]
Motto:  Sic Semper Tyrannis
Interactive map of Allentown
Allentown Show map of Pennsylvania Allentown Show map of the United States Allentown Show map of North America
Coordinates: 40°36′06″N 75°28′38″W / 40.60167°N 75.47722°W / 40.60167; -75.47722
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Lehigh
Settled	1751 (1751)
Founded	1762 (1762)
Incorporated	March 12, 1867 (1867-03-12)
Founded by	William Allen
Named for	William Allen
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Mayor	Matthew Tuerk (D)
• City Solicitor	Matt Kloiber
• City Controller	Jeff Glazier
• Senate	Jarrett Coleman (R) Nick Miller (D)
Area [6]
• Home rule municipality	18.01 sq mi (46.64 km2)
• Land	17.56 sq mi (45.49 km2)
• Water	0.44 sq mi (1.15 km2)
• Urban	261.55 sq mi (677.4 km2)
• Metro	730.0 sq mi (1,174.82 km2)
Elevation	338 ft (103 m)
Highest elevation	440 ft (130 m)
Lowest elevation	255 ft (78 m)
Population  (2020)[7]
• Home rule municipality	125,845
• Rank	1st in the Lehigh Valley 3rd in Pennsylvania
• Density	7,164.94/sq mi (2,766.35/km2)
• Urban	621,703 (US: 68th)
• Urban density	2,377.0/sq mi (917.8/km2)
• Metro	865,310 (US: 68th)
• Metro density	1,117.8/sq mi (431.6/km2)
• Demonym	Allentonian
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	18101, 18102, 18103, 18104, 18105, 18106, 18109, 18175, and 18195
Area codes	610 and 484
FIPS code	42-02000
GNIS feature ID	1202899[8]
Primary airport	Lehigh Valley International Airport- ABE (Major/International)
Secondary airport	Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport- XLL (Minor)
School district	Allentown
Major hospital	Lehigh Valley–Cedar Crest
Website	www.allentownpa.gov

Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch: Allenschteddel, Allenschtadt, or Ellsdaun) is a city in Pennsylvania and the county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States.^[9] It is the third-most-populous city in Pennsylvania with a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 census and the most populous city in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the nation as of 2020.^[10][11][12]

Founded in 1762, Allentown is located on the Lehigh River, a 109-mile-long (175 km) tributary of the Delaware River. It is the largest of three adjacent cities, including Bethlehem and Easton in Lehigh and Northampton counties, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.^[13] Allentown is located 48 miles (77 km) north of Philadelphia and 78 miles (126 km) west of New York City.

History

18th century

In the early 1700s, the area that is present-day Allentown was a wilderness of scrub oak, where the Lenape, a Native American tribe, fished for trout and hunted for deer, grouse, and other game. In 1736, this large area north of Philadelphia was deeded by 23 chiefs of the Five Civilized Tribes to three sons of William Penn, founder of the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania: John Penn, Thomas Penn, and Richard Penn. The price for the land included shoes, buckles, hats, shirts, knives, scissors, combs, needles, looking glasses, rum, and pipes.^[14]

On May 18, 1732, the land was deeded by Thomas Penn to Joseph Turner, an iron manufacturer and politician from Philadelphia. Two years later, on September 10, 1735, a 5,000-acre (20 km²) part of the land was purchased from Turner's business partner by William Allen, a wealthy shipping merchant and former mayor of Philadelphia.^[15]

The land was surveyed in 1736 and again in 1753 as part of an effort to construct a road from Easton in the east to Reading in the west.^[15] The 1753 survey reported that a log house, owned by Allen and built around 1740, existed near the western banks of Jordan Creek. The house was used primarily as a hunting and fishing lodge by Allen, but he also used it to entertain prominent guests, including James Hamilton, his brother-in-law, and John Penn, then governor of the Province of Pennsylvania.^[15] In 1752, Northampton and Berks counties were formed; Easton was named the county seat of Northampton County, and Reading the county seat of Berks County.

In 1762, the land, including present-day Allentown, was named and laid out by Allen. A rivalry between the Penns and Allen may have inspired Allen to acquire the land and found the city.^[14] In 1763, a year after Allentown's founding, an effort was made by Allen and others to move the county seat from Easton to Allentown, but the Penns' influence prevailed and the county seat remained in Easton.^[14]

The city's original organization, whose archives are now housed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, included 42 city blocks and 756 lots, most of which were 60 feet (18 m) in width and 230 feet (70 m) in depth. The city was initially located between present-day 4th and 10th streets and Union and Liberty streets and was initially named Northampton Towne.

Many streets on the original plan were named for Allen's children, including Margaret (present-day 5th Street), William (now 6th Street), James (now 8th Street), Ann (now 9th Street), and John (now Walnut Street). Allen Street (now 7th Street), the city's main street, was named for Allen himself. Hamilton Street was named for James Hamilton, deputy governor of colonial-era Pennsylvania from 1748 to 1754. Gordon Street was named for Patrick Gordon, an earlier deputy governor of colonial Pennsylvania. Chew Street was named for Benjamin Chew, and Turner Street was named for Allen's business partner Joseph Turner.^[15]

Allen hoped that the city would displace Easton as the seat of Northampton County and become a major national center for commerce due to its location along the Lehigh River and its proximity to Philadelphia, which was then the nation's largest and most influential city. In 1767, Allen granted the land to his son James.^[16]

American Revolutionary War

Allentown played a central role in both inspiring the American Revolution and supporting the subsequent Revolutionary War. Some of the first Patriot resistance to British colonialism in the Thirteen Colonies began in and around present-day Allentown. On December 21, 1774, a Committee of Observation was formed by Allentown-area patriots. Following the Declaration of Independence's unanimous signing by the Second Continental Congress, British governing control in Allentown began to break down as patriot militias expanded their resistance. The patriot militias also pressured Tories out of the city, and expanded their ranks, which were ultimately incorporated into the Continental Army. The burden of supplying the local militias fell on the people, and requisitions for food, grain, cattle, horses, and cloth were common.^[17]

During the Revolutionary War, Hessian prisoners of war were kept in Allentown in the vicinity of present-day Seventh and Gordon streets. Allentown also housed four hospital structures, including one at Zion Reformed Church and one on the grounds of the present-day Farr Building, that were used in treating wounded Continental Army troops.

After crossing the Delaware and prevailing in the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, Continental Army commander George Washington and his staff traveled through Allentown, where they proceeded up present-day Lehigh Street, then called Water Street. They stopped at the foot of the street at a large spring at the present-day Wire Mill. There, Washington and his troops rested and watered their horses, and then proceeded to their post of duty.^[18]

In 1777, a manufacturer of paper cartridges and muskets for the Continental Army relocated to Allentown from neighboring Bethlehem, and a shop of 16 armourers was established on Little Lehigh Creek, which was used to repair Continental Army weapons and manufacture saddles and scabbards for their use.^[15]

Liberty Bell's hiding

Allentown holds historical significance as the location where the Liberty Bell, then known as the State House Bell, was successfully hidden for nine months by American patriots to avoid its capture by the British Army after the fall of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War.

After George Washington's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine in Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1777, the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia was left defenseless and American patriots began preparing for what they saw as an imminent British attack on the city. Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council ordered that 11 bells, including the State House Bell, now known as the Liberty Bell, and ten other bells from Philadelphia's Christ Church and St. Peter's Church, be taken down and moved out of Philadelphia to protect them from the British Army, which would melt the bells down to cast into munitions. The bells were transported north to present-day Allentown by two farmers and wagon masters, John Snyder and Henry Bartholomew, and then hidden under floorboards in the basement of Zion Reformed Church at present-day 622 Hamilton Street in Center City Allentown, just prior to Philadelphia's September 1777 fall to the British.

19th century

In 1803, the city, whose mail had previously been received in neighboring Bethlehem, had a post office established inside Compass and Square Hotel in the present-day Penn National Bank building at 645 Hamilton Street in Allentown. In the 1810 U.S. census, the city's population exceeded 700 residents, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted Northampton Towne legal standing on March 18, 1811, incorporating it initially as the Borough of Northampton in what was then Northampton County. The new borough's government first undertaking was ordering that cows in the city be moved from public streets to pastures, which proved unpopular with city residents. The following year, the city became part of Lehigh County, which was partitioned from a western section of Northampton County.^[14][20]

Throughout the early 1800s, the city grew primarily as a court and market town. Northampton Bank, the city's first bank located at the northeast corner of Center Square, was chartered in July 1814, and the first Hamilton Street Bridge, a 530 feet (160 m)-long chain structure, was constructed over the Lehigh River. The bridge featured two suspended lanes, one for east and one for westbound traffic, and a toll house at the bridge's western end.^[14][20][21] In 1829, Lehigh Canal, a 46.6 miles (75.0 km)-long canal on the Lehigh River's east side, was completed for both ascending and descending navigation. Its construction was the most important factor in making anthracite coal, one of the nation's most important domestic and industrial fuels, available to the nation's largest industrial markets in New York City, Philadelphia, and elsewhere.^[14][22] In 1855, the first railroad was built on the Lehigh River's west side, and rail soon began to surpass river transport as the means for transporting anthracite through the city.^[14][22]

In 1838, the city's name was officially changed to Allentown. But it soon faced major challenges. In 1841, a flood swept away Hamilton Street Bridge and inflicted substantial damage on areas of the city near the Lehigh River. Two years later, in 1843, Northampton Bank failed following excessive speculation by the bank, resulting in financial ruin for many bank customers. Five years later, on June 1, 1848, a large fire burned down most of Allentown's central business district between 7th and 8th streets on Hamilton Street.

During the 1850s, however, the city began recovering. A new bridge was built across the Lehigh River, and brick buildings were constructed to replace wooden ones that were burned in the 1848 fire. In 1852, the first Allentown Fair, now one of the nation's longest continual annual fairs, was held.^[14][21]

American Civil War

On April 13, 1861, with tensions between the nation's North and South intensifying following the South's secession and the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties called a public meeting in Easton to take steps to support the federal government.^[23] At the meeting, citizens voted to establish and equip the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, a new military unit, placing Captain Samuel Yohe of Easton and Thomas W. Lynn in charge and awarding them the respective ranks of colonel and major. Tilghman H. Good of South Whitehall Township, previously captain of the Allentown militia known as the Allen Rifles and commander of the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, was placed in charge of the 1st Pennsylvania's Company I, which included his former Allen Rifles subordinates and members of the Jordan Artillerist, another Allentown-based militia.

In April 1861, these Allentown units were deployed in response to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to defend the national capital in Washington, D.C., following the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter.^[24]

After the Civil War's end, many of these soldiers were named Pennsylvania First Defenders in recognition of their role as one the first five units to answer Lincoln's call for volunteers to defend the national capital. After protecting Washington, D.C., from April to July 1861, they were honorably discharged and returned home. However, a significant number of them reenlisted with the Union Army to defend the nation amidst the Civil War's escalation.^[14][25]

47th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry

On August 5, 1861, Andrew Gregg Curtin, Pennsylvania's Civil War-era governor, granted Tilghman H. Good authority to create the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, a new unit commonly known as the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers.^[26] Good secured help from William H. Gausler of Allentown, who was commissioned as a major with the regiment's central command staff, and John Peter Shindel Gobin, a senior officer with the Sunbury Guards in Northumberland County, who was repeatedly cited for valor and was promoted to colonel and ultimately commanding officer of the regiment.^[27][28] Companies A and E of the regiment were recruited primarily from Easton and Northampton County; Companies B, G, I, and K were largely recruited from Allentown; Company C was recruited from Northumberland and Juniata counties; Company F was primarily composed of men from Catasaqua; and Companies D and H were recruited from Perry County. The 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers achieved Union victories at the Battle of St. Johns Bluff in Florida (October 1–3, 1862) before suffering a costly defeat in the Second Battle of Pocotaligo in South Carolina (October 21–23, 1862). They were the only Pennsylvania regiment to fight in the Union Army's 1864 Red River campaign across Louisiana.^[29]

While sustaining numerous casualties during the Red River campaign in the spring of 1864, the 47th Pennsylvania helped turn the Civil War in the Union's favor with victories in General Sheridan's 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign across Virginia, including in the Battles of Berryville, Opequan, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek and then again contributing to the defense of the nation's capital following Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865.^[27][30][31] Other known Union Army units from Allentown included the 5th, 41st, 128th, and 176th Pennsylvania Infantries.^[14][21]

On October 19, 1899, Allentown erected and dedicated the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Hamilton and S. 7th streets in the Center City, where it still stands, in honor of these Union soldiers from Allentown and local Lehigh Valley towns and boroughs who were killed in defense of the Union's preservation during the Civil War.^[14][21][32]

Industrialization

Beginning in the late 18th century, the city began to slowly grow as a hub for commerce and industrialization and as a colonial-era population center. Prior to the American Revolution, there were 54 homes in Northampton Towne and approximately 330 residents. In 1782, there were 59 houses and over 100 cows were stabled in the town. The town was described by a visitor in 1783, "One gets a glimpse of many good stone houses, many of them very neat, and everything about the premises shows good order and attention. The people are mainly German who speak bad English and distressing German." In 1795, the U.S. Gazetteer described Allentown as:

A handsome and flourishing town of Northampton County, pleasantly situated on the point of land formed by the junction of the Jordan Creek and Little Lehigh. It is regularly laid out and contains about ninety dwellings, a German Lutheran and a Calvinist (Zion) Church, an Academy and three merchant mills.^[14]

In 1792, land north of Allentown was purchased by Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company for coal mining, but it initially proved difficult to transport the region's high quality anthracite coal over the primitive trail system that then existed, resulting in only a limited amount of anthracite being mined until 1818, when the company began constructing the Lehigh Canal to transport coal from Mauch Chunk, later renamed Jim Thorpe, down the Lehigh River to the river's confluence with the Delaware River in Easton.

The opening of Lehigh Canal in 1818 quickly transformed Allentown and the surrounding Lehigh Valley from a rural agricultural area dominated by German-speaking people into one of America's first urbanized industrialized areas and expanded the city's commercial and industrial capacity. With this, Allentown underwent significant industrialization, ultimately becoming a major center for heavy industry and manufacturing.

Allentown's industrial development accelerated in the late 18th century. David Deshler, Allentown's first shopkeeper, opened a sawmill in the city in 1782. By 1814, industrial plants in Allentown included flour mills, sawmills, two saddle makers, a tannery and tan yard, a woolen mill, a card weaving plant, two gunsmiths, two tobacconists, two clockmakers, and two printers.^[14] In 1855, the first railroads to reach Allentown were opened, presenting the Lehigh Canal with direct competition for coal transport. Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad ordered four locomotives, and train stations were built in Allentown, Easton, and Mauch Chunk. In September 1855, the railroad became operational with the Central Railroad of New Jersey providing transport between Allentown and New York City. Transport between Allentown and Philadelphia was made available through Perkiomen Railroad, which operated between Norristown and Freemansburg.^[14][20]

In the 1840s, iron ore beds were discovered in hills around Allentown, and a furnace was constructed in 1846 by Allentown Iron Core Company for production of pig iron, a vital component used in the manufacturing of steel. The furnace opened in 1847 under supervision of Samuel Lewis, an expert in iron production, and was followed by the opening of other Allentown plants for production of a wide variety of metal products. In 1860, several smaller iron companies merged to create the Allentown Rolling Mill Company, which became Allentown's largest iron company and contributed to the city and the greater Lehigh Valley region's emergence as a major source for iron ore.^[14][20]

In 1850, Leh's, a shoe and ready-to-wear clothing store, was opened in the city by Henry Leh. By 1861, with the Civil War commencing, Leh's emerged as a major source of military boots for the Union Army. In addition to Leh's, eight brick yards, a saw mill, a paint factory, two additional shoe factories, a piano factory, flour mills, breweries, and distilleries all opened in Allentown during the Civil War era.^[14][20][21]

In 1883, Allentown Boiler Works was founded in Allentown by Charles Collum. Collum and his partner John D. Knouse built a large facility at 3rd and Gordon streets in Allentown's First Ward near the Lehigh Valley Railroad yard near what later became Kline's Island. The company manufactured iron products, some of which were used in the construction of high-profile construction projects, including the building of the White House in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The company's boilers and kilns were used for the production of iron products sold nationally and internationally, including to customers in Canada, Cuba, and the Philippines.^[14][20]

Brickworks flourished in Allentown through the end of World War I. The clay unearthed in various sections of Allentown and the city's suburbs proved suitable in manufacturing building brick and fire brick. Bricks were the first Allentown products shipped by rail and sold nationally.^[14][20] A vibrant food processing industry began emerging in Allentown following the arrival of predominantly German immigrant bakers, who were among Allentown's first settlers. In 1887, Wilson Arbogast and Morris C. Bastian formed Arbogast and Bastian, which provided large scale commercial slaughtering.^[14][21]

With industrialization, Allentown emerged as a major regional and national center for banking and finance. In 1860, William H. Ainey founded Allentown Savings and served as its first president. In 1864, Second National Bank of Allentown was formed, and Ainey was elected its first president, a position he held until his death. Ainey contributed to Allentown's industrial and retail growth, helping finance Iowa Barb Wire Company, which was later absorbed by American Steel & Wire, Pioneer Silk Factory, Palace Silk Mill, and Allentown Spinning Company.^[21]

In the late 1870s, Allentown's iron industry collapsed, leaving the city economically depressed. Efforts were made to diversify the city's industrial base, including convincing Phoenix Manufacturing Company to open a silk mill in Allentown. Adelaide Mill at Race and Court streets prompted the opening of Pioneer Silk Mill in 1886, and the city quickly emerged as a national leader in silk manufacturing. The silk industry grew to ultimately become Allentown's largest industry in the late 19th century and remained the city's largest industry through the end of the 20th century. In 1914, there were 26 silk mills in the city. By 1928, after the introduction of rayon, the number of Allentown silk mills grew to 85, and over 10,000 people were employed in the Allentown silk industry at the industry's height in the 1940s.^[14][21]

In 1896, Max Hess, a retailer from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, visited Allentown and set about developing Allentown's first department store. He his brother Charles opened Hess Brothers at 9th and Hamilton streets. Hess's developed a reputation for flamboyance, offering the latest European fashion apparel. The opening of Hess's was following by the opening of a second major department store in the city, the Zollinger-Harned Company, located in the Zollinger-Harned Company Building on Hamilton Street.^[14][21]

In the late 19th century, Allentown also emerged as a major center for the beer brewing industry. Notable Allentown breweries included Horlacher Brewery (founded 1897, closed 1978),^[33] Neuweiler Brewery (founded 1875, closed 1968),^[34] and Schaefer Beer, whose brewery was later acquired by Pabst and Guinness^[35] and is now owned by Boston Beer Company, brewer of Samuel Adams beer.^[36]

20th century

In 1905, Jack and Gus Mack moved Mack Trucks, their motor company, from Brooklyn to Allentown, taking over the foundries of Weaver-Hirsh on South 10th Street. By 1914, Mack Trucks developed a global reputation for manufacturing sturdy and reliable trucks and vehicles. Many were sent to Western Front battlefields in France prior to the U.S. formally entering World War I in 1917. The British nicknamed Mack AC's five and seven-ton trucks the "Bulldog". Mack eventually grew to have eight manufacturing plants in Allentown and adopted the bulldog as it corporate brand.^[14][21]

Like several other regions in Pennsylvania, Allentown residents continued speaking Pennsylvania German well into the early 20th century. Pennsylvania Guide, compiled by the Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration, described the Pennsylvania Dutch community's impact on Allentown's linguistic landscape, reporting in 1940 that:^[37]

Allentown is among the few large Pennsylvania cities where newspapers still carry columns written in the dialect. Although English predominates on the streets, there is a tendency to enunciate the 'v' with open lips, to soften the hard 'g' into 'ch,' and to use too frequently such words as 'already,' 'yet,' and 'once.' Here also are heard such colloquialisms as 'the pie is all,' (all gone) and 'it wonders (mystifies) me.'

— Federal Writers' Project, "Part II: Cities and Towns", Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State (1940)

In October 1945, following the end of World War II, Western Electric opened a plant on Union Boulevard in Allentown. Six years later, on October 1, 1951, the company manufactured and released the world's first transistor, which was produced at the Allentown-based plant, and the Allentown-based company emerged as a leader in the nation's post-war electronics revolution.^[38]

By the mid-20th century, Allentown was a major retailing and entertainment center distinct and separate from Philadelphia and New York City. Hess's, Leh's, and Zollinger department stores led to retail sector growth in Allentown, and dozens of smaller retail stores, restaurants, hotels, banks, and professional offices in the city emerged in present-day Center City, which was then referred to as downtown Allentown. At least seven cinemas and stage theaters were developed on Hamilton Street between 5th and 10th streets.^[14][21]

Deindustrialization and Rust Belt

By the mid-1960s, Allentown's economy had been booming for decades but the city's rising taxes and regulations prohibiting expansion of the city's geographic limits began leading many of the city's residents, especially those in the post-World War II baby boom generation, to flee Allentown for its suburbs. Salisbury, South Whitehall, and Whitehall townships each had large areas of farmland that were prime locations for residential real estate development. Much of Allentown's working class began migrating to these newer, less-expensive housing developments in Allentown's suburbs, which offered lower taxes, more green space, less crime, and newer schools.

This demographic trend continued throughout the latter part of the 20th century, presenting a major challenge to Allentown's city government and the Allentown School District as it confronted greatly diminished resources. Allentown School District's financial challenges, in turn, further increased the working class flight to Allentown's suburbs, creating a sea change in the city's demographics. With the departure of many working-class families from older Center City neighborhoods, many homes were sold to landlords who converted them into inexpensive multifamily apartments, many of which became government-subsidized housing projects that were permitted under the city's lax zoning and city codes.

With Allentown's neighborhoods and school system declining, the city focused on attempting to develop its Hamilton Street retail district, largely ignoring Allentown neighborhoods not located in Center City. This also exacerbated the flight of Allentown families to the city's suburbs, leading to the development of shopping centers and services to accommodate the demand in these expanding suburban communities. In 1966, Whitehall Mall, the first closed shopping mall north of Philadelphia, opened in Whitehall Township.

Ten years later, in 1976, the even larger Lehigh Valley Mall opened north of U.S. Route 22 in Fullerton. Stores in Allentown's downtown shopping district began closing, replaced with stores whose customers were less affluent. Large areas of Allentown's downtown were subsequently razed and replaced with parking lots. The downtown business district was rebuilt in an attempt to compete with the newer suburban shopping locations. A multiblock row of stores known as Hamilton Mall was developed, featuring newly covered sidewalks and managed traffic patterns. But the effort was unsuccessful, and two of the city's major department stores, Leh's and Zollingers, were forced to close by 1990. The third, Hess's, was sold to The Bon-Ton in 1994, which closed its Hamilton Mall location two years later in 1996.^[39] In 1993, the Corporate Center, the city's new flagship business center on North 7th Street, fell victim to a large sinkhole, which led to its condemnation and ultimate demolition.

21st century

Combined with challenges confronting Center City, the manufacturing economy of the Northeastern United States began suffering from deindustrialization associated with foreign competition, trade policies, and manufacturing costs. Many Allentown factories and corporations began closing or relocating.

Responding to the late 20th century economic downturn, Allentown consciously sought to begin diversifying its economy in the early 21st century. In the 2000s and 2010s, Allentown's economy saw growth in its service, health care, transportation, warehousing, and some manufacturing industries. In 2009, the Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ), created by the Pennsylvania State Legislature, sought to address Allentown's economic challenges and encourage its development and revitalization. The NIZ includes approximately 128 acres (52 hectares) in Center City and the city's riverfront district on the Lehigh River's western side.

In 2006, Agere Systems, formerly Western Electric, was acquired by LSI Corporation and relocated to San Jose, California. Mack Trucks relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2009, and other Allentown-based factories downsized considerably or ceased operations entirely. With the city's manufacturing base eroded, once high-paying industrial jobs were replaced with lower-paying service sector jobs, and Allentown began being cited widely as one of the most prominent examples of a late 20th century Rust Belt city.

In 2014, Center City underwent major restructuring, including constructing and opening PPL Center, a 10,500-capacity indoor arena that now hosts the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a professional American Hockey League ice hockey team, and other sports, entertainment, and concert events. A full-service Renaissance Hotel also opened, and older office buildings were redeveloped.^[40]

In its 2024 edition of "Best Places to Live", U.S. News & World Report ranked Allentown the fifth-best location in the nation to retire.^[41]

Geography

Topography

Allentown's geographic boundaries include a total area of 18.0 square miles (46.6 km²). Of this, 17.8 square miles (46.1 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) is water, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Bodies of water include Jordan Creek and its tributary, Little Lehigh Creek, which join within the city limits and empty into the Lehigh River. Other bodies of water in Allentown include Lake Muhlenberg in Cedar Creek Parkway and a pond in Trexler Park.

Adjacent counties

Allentown is located in the Lehigh Valley, an eastern Pennsylvania geographic valley located between two Appalachian mountain ridges, Blue Mountain, which varies from 1,000 feet (300 m) to 1,600 feet (490 m) in height about 17 miles (27 km) north of the city, and South Mountain, a ridge of 500 feet (150 m) to 1,000 feet (300 m) in height that borders Allentown's southern edge. It includes both Lehigh and Northampton counties.

The Lehigh Valley's adjacent counties include Carbon and Monroe counties to its north, Bucks County to its southeast, Montgomery County to its south, Berks and Schuylkill counties to its west, and Warren County, New Jersey to its east.

Cityscape and neighborhoods

Center City, which includes the downtown area and its 7th Street retail and residential corridor, is the city's central business district and the location of most of its city, county, and federal government buildings. To the east of Center City are The Wards, residential areas developed during Allentown's late 19th century and early 20th century industrial boom. Just east of the Lehigh River are the city's East Side residential neighborhoods, most of which border various routes to neighboring Bethlehem. South of Center City and across Little Lehigh Creek are the city's South Side neighborhoods, which border Emmaus. Allentown's West End, with a mix of commercial corridors, cultural centers, and larger single-family residences, begins approximately west of 15th Street.

Center City's tallest building is the PPL Building at 322 feet (98 m). In addition to the PPL Building, Center City commercial office buildings include the Dime Savings and Trust Company building, which features the Art Deco architecture of the region during the 1920s and 1930s. One City Center, Two City Center,^[42][43] and other commercial buildings are located in Center City.

An 8,500-seat indoor arena, PPL Center, which hosts the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, opened in August 2014 at 701 Hamilton Street in Center City.^[44] Other Center City historic and recreational landmarks include Allentown Art Museum, Baum School of Art, Lehigh County Historical Society, and Miller Symphony Hall.

In January 2015, two major hotels, Americus Hotel and a Marriott, opened in Center City.^[45][46]

Architecture

Allentown is characterized by a large stock of historic homes, commercial structures, and century-old industrial buildings reflecting its standing as one of the nation's earliest urban centers. Center City's neighborhoods include Victorian and terraced rowhouses. West Park includes mostly Victorian and American Craftsman-style architecture. Houses on Allentown's tree-lined streets in the West End were built mostly between the 1920s and 1940s. Houses in Allentown's East and South Sides are a mixture of architectural styles and are generally single and twin family homes built between the 1940s and 1960s; both areas include some older Victorian homes. Allentown has many loft apartments in converted mills and historic brick manufacturing buildings and modern and historic high-rise apartment buildings in Center City.

Allentown has three primary historic districts: Old Allentown, the Old Fairgrounds, and West Park. Old Allentown and Old Fairgrounds are Center City neighborhoods that hold a joint house tour organized by the Old Allentown Preservation Association (OAPA) annually in September. West Park also offers a tour of its Victorian and Craftsman-style homes.^[47]

The PPL Building, at 2 North 9th Street, is Allentown's tallest building at 322 feet (98 m). The building was designed by New York City architectural firm Helme, Corbett, and Harrison. Wallace Harrison was the primary designer of the building, which later served as a prototype for the Art Deco architecture of Rockefeller Center and other New York City building structures. Built between 1926 and 1928, the PPL Building's exterior decorative friezes were designed by Alexander Archipenko. The building, which opened July 16, 1928,^[48] has been illuminated every night since its opening. In clear weather at night, the PPL Building's nighttime illumination can be seen from as far north as the Blue Mountain Ski Area in Palmerton. The building's exterior is featured in multiple scenes in the 1954 movie Executive Suite.^[49]

Miller Symphony Hall at 23 North 6th Street opened in 1896 and served initially as the city's public market; the 1,100 seat facility is now home to the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. The structure was converted to a theater in 1899 by architect J. B. McElfatrick's firm, and was initially named the Lyric Theater. Miller Symphony Hall, one of roughly a dozen famous McElfatrick designs still standing in the nation, has been used for burlesque shows, vaudeville, silent films, symphony orchestras, and other entertainment for over a century.^[50] Other Allentown-based performing arts facilities and programs include Pennsylvania Sinfonia, Community Concerts of Allentown, Allentown Band, and Community Music School of the Lehigh Valley.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Allentown falls within either a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) if the 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm is used or a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) if the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm is used. Summers are typically warm and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cool to cold. Precipitation is almost uniformly distributed throughout the year.

The average temperature in January is 30.1 °F (−1.1 °C) and the lowest officially-recorded temperature was −15 °F (−26 °C) on January 21, 1994.^[51] July averages 75.6 °F (24.2 °C) and the highest temperature on record was 105 °F (41 °C) on July 3, 1966.^[51][52] January temperatures average below freezing, seven months average above 50 °F (10.0 °C), and two months average above 71.6 °F (22.0 °C).

Snowfall is variable with some winters bringing light snow and others bringing multiple and significant snowstorms. Average snowfall is 33.1 inches (84 cm) seasonally^[53] with February receiving the highest snowfall at just under 11 inches (280 mm). Rainfall is generally spread throughout the year with eight to 12 days of precipitation per month^[54] at an average annual rate of 43.5 inches (110.5 cm).^[55] Allentown falls under the USDA 6b Plant hardiness zone.^[56]