Allentown, Pennsylvania

In the early 1700s, the land now occupied by the city of Allentown and Lehigh County was a wilderness of scrub oak where Native American Lenape tribes fished for trout and hunted for deer, grouse, and other game. In 1736, a large area to the north of Philadelphia, embracing the present site of Allentown and what is now Lehigh County, was deeded by 23 chiefs of the five great Native American nations to three sons of William Penn: John, Thomas, and Richard Penn. The price for this tract included shoes and buckles, hats, shirts, knives, scissors, combs, needles, looking glasses, rum, and pipes.[14]

The land that ultimately became Allentown was part of a 5,000-acre (20 km²) plot William Allen purchased on September 10, 1735, from his business partner Joseph Turner, who was assigned the warrant to the land by Thomas Penn on May 18, 1732.[15] The land was originally surveyed on November 23, 1736.[15] A subsequent survey done in 1753 for a road from Easton to Reading shows the location of a log house owned by Allen, situated near the western bank of Jordan Creek, which was believed to have been built around 1740. Used primarily as a hunting and fishing lodge, Allen also used the log house to entertain prominent guests, including his brother-in-law James Hamilton and colonial Pennsylvania governor John Penn.[15]

Trout Hall on West Walnut Street, built between 1768 and 1770 by James Allen, son of Allentown founder William Allen, is one of the oldest houses in Allentown. From 1867 to 1905, it served as the home of Muhlenberg College.

The geographic area that today comprises Center City Allentown was initially laid out as Northamptontown in 1762 by William Allen, a wealthy shipping merchant, former mayor of Philadelphia and then chief justice of the colonial Province of Pennsylvania. It is likely that a certain amount of rivalry among the Penns prompted Allen to decide to start a town of his own in 1762.[14]

Ten years before, in 1752, Northampton and Berks counties had formed, each with a county seat, Easton and Reading, respectively. In 1763, the year after Allentown's founding, an effort was made to move the county seat from Easton to Allentown. William Allen lent his influence as colonial Pennsylvania's chief justice and as son-in-law of Andrew Hamilton. The influence of the Penns prevailed, and Easton was retained as the county seat of the vast area that had been opened up as part of the Walking Purchase.[14]

The original plan for the town, detailed in archives now housed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, comprised 42 city blocks and 756 lots, most 60 feet (18 m) in width and 230 feet (70 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, including 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 city's main thoroughfare. Hamilton Street was named for James Hamilton. Gordon Street was named for Sir Patrick Gordon, the deputy governor of Colonial Pennsylvania from 1726 to 1736. Chew Street was named for Benjamin Chew, and Turner Street was named for Allen's business partner Joseph Turner.[15] Allen hoped that Northamptontown would displace Easton as the seat of Northampton County and also become a commercial center due to its location along the Lehigh River and 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.[16]

On March 18, 1811, the town was formally incorporated as the borough of Northampton Town. On March 6, 1812, Lehigh County was formed from the western half of Northampton County, and Northamptontown was selected as the county seat. The town was officially renamed Allentown on April 16, 1838, after years of popular usage by that name, and Allentown was formally incorporated as a city on March 12, 1867.[17]

This 1928 Daughters of the American Revolution tablet in Old Allentown Cemetery on North 10th Street honors Revolutionary War patriots from Allentown, many of whom are buried in the cemetery.

Some of the first resistance to British colonialism, which led ultimately to the American Revolutionary War, began in and around present day Allentown. On December 21, 1774, a Committee of Observation for Northampton County (Allentown) was formed by local American patriots. Immediately following the Declaration of Independence, the Colonial British government in Allentown began to break down and patriot militias took control. Patriots pressured Tories out of the Allentown area, and plans were made for expanding patriot militias. The burden of supplying a military force logistically fell upon the people, and requisitions for food, grain, cattle, horses, and cloth became commonplace.[18]

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 in the Zion Reformed Church and one in the Farr Building, used in treating wounded Continental Army soldiers. In 1777, a factory manufacturing paper cartridges for muskets for use in the American Revolution was relocated to Allentown from nearby Bethlehem. That same year, a shop of sixteen armourers was established along the Little Lehigh Creek and was employed in the repair of weapons and the manufacture of saddles and scabbards.[15]

After his victory in the Battle of Trenton on December 26, 1776, General George Washington and his Continental Army staff passed through Allentown, up Water Street (present day Lehigh Street). They stopped at the foot of the street at a large spring on what is now the property occupied by the Wire Mill. They rested and watered their horses, then went their way to their post of duty.[19] In 1777, with Toryism on ascent in neighboring Bethlehem, the Continental Congress found it necessary to move their cartridge manufacturing to a safer location, and Allentown was selected for repairing patriot arms and bayonets and the manufacturing of saddles. Sixteen local armorers were actively engaged in repair work at the factory.[18]

Watercolor painting of the Liberty Bell's arrival at Zion Reformed Church on West Hamilton Street in Allentown on September 24, 1777 during the American Revolution. The Liberty Bell was successfully hidden beneath the Allentown church's floor boards for nine months, from September 1777 until June 1778, to avoid it being seized by the British Army.[20]

Allentown holds historical significance as the location where the Liberty Bell (then known as the State House Bell) was successfully hidden by American patriots to avoid its capture by the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. After 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 eleven bells, including the State House Bell and the 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, who would melt the bells down to cast into munitions. The bells were transported north to Northamptontown (present day Allentown) and hidden under floorboards in the basement of Zion Reformed Church in what is now Center City Allentown.

Two farmers and wagon masters, John Snyder and Henry Bartholomew, played am important role in transporting the Liberty Bell to Allentown from Philadelphia. Both were employed by the Supreme Executive Council on the day of the Liberty Bell's journey from Philadelphia to Easton to convey money and papers of value for protection. Snyder and Bartholomew were entrusted with papers in case, a barrel, and a large iron chest. They made more than this one trip. On one journey from Pittstown, New Jersey, the two carried ammunition and books to store in safety in Easton. The only highway to the city at the time was by way of Germantown north to Bethlehem. Today, a shrine and museum in the Zion Reformed Church's basement at 622 West Hamilton Street in Allentown, known as the Liberty Bell Museum, marks and celebrates the precise location where the Liberty Bell was successfully hidden for nine months from September 1777 until its June 18, 1778 return to Philadelphia following the British departure from Philadelphia.

Hamilton Street Bridge in Allentown, constructed between 1812 and 1814, was the first bridge built across the Lehigh River. Three times since (1841, 1862, and 1902), the bridge was destroyed by floods and subsequently rebuilt. In the 1980s, the bridge was extensively refurbished.

The Albertus L. Meyers Bridge, which crosses the Little Lehigh River at 8th Street in Allentown, was the longest and highest concrete bridge in the world at the time of its 1913 opening.[21]

Following the Revolutionary War, Northamptontown began to slowly grow. Prior to American Revolution, there were 54 homes in Northamptontown with around 330 residents. In 1782, there were 59 houses, and over a hundred 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 the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company for mining. However, it proved difficult to transport coal over the primitive trail system that then existed so very little was mined until 1818 when the company began constructing the Lehigh Canal to transport coal from Mauch Chunk (today's Jim Thorpe) to Easton down the Lehigh River to the river's merger with the Delaware River in Easton. In 1829, the 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 single most important factor in making anthracite coal one of America's most important domestic and industrial fuels.[14][22] However, the operational life of the canal was short. In 1855, the first railroad was built on the west side of the Lehigh River and rail transport led to a steady decline in canal traffic.[14][22]

Until 1803, residents of Northamptontowne received their mail in Bethlehem. That year, however, a post office was established inside the Compass and Square Hotel at what today is the Penn National Bank building on Hamilton Street. After reaching a population of over 700 residents in the 1810 U.S. census, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania gave Northampton Town legal standing on March 18, 1811, incorporating it as the Borough of Northampton in what then was Northampton County. The first business of the new borough government was ordering that cows be moved from public streets and into pastures, which proved unpopular. In 1812, Lehigh County was established by partitioning a section of Northampton County. Northampton was designated as the city's first county seat.[14][23]

In the early 1800s, Allen's town, or Allentown, as the borough began to be called since it was no longer a part of Northampton County, continued to grow primarily as a court and market town. The name became so common that, in 1838, the city's name was officially changed to Allentown. The first bank, the Northampton Bank, was chartered in July 1814 at the northeast corner of Center Square. Also during this period 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][23][24]

The 1840s were challenging to Allentown. In 1841, a flood swept away Hamilton Street Bridge and inflicted substantial damage on the areas of the city located by the river. Two years later, in 1843, Northampton Bank failed due to excessive speculation by the bank, resulting in financial ruin for many families. Then, on June 1, 1848, a large fire burned down most of Allentown's Central Business District between Seventh and Eighth Streets on Hamilton Street. During the 1850s, however, the city began recovering economically. A new bridge was built across the Lehigh River, and brick buildings were constructed to replace the wooden ones that were burned in the 1848 fire. In 1852, the first Allentown Fair was held.[14][24]

A 1920 postcard of West End Park on Linden Street features this statue of Ignatz Gresser, a Union Army soldier from Allentown who was bestowed the Medal of Honor for acts of valor in the Union Army's September 17, 1862 victory over Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army in the Battle of Antietam

The 50th reunion of the Allen Infantry of the Union Army's 47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at Hamilton and South 7th Streets in Center City Allentown, Memorial Day, 1911

On April 13, 1861, as tensions between America's North and South began increasing and several southern states voted to secede, residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties called a public meeting in Easton to consider the posture of affairs and to take steps to support of the national government.[25] At the meeting, citizens voted to establish and equip a new military unit, the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and placed Tilghman H. Good of South Whitehall Township, the commander of Pennsylvania National Guard's 4th Regimenet at the time, in charge of the unit, assigning him the rank of lieutenant colonel. Good previously served as captain of the Allen Rifles, a Lehigh County militia established in 1849, and later went on to be a three term mayor of Allentown. Captain Samuel Yohe of Easton was appointed colonel of the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteers and Thomas W. Lynn was awarded the rank of major. William H. Gausler, the leader of another Allentown-based militia, the Jordan Artillerists, was later placed in charge of Allen Rifles.

Following the Union Army's defeat at the Battle of Fort Sumter and the fort's April 14, 1861 surrender to Confederate forces, Allentown deployed the Allen Infantry, also known as the "Allen Guards", to defend the national capital of Washington, D.C. in response to Lincoln's April 15, 1861 proclamation. During three months of service, which lasted until July 23, 1861, these Allentonians constituted the first of five Pennsylvania units that guarded the nation's capital from Confederate attack.[26] In recognition of this early service, the soldiers from this Allentown infantry unit became known as Pennsylvania First Defenders.[14][27]

On August 5, 1861, Andrew Curtin, then Pennsylvania's governor, granted authority to Good to raise a new regiment, and Good developed the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment.[28] 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, an officer with the Sunbury Guards in Northumberland County, who had been given the authority to form his own unit and later became a Pennsylvania state senator and the state's lieutenant governor.[29][30]

The 47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment included several units with Companies B, G, I, and K recruited from Allentown, Company F recruited from Catasaqua, Companies A and E being recruited from Easton, Company C recruited from Sunbury, and Companies D and H recruited from Perry County. The only Pennsylvania regiment to fight in the Union Army's 1864 Red River campaign Deep South's Trans-Mississippi theater,[31] the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers proved immediately effective, helping turn the Civil War in the Union's favor with victories in the Battle of St. Johns Bluff in Florida (October 1–3, 1862), the Battle of Pocotaligo in South Carolina (October 21–23, 1862), and General Sheridan's 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign, including the Battles of Berryville, Opequan, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek in Virginia, and in again contributing to the defense of the nation's capital following Lincoln's assassination in April 1865.[29][32][33] Other known Union Army units from Allentown included the 5th, 41st, 128th, and 176th Pennsylvania Infantries.[14][24]

On October 19, 1899, Allentown erected and dedicated the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which still stands in the city's center square at Seventh and Hamilton Streets, in honor of Union soldiers from Allentown and local Lehigh Valley towns and boroughs who were killed in defense of the Union in the Civil War.[14][24][34]

The Allentown Rolling Mill Company, a sizable 19th and early 20th century iron and steel manufacturer on Washington Street in Allentown, 1889

Postcard of Adelaide Silk Mill in Allentown, which opened in 1881 and was one of the world's largest silk mills of the early 20th century, 1910

Postcard of Allentown's Center Square at North 7th and Hamilton Streets, 1910

Mack Truck's assembly plant in Allentown, 1945. The company was headquartered in Allentown from 1905 until 2008, when it relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina.

West Hamilton Street from 6th Street in Allentown, 1950

Richard Nixon and his motorcade on Hamilton Street in Allentown, October 1960

The opening of the Lehigh Canal quickly transformed Allentown and the surrounding Lehigh Valley from a rural agricultural area dominated by German-speaking people into one 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 the city included flour mills, sawmills, two saddle makers, a tannery and tan yard, a woolen mill, a card weaving plant, two gunsmiths, two tobacconists, two clock-makers, and two printers.[14] In 1855, the first railroads to reach Allentown were opened, representing direct competition for the Lehigh Canal's coal transport. The Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad ordered four locomotives and stations to be built in Allentown, Easton, and Mauch Chunk. The railroad became operational in September 1855 with connections to New York City made through the Central Railroad of New Jersey and connections with Philadelphia made through Perkiomen Railroad, which operated between Norristown and Freemansburg.[14][23]

In the 1840s, iron ore beds were discovered in the hills around Allentown, and a furnace was constructed in 1846 by Allentown Iron Core Company for production of pig iron. The furnace opened in 1847 under the supervision of Samuel Lewis, an expert in iron production, leading to the opening of other Allentown plants for production of a wide variety of metal products. Allentown Rolling Mill Company was created in 1860 from a merger of several smaller companies and became the most significant iron company in the city. Although not as large as the iron and steel industry in neighboring Bethlehem in the latter half of the 19th century, Allentown became a major national hub for the nation's iron production.[14][23]

In 1850, Henry Leh contributed significantly to Allentown's industrialization with the opening of a shoe and ready-to-wear clothing store called Leh's. By 1861, Leh's provided the Union Army with much-needed military boots. During the Civil War, in addition to Leh's, eight brick yards, a saw mill, the Allentown Paint factory, two additional shoe factories, a piano factory, flour mills, breweries, and distilleries opened in Allentown.[14][23][24]

Allentown Boiler Works was founded in Allentown in 1883 by Charles Collum. He and his partner John D. Knouse built a large facility at Third and Gordon Streets in Allentown's First Ward near the Lehigh Valley Railroad yard by Jeter's Island (later named Kline's Island). The company manufactured iron products, some of which were used in constructing the White House and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The company's boilers and kilns were used nationally and abroad in Canada, Cuba, and the Philippines.[14][23]

In addition to its iron and railroad industries, Allentown developed a strong beer brewing industry, which included several notable breweries, the Horlacher Brewery (founded 1897, closed 1978),[35] Neuweiler Brewery (founded 1875, closed 1968),[36] and Schaefer Beer, whose brewery was later acquired by Pabst and Guinness[37] and is now owned by the Boston Beer Company (brewer of Samuel Adams beer).[38]

Brickworks flourished in Allentown until the end of World War I. The clay unearthed in various sections of the Allentown area proved highly suitable in manufacturing building brick and fire brick. Bricks were the first Allentown products shipped by rail and sold nationally.[14][23] Food processing started in Allentown following the arrival of bakers, who were among Allentown's first settlers. In 1887, Wilson Arbogast and Morris C. Bastian formed Arbogast and Bastian, where commercial slaughtering was done on a large scale.[14][24]

With industrialization, Allentown also became a major banking and finance center. In 1860, William H. Ainey founded Allentown Savings and was chosen its first president. In 1863–64, the Second National Bank of Allentown was formed, and Ainey was elected its first president, a position he held until the time of his death. Ainey contributed to Allentown's industrial and retail growth, helping finance The Iowa Barb Wire Company, which was later absorbed by American Steel & Wire, Pioneer Silk Factory, Palace Silk Mill, and Allentown Spinning Company.[24]

In the late 1870s, Allentown's iron industry collapsed, leaving the city economically depressed. To prevent this from recurring, efforts were made to diversify the city's industrial base, which included 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 emerged as one of the nation's leading silk manufacturing centers. The silk industry emerged as Allentown's largest industry and remained so until the late 20th century. By 1914, there were 26 silk mills in Allentown. By 1928, when rayon was introduced, the number grew to 85. Over 10,000 people were employed in the Allentown silk industry at the industry's height during the 1940s.[14][24]

In 1905, Jack and Gus Mack moved their motor car plant, Mack Trucks, from Brooklyn to Allentown, taking over foundries of Weaver-Hirsh company 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 before the U.S. formally entered World War I in 1917. The British gave Mack AC's five and seven-ton trucks the nickname "Bulldog". Mack eventually grew to have eight manufacturing plants in Allentown and adopted the bulldog as it corporate brand.[14][24]

Max Hess, a retailer, visited Allentown in 1896 on a business trip and set about developing Allentown's first department store. He moved his family from Perth Amboy, New Jersey to Allentown in 1897, and he and his brother Charles opened Hess Brothers on Ninth and Hamilton Streets. Hess Brothers developed a reputation for its flamboyance, offering the latest European fashion apparel. Zollinger-Harned Company, housed in the Zollinger-Harned Company Building on Hamilton Street, became Allentown's third major department store.[14][24]

In the post-World War II era, on October 11, 1945, Western Electric opened a plant on Allentown's Union Boulevard and, on October 1, 1951, the world's first transistor production began at the plant. Western Electric's Allentown plant quickly emerged as a national leader in the post-war electronics revolution.[39]

The Pennsylvania guide, compiled by the Writers' Program of the Works Progress Administration, described the impact that Allentown's historical patterns of immigration and the Pennsylvania Dutch community had on Allentown's linguistic landscape in the first half of the 20th century, noting in 1940 that:[40]

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)

By the mid-20th century, Allentown was a major retailing and entertainment center separate from Philadelphia and New York City. The establishment of Hess's, Leh's, and Zollinger department stores led to the growth of the retail sector in the city and dozens of smaller retail stores, restaurants, hotels, banks, and professional offices in the city emerged in what was then was called "downtown Allentown" and today is Center City Allentown). At least seven cinemas and stage theaters were developed along Hamilton Street between Fifth and Tenth Streets.[14][24]

1974 postcard of Center City's Hamilton Mall, a failed attempt to redevelop Allentown's Central Business District as residents began fleeing for the city's suburbs in the 1970s

By the mid-1960s, Allentown's economy had been booming for decades, but rising taxes in the city and the inability to expand the city's geographic limits led to migration of much of the city's baby boom generation to Allentown's suburbs. Salisbury, South Whitehall and Whitehall townships each had large areas of farmland that were prime locations for residential real estate development. Allentown began being drained of its working class, who began migrating to the newer, less-expensive housing in Allentown's suburbs, which offered lower taxes, green space, less crime, and newer schools.

These demographic developments continued throughout the 1960s and for the latter part of the 20th century, challenging Allentown's city government and the Allentown School District with greatly diminished resources. Financial challenges to the Allentown School District, in turn, further increased the number of working class families who fled the city for its 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 multi-family apartments, many of which became government-subsidized housing permitted under the city's lax zoning enforcement and permissive city codes.

With Allentown's neighborhoods and school system declining, the city focused on attempting to develop its Hamilton Street retail district, largely ignoring neighborhoods around Center City. This exacerbated the move of Allentown families to the city's suburbs, and shopping centers and services began being developed outside the city to accommodate these growing communities. In 1966, Whitehall Mall, the first closed shopping mall north of Philadelphia, opened. Ten years later, in 1976, the even larger Lehigh Valley Mall opened north of U.S. Route 22. 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 torn down for parking lots, and the downtown business district was rebuilt in an attempt to compete with the newer suburban shopping locations. A multi-block row of stores known as the Hamilton Mall was developed, including covered sidewalks and reduced traffic. But the effort was unsuccessful, and two of the city's major department stores, Leh's and Zollingers, closed by 1990. The third, Hess's, was sold to The Bon-Ton in 1994, which subsequently closed in 1996.[41] In 1993, the Corporate Center, the city's new flagship business center on North Seventh Street, fell victim to a large sinkhole, which led to its condemnation and ultimate demolition.

Combined with the challenges confronting Center City Allentown, the manufacturing economy of the Northeastern United States began suffering from deindustrialization associated with foreign competition, trade policies, and manufacturing costs, and many Allentown factories and corporations began closing or relocating. Mack Trucks relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina; Agere Systems (formerly Western Electric) moved to San Jose, California; and other Allentown-based factories downsized considerably or ceased operations. With the city's manufacturing base eroded, once high-paying industrial jobs were replaced with lower-paying service sector jobs, and Allentown being cited globally as one of the most prominent examples of the late 20th century Rust Belt.

Entrance to PPL Center (on left) in Center City Allentown, October 2018

In the 2000s and 2010s, Allentown's economy has continued reforming, largely led by service industries combined with health care, transportation, warehousing, and some continued manufacturing. The Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) operates a business incubator, Bridgeworks, which seeks to attract and support young commercial and manufacturing businesses in Allentown. The Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) was created by the Pennsylvania State Legislature in 2009 to encourage development and revitalization in Allentown. The NIZ includes approximately 128 acres (52 hectares) in Center City Allentown and the city's new Riverfront district on the western side of the Lehigh River.

Center City Allentown underwent a major restructuring in 2014, 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. Center City Allentown's redevelopment also included the opening of a full-service Renaissance Hotel and redeveloped office buildings.[42]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.0 square miles (46.6 km²) with 17.8 square miles (46.1 km²) of it being land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) being water. 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 within the city limits include Lake Muhlenberg in Cedar Creek Parkway and a pond in Trexler Park.

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

Center City, which includes the downtown area and the 7th Street retail and residential corridor, is the city's central business district and the site of various city, county, and federal government buildings. To the east of Center City are The Wards, residential areas that developed 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. 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 Allentown's tallest building is the PPL Building at 322 feet (98 m). Other Center City landmarks include Allentown Art Museum, Miller Symphony Hall, Baum School of Art, Lehigh County Historical Society and Heritage Museum, and Liberty Bell Museum. The city's central business district has several office buildings, One City Center, the Dime Savings and Trust Company building, Two City Center,[43][44] and several others. An 8,641-seat indoor arena, the PPL Center, which hosts the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, opened in August 2014.[45] In January 2015, Americus Hotel and a Marriott Hotel opened.[46][47]

Allentown is home to Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, one of the nation's largest amusement and water parks. Dorney Park's Steel Force rollercoaster is the world's eighth longest steel rollercoaster.

Nineteenth Street Theater, opened in 1928, is Allentown's oldest cinema, May 2004

The Allentown Symphony Orchestra performs at Miller Symphony Hall, located on North 6th Street in Center City. The city has a musical heritage of civilian concert bands and is home to the Allentown Band, the oldest civilian concert band in the nation.[72] 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. Youth Education in the Arts, the sponsoring organization of The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, is headquartered in Allentown. Allentown's J. Birney Crum Stadium, the second largest high school football field in the state, hosts the annual Drum Corps International Eastern Classic, which brings together the world's top junior drum and bugle corps for a two-day event.

Allentown houses a collection of public sculptures, including the DaVinci Horse, located on 5th Street, which is one of only three daVinci sculptures in the world. Allentown Art Museum, located on North 5th Street in center city, is home to a collection of over 13,000 pieces of art and an associated library. Baum School of Art, located at 5th and Linden Streets, offers credit and non-credit classes in painting, drawing, ceramics, fashion design, jewelry making, and other arts-related curriculum.

Nineteenth Street Theater has an 80-plus year history of producing theater in the Lehigh Valley. Started by two Morning Call reporters in 1927 as Civic Little Theater, Nineteenth Street Theater today has paid professional staff, a volunteer board of directors from the community, and volunteers from Allentown and its suburbs. The theater operates the Lehigh Valley's only full-time cinema, showing art, independent and foreign films, and offering a theater school that has served the Valley's youth for over 50 years. The theatre is professionally directed and managed and utilizes community actors in its live theater productions.

Yocco's Hot Dogs, founded in 1922 by Lee Iacocca's uncle Theodore Iacocca, maintains four popular locations in Allentown and its suburbs

Vestiges of Allentown's Pennsylvania German heritage are prominent in the city's cuisine. Foodstuffs such as scrapple, chow-chow, Lebanon bologna, cole slaw, and apple butter are often found in local diners and the Allentown Farmer's Market. Shoofly pie, birch beer, and funnel cakes are regularly found at local fairs. Several local churches make and sell fastnachts in fundraisers for Fastnacht Day, the day before Lent's commencement.

As Allentown's population has increased over the decades, many national restaurant and fast food chains have established a presence in the city. Growth of the city's ethnic populations has led to the opening of many family-run restaurants specializing in ethnic cuisine, including Chinese, Colombian, Dominican, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Lebanese, Portuguese, Puerto Rican, Thai, and West Indian restaurants.

Due in part to Allentown's proximity to Philadelphia, cheesesteaks are immensely popular. Yocco's Hot Dogs, a regionally well-known hot dog and cheesesteak establishment with four area locations (two of which are in Allentown), was founded in 1922 by Theodore Iacocca, uncle of former Chrysler chairman and president Lee Iacocca. A-Treat Bottling Company, a regionally-popular soft drink beverage company, has been based in Allentown since its 1918 founding.

Main entrance to Allentown Fairgrounds, 2019

The Great Allentown Fair runs annually the end of August and early September on the grounds of the Allentown Fairgrounds on North 17th Street, where it has been held continuously since 1889.[73] The first Allentown Fair was held in 1852. Prior to moving to the Allentown Fairgrounds in 1889, it was held at the Old Allentown Fairgrounds, located north of Liberty Street between 5th and 6th Streets.

Blues, Brews, and Barbeque, a blues festival launched in 2014, is held annually in June on Hamilton Street in Center City.[74] Annually each May, Mayfair festival, a three-day arts festival, is held on the campus of Cedar Crest College in the city. Since 1995, Allentown's J. Birney Crum Stadium, the second largest high school football stadium in the state, has hosted the annual Collegiate Marching Band Festival.

The Soldiers and Sailors monument at Allentown's Center Square at Seventh and Hamilton Streets honors Allentown and Lehigh Valley volunteer soldiers in the Union Army who were killed in defense of the Union during the American Civil War. The monument is topped by a statue representing the Goddess of Liberty. The monument was unveiled October 19, 1899.[75] In 1957, the statue atop the monument was removed due to its state of disrepair and was replaced with a new one in 1964.[76] The city's motto, in Latin, is Sic semper tyrannis, meaning "thus always to tyrants", suggesting that bad but justified outcomes will ultimately befall all tyrants.

Little Lehigh Creek in Lehigh Parkway in Allentown, September 2012

Much of Allentown's park system is attributable to the efforts of industrialist Harry Clay Trexler. Inspired by the City Beautiful movement in the early 20th century, Trexler helped create West Park, a 6.59-acre (26,700 m²) park in what was then a community trash pit and sandlot baseball field in an upscale area of the city.[79] The park, which opened in 1909, features a bandshell designed by Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer. It has long been home to the Allentown Band and other community bands.[79] Trexler also facilitated the development of Trexler Park, Cedar Parkway, Allentown Municipal Golf Course, and the Trout Nursery in Lehigh Parkway and was responsible for the development of the Trexler Trust, which provides still ongoing private funding for maintenance and development of Allentown's park system.[80]

Allentown's parks include Bicentennial Park (a 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), Irving Street Park, 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 Park (134 acres), Trout Creek Parkway (100 acres), Joe Daddona Park (19 acres), Keck Park, Percy Ruhe Park (also known as Alton Park), and West Park (6.59 acres).[80]

Both Cedar Crest College and Muhlenberg College, each in Allentown, have collegiate athletic programs in most sports. The Muhlenberg Mules play their home football games at Scotty Wood Stadium on the Muhlenberg campus in Allentown.

Allentown's three large high schools, Allen, Dieruff, and Central Catholic, each compete in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, one of the premier high school athletic divisions in the nation. All three Allentown high schools play their home football games at the 15,000 capacity J. Birney Crum Stadium at 2027 Linden Street, the second largest high school stadium in the state.

Professional baseball has a rich history in Allentown, dating back to 1884. The city is home to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple-A Minor League affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, who play at Coca-Cola Park, a $50.25 million, 8,200-seat stadium on Allentown's east-side.[81]

Allentown is home to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the primary development team of the Philadelphia Flyers, who compete in the American Hockey League and play at PPL Center, an 8,500-seat indoor arena opened in 2014 in Center City.

Allentown is home to the Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center, which has been the training ground for numerous Olympians and U.S. national gymnastics champions. The program was the subject of an immensely critical 2003 CNN documentary, Achieving the Perfect 10, which depicted the program as a hugely demanding and competitive gymnastics training center.

Historically, Allentown hosted the Allentown Jets, a Continental Basketball Association team, which played in Rockne Hall at Allentown Central Catholic High School 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. Allentown also has been home to two professional soccer teams, the Pennsylvania Stoners (2007-2009)[82] and Northampton Laurels (2005-2008) of the now defunct Women's Premier Soccer League. The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs of the now defunct United States Basketball League played their home games at William Allen High School for the totality of the league's existence from 1999 to 2006.

Allentown School District, the fourth largest school district in Pennsylvania, manages the city's entire public school system with the exception of a small portion of the city near Trexler Park, which lies within Parkland School District. Allentown has two large public high schools for grades 9–12, William Allen High School, which serves students from Allentown's southern and western sections, 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 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, an elite high school athletic conference comprising the 18 largest high schools in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono Mountain regions. Both schools and Allentown Central Catholic High School, the city's sole parochial school, play their home football games at J. Birney Crum Stadium, the second largest high school stadium in Pennsylvania. Students may also attend Newcomer Academy at Midway Manor or the Allentown School District Virtual Academy for grades 8 through 12.

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, Jefferson, Lehigh Parkway, Lincoln, Luis A. Ramos, McKinley, Midway Manor, Mosser, Muhlenberg, Ritter, Roosevelt, Sheridan, Union Terrace, and Washington.

Allentown also has two public charter schools. Roberto Clemente Charter School, located at 4th and Walnut Streets in Allentown, is a Title I charter school that provides educational services to mainly Hispanic students in grades 6 through 12. Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School, located at 1414 E. Cedar Street, is open to K to 12 students.

Other Allentown-based parochial schools serving K to 8 include Saint John Vianney Regional School, Holy Spirit School, Lehigh Christian Academy, Mercy Special Learning Center, Our Lady Help of Christians School, Sacred Heart 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 city also has a private Jewish school, the Jewish Day School, and two independent day schools, CAI Learning Academy, an independent day school, and The Swain School, which is associated with Moravian Academy.

Two four-year colleges, Cedar Crest College and Muhlenberg College, are based in Allentown. Allentown is also home to a satellite campus of Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC), a comprehensive community college that offers two-year and four-year degree programs, continuing education, and industry training.[87] Three other major four-year universities, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, and Moravian University are located outside of Allentown's city borders but within its surrounding Lehigh Valley metropolitan region.

Allentown is part of the Philadelphia media market, the fourth largest television market in the nation. Major Philadelphia-based network stations serving Allentown include KYW-TV Channel 3 (CBS), WCAU Channel 10 (NBC), WPVI Channel 6 (ABC), and WTXF Channel 29 (Fox).[88][89][90] Two television stations are located in Allentown. WFMZ-TV Channel 69, based in Allentown with studios and a transmitting site atop South Mountain, is an independent station. WLVT-TV Channel 39, the regional PBS affiliate, is licensed to Allentown with studios in neighboring Bethlehem.

Nielsen Audio ranks Allentown the nation's 74th largest radio market as of 2022.[91] Stations licensed to Allentown include WAEB-AM (talk, news and sports), WAEB-FM (contemporary hits), WDIY (NPR public radio), WHOL (rhythmic contemporary), WLEV (adult contemporary), WMUH (Muhlenberg College freeform campus radio), WSAN (oldies and Philadelphia Phillies broadcasts), WZZO (classic rock), and others. In addition, many stations from New York City, the nation's largest radio market, and Philadelphia, the nation's fourth largest radio market, are received in Allentown.

Allentown has two daily newspapers, The Morning Call and The Express-Times. The Times News, based in Lehighton, also covers the city. Several weekly and monthly print publications are based in Allentown or cover the city's news and people.

Lehigh Valley International Airport, Pennsylvania's fourth busiest airport, is 3 miles (4.8 km) (5 km) northeast of Allentown in Hanover Township, March 2014

The city's primary commercial airport, Lehigh Valley International Airport, is located 3 miles (4.8 km) (5 km) northeast of Allentown in Hanover Township and is operated by the Lehigh–Northampton Airport Authority. The airport has direct flights to Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Detroit, Philadelphia, and multiple cities in Florida. The region is also served by Allentown Queen City Municipal Airport, a two-runway facility located on Lehigh Street in South Allentown used predominantly by private aircraft.

Hamilton Street in downtown Allentown, November 2007

Four expressways run through the Allentown area with associated exits to the city: Interstate 78 runs from Lebanon County in the west to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan in the east; I-476, the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, runs from Plymouth Meeting outside Philadelphia in the south to Interstate 81 at Clarks Summit in the north; Pennsylvania Route 309 runs from Philadelphia in the south to Wyoming Valley in the north; and U.S. Route 22 runs from Cincinnati, Ohio in the west to Newark, New Jersey in the east. There are nine major inbound roads to Allentown: Airport Road, Cedar Crest Boulevard, Fullerton Avenue, Hamilton Boulevard, Lehigh Street, Mauch Chunk Road, MacArthur Road, Tilghman Street, and Union Boulevard.

Public buses within Allentown are provided by LANTA, a bus system serving Lehigh and Northampton counties. Allentown Transportation Center, located on North 7th Street, serves as a major hub for LANTA buses.[92] Multiple private bus lines serve Allentown at the intercity terminal at 325 Hamilton Street, including Trans-Bridge Lines and Greyhound Lines, offering direct bus service throughout the day to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal and intermediate points,[93][94] and Fullington Trailways, which offers direct service to Williamsport, Hazleton, Philadelphia, and intermediate points.[95] Martz Trailways stops in Allentown as part of its route between Scranton-Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia and as part of its commuter routes to New York City, which are part of the Amtrak Thruway route that connects Amtrak trains at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia.[96] Allentown's public parking is managed by the Allentown Parking Authority.

1915 postcard of Allentown station at Fourth and Hamilton Streets, which opened in 1890, closed in 1961, and was demolished in 1972

Allentown currently has no passenger rail service. The last Allentown rail service was provided by SEPTA; it ceased operating in 1979 though one of SEPTA's two main train stations in Allentown remains standing. In September 2020, Amtrak, in its Amtrak 2035 expansion plan, proposed restoring this rail service between Allentown and New York City by 2035.[97][98] Use of this mostly single-track route by Amtrak has consistently been opposed by Norfolk Southern Railway, which acquired ownership of the Lehigh Line when it purchased the federally-founded Conrail Corporation in 1999. Previously, in November 2008, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), along with both Lehigh and Northampton county governments, commissioned a study to explore restoring part of the Black Diamond service, which ran until 1961, by extending New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line to Allentown.[99]

Allentown was once a passenger rail hub served by the Central Railroad of New Jersey, using the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, Lehigh and New England Railroad, Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Reading Railroad, the Lehigh Valley Transit Company, and Conrail. Routes served Wilkes-Barre and Scranton to the north, Buffalo and Williamsport to the northwest, Reading and Harrisburg to the west, Jersey City and New York City to the east, and Philadelphia to the south.[100]

Allentown is a regional center for commercial freight rail traffic. Norfolk Southern's primary Northeast hump classification yards are located in Allentown,[101] and the city is served by the R.J. Corman Railroad Group, a commercial railroad company.[102] The city has major commercial rail traffic, including from the Norfolk Southern Lehigh Line, which runs through the city heading east across the Delaware River, and Norfolk Southern Railway's Reading Line, which runs through Allentown heading west to Reading.