Why is allentown famous

In , Allentown was founded by a man named William Allen who just so happened to be the former mayor of Philadelphia. In the year , Allentown celebrated its th anniversary from when it was founded. The anniversary consisted of local residents and the governor's office coming together for a celebration of Allentown and how far it has come over the years. Allentown is home to the Liberty Bell which attractions millions of individuals around the world with its historic past. In , a mill called Adelaide Silk opened up and soon became one of the largest textile mills around the world.

Due to the historic background of Allentown, this city has been mention in a variety of famous movies including The Hangover Part 2 and The Wrestler. For attractions in Allentown, you will find the Miller Symphony Hall, the Nineteenth Street Theater, and the infamous Allentown Art Museum which has become a large attraction for tourists over the years.

Allentown is one of the most popular spots for residents and tourists in or around the Philadelphia area. Allentown is directly beside the Lehigh River which gives water entertainment to tourists and guests. In April of , Allentown was named a national success story by the Urban Land Institute due to its redevelopment of the downtown area.

Good in charge, assigning him the rank of lieutenant colonel. Good, commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard's 4th Regiment at the time, had previously served as captain of the Allen Rifles, a Lehigh County militia established in , and later went on to become a three-time mayor of Allentown. Lynn was awarded the rank of major. William H. Gausler, the leader of another Allentown-based militia, the Jordan Artillerists, was subsequently placed in charge of the Allen Rifles.

Then, following the Battle of Fort Sumter and the fort's April 14 surrender to Confederate forces, President Abraham Lincoln issued his April 15, proclamation, calling for state militia to provide 75, volunteer troops to defend the nation's capital. In response, Allentown sent the Allen Infantry.

Also known as the "Allen Guards," the unit was commanded by Captain Thomas Yeager, and mustered in for duty in Harrisburg on April 18, During their three months' service, which lasted until July 23, , these Allentonians primarily performed guard duty and, as one of the first five militia units sent by Pennsylvania to Washington, D. Both the Allen Rifles and the Jordan Artillerists were then incorporated into the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteers, and mustered into service as Company I at Harrisburg on April 20, , narrowly missing out on the opportunity to be declared as First Defenders.

Upon completion of their three months' service, the men of Company I were honorably discharged, and also mustered out at Harrisburg on 23 July Good to raise another new regiment, the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry. Gausler, 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 who would later go on to become a Pennsylvania state senator and the state's Lieutenant Governor.

Other known Civil War units from Allentown were the 5th, 41st, th, and th Pennsylvania Infantry. On October 19, , the city erected and dedicated the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which still stands on Allentown's center square, in honor of Union soldiers from Allentown and local Lehigh Valley towns and boroughs who died in the Civil War.

The opening of the Lehigh Canal caused a fundamental change in the nature of Allentown and the Lehigh Valley, as it transformed both from a rural agricultural area dominated by German-speaking people into an urbanized industrialized area.

It expanded the city's commercial and industrial capacity greatly. With this, the town underwent significant industrialization, ultimately becoming a major center for heavy industry and manufacturing. The actual foundation for the city's industrial development was brought about by necessity.

David Deshler, the city's first shopkeeper, opened a saw mill in In , the first railroads reached Allentown. These were in direct competition for moving coal with the Lehigh Canal. The railroad was placed in operation in September of that year. Connections for New York were made via the Central Railroad of New Jersey and later connections with Philadelphia were made via the Perkiomen railroad which operated between Norristown and Freemansburg.

It was Henry Leh that began the true industrialization of Allentown in The Union Army needed boots. Since Simon Cameron, the secretary of war, was from Pennsylvania, many government contracts flowed to the Keystone state.

Leh had opened his shoe and ready-to-wear clothing store in Allentown in If the Union Army needed boots and shoes, he'd make them. In addition to Leh's boot and shoe industry, during the Civil War, eight brick yards, a saw mill, the Allentown Paint factory, two shoe factories, a piano factory, flour mills, breweries and distilleries had opened in the city.

Beds of iron ore had been discovered in the hills around Allentown in the s, and a furnace was constructed in for the production of pig iron by the Allentown Iron Company. The furnace was opened in under the supervision of Samuel Lewis, an expert in iron production, and this led to the opening of plants for a wide variety of metal products. The Allentown Rolling Mill Company was a merger of several small companies in and became the most significant iron company in the city.

It employed many people and turned out more iron products than any other. 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 iron-producing center. He and his partner, John D. It's boilers and kilns were used across the United States, and also in Canada, Cuba and the Philippines.

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 , closed , the Neuweiler Brewery founded , closed 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.

Brick making flourished in the city until after World War I, the clay unearthed in various sections of the community proving highly suitable for the manufacture of building brick as well as fire brick.

Bricks were the first products shipped outside of the Allentown area by rail and were sold nationwide. Food processing started with the early bakers, who came into the city with the first settlers.

In , Wilson Arbogast and Morris C. Bastian formed Arbogast and Bastian, where commercial slaughtering was done on a large scale. With the industrial industry, Allentown became a major banking and finance center.

Ainey was born in Susquehanna county, November 30, In he organized the Allentown Savings Institution and was chosen its first president. In the Second National Bank of Allentown was organized. He was elected its first president, a position he filled up to the time of his death. Ainey was a major financier of the industrial and retail growth of the city. Through his industry and assistance the following industries were established: The Iowa Barb Wire Co.

In the late s, Allentown's iron industry collapsed. It left the city economically depressed and to prevent this from happening again, efforts were made to develop a diversifed industrial base. Convincing the Phoenix Manufacturing Company to open a silk mill in Allentown was the first major success of that effort.

The success of its Adelaide mill at Race and Court Streets prompted the opening of the Pioneer silk mill in and the city was established as a silk manufacturing center. With its many ancillary businesses, the silk industry became the largest in the city and remained so until the late 20th century. By there were 26 mills in Allentown, which by , when rayon was introduced became 85 mills. Over 10, people were employed in the Allentown silk industry at its height during the s.

By , Mack Trucks had developed a reputation for being study and reliable. Mack eventually had a total of eight manufacturing plants in Allentown. In the post-World War II era, the Western Electric plant on Union Boulevard was announced on 11 October , after a nationwide search to locate a new manufacturing plant.

On 1 October the world's first transistor production began at the Allentown Western Electric plant. It would become the backbone of a communications revolution. Over the years the plant was at the forefront of the postwar electronics revolution. Max Hess came to Allentown in on a business trip and envisioned a department store serving the area.

He moved his family from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in In the first half of the 20th Century, Hess Brothers was a shopping destination. Flamboyance and excitement were cornerstones of the store. It was well known for its fashion apparel as a result of introducing the latest trends from Europe. By the midth Century, Allentown had become a major retailing and entertainment center separate from Philadelphia and New York City.

The establishment of the Hess Brothers, H. Leh and Company and Zollinger Department stores led to the growth of the retail business sector in the Central Business District. There were dozens of smaller retail stores, along with numerous restaurants, hotels, banks and professional offices in the "downtown", as it was called.

In addition to the shopping, at least seven cinemas and stage theaters were located along Hamilton Street between Fifth and Tenth Streets.

By the mid s, Allentown's economy had been booming for decades. However, beginning in the s, the economy and demographics of the city began to change. Increasing taxes in the city and the inability to expand the city's legal limits led to a migration of the baby boom generation to live outside of the city limits.

Townships such as Salisbury, South Whitehall and Whitehall had large areas of farmland that were prime locations for large housing estates to be built. Allentown began to be drained of its next generation of working class, who began to migrate to the newer, less expensive housing in suburbs which also offered lower taxes, greenspace, less crime, and newer schools.

With these demographic changes that began in the s and continued into the s and s, Allentown's city government and school district were left with fewer resources.

The financial shortcomings of the city increased the amount of working-class families leaving Allentown because of the Allentown School District's shortcomings as well as the sea change in demographics in the city's neighborhoods, especially those in center city. With the departure of many working-class families from older center city neighborhoods, many homes were sold to landlords which converted them into inexpensive multi-family apartments which became government subsidized because of lax zoning enforcement and permissive city codes.

The subsidized housing attracted new immigrants to the area from New York and Philadelphia, looking for a better life in the more affordable Allentown area, but started a poverty problem with many of these residents requiring social services which the city could not afford easily. While the neighborhoods and school system continued to decline, Allentown, like many other cities, focused all of its attention and resources on Hamilton Street Retail and the Central Business District, ignoring the neighborhoods around them.

This exacerbated the decline of the city at large. With the population growing in the townships, more and more shopping centers along with other services were built outside of the city to accommodate the needs of their growing populations. In , the Whitehall Mall , the first closed shopping mall north of Philadelphia was opened. The stores in the downtown shopping district began to close and be replaced with stores whose customers were less affluent than the past.

Large areas of the downtown were torn down for parking lots and the downtown business district was rebuilt in an attempt to compete with the suburban shopping areas. However, the Hamilton Mall concept of covered sidewalks and reduced traffic was ultimately unsuccessful. Two of the city's major department stores, Leh's and Zollingers closed by The third, Hess's was sold to The Bon-Ton in , which subsequently closed in The closure of Hess's and the fate in of the Corporate Center, the city's new flagship business center on North Seventh Street, fell victim to a large sinkhole which caused its condemnation and ultimate demolition.

Combined with this, the manufacturing economy of the Northeastern United States began suffering from deindustrialization. That caused many of the factories and corporations headquartered in Allentown to close or move.

With the manufacturing base of the economy eroding, more and more high-paying industrial jobs were replaced with lower-paying jobs in the service sector. In the s and s, Allentown's economy, like most of Pennsylvania's, has been based in the service industries with some manufacturing.

There also has been significant growth in the health care, transportation and warehousing industries. The Allentown Economic Development Corporation AEDC operates a business incubator, the Bridgeworks, which helps attract and support young commercial and manufacturing businesses.

The NIZ consists of approximately acres 52 hectares in downtown Allentown and the new Riverfront district the western side of the Lehigh River. In addition to the Central Business District, the Lehigh River waterfront area is being redeveloped with a mixed-use development of apartment and office buildings.

There is also an effort underway to bring suburban residents back into the city. Downtown apartment complexes, such as the Strata Lofts I and II are being built to provide rentals primarily for millennials who work in the new office buildings. Empty Nester boomer and Gen-X residents are being attracted to such condominium residences such as the redeveloped Livingston Building and Farr Lofts, as well as new uban condominiums planned in the Five City Center Complex downtown.

In addition to the residences and office buildings, new retail stores and restaurants are being built as part of the NIZ development. Stop in at the Downtown Allentown Market for a fresh selection of small kitchens and unique pairings! Get your shopping fix at one of the many retailers. Well-known for its extensive award-winning parks system, Allentown boasts the highest acreage of any American city its size. Enjoy the greenery in the ArtsWalk , a vibrant new public space that connects the center city region of Allentown to the Arts Park at the Allentown Art Museum.

On any given night, you can find people relaxing in the courtyard and taking in a free performance. This creates a sun rising on the Allentown Arts Walk to brighten up the space and create an engaging public atmosphere.

Artist: Matt Halm Location: 10th and Turner Streets, Allentown, Pennsylvania Description: This mural was made in conjunction with the Old Allentown Preservation Association, and uses local landmarks, architecture, and historical elements.

The theme of the piece is "Preserving the past to brighten the future. The design appears to have grown around and frames the windows with flowers and leaves. Sandwiched between two homes, the park is surrounded by colorful landscape murals on the walls of the adjacent homes. Along with the murals, new trees, benches, grass, and plants were added so neighborhood residents would have a lovely spot to visit and relax.

Artist: Matt Halm Location: N. In the grips of a pandemic, our homes became our havens. This mural explores the idea of shelter, physically and metaphorically. As we continued to stay in, it was as if our domestic space became our whole world.

This mural imagines our homes as a monuments, and our windows as portals. In these strange times, our perspectives changed. This mural examines how we look out at the world, and how the world sees in.

Artist: Pedro J. LeDee, Jr.