![2018 - Center Square - Looking Northeast - 12 Oct - Allentown PA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/2018_-_Center_Square_-_Looking_Northeast_-_12_Oct_-_Allentown_PA.jpg)
Center City is the downtown and
central business district of
Allentown, Pennsylvania, the third largest city in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. It has a dense population and is currently undergoing an
urban revitalization
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
process.
Boundaries
Allentown's Center City is generally defined as the area centered around
Hamilton Street Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilton ...
and Seventh Street: bordered by the
Little Lehigh Creek
Little Lehigh Creek is approximately long and is located in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is sometimes referred to as the Little Lehigh River. It is the largest tributary of the Lehigh River.
The creek flows in a windin ...
to the east, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to the south, the city line with
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
to the north, and 15th Street to the west.
Demographics
Center City's population based on a 2007 estimate was 53,548. Center City is defined as 6.271 sq. mi., making the population density 8539/square miles.
Neighborhood features
Center City's tallest building is the
PPL Building at 322 ft (98 m). The
Allentown Art Museum
The Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley is an art museum located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1934 by a group organized by noted Pennsylvania impressionist painter, Walter Emerson Baum. With its collection of over 19,000 ...
,
Miller Symphony Hall
Miller Symphony Hall is a 1,100-seat performing arts facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania that hosts the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. The hall was previously known as Central Market (1896), Lyric Theater (1899), and Allentown Symphony Hall (1959). ...
, the former site of
Hess's
Hess's was a department store chain based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company started in 1897 with one store, originally known as Hess Brothers, and grew to nearly 80 stores by its peak in the late 1980s. The chain's stores were closed or sol ...
Department Stores' original and flagship store,
Baum School of Art
The Baum School of Art is a non-profit community art school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
In 2016–2017, the school had a total enrollment of 3,346 students, 1,921 of which were children and teens, and 1,425 of which were adults. 178 clas ...
,
Lehigh County Historical Society
Lehigh County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1904, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting the history of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The Historical So ...
and Heritage Museum, and The
Liberty Bell Museum
The Liberty Bell Museum (also the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum) is a non-profit organization and museum located in Zion's United Church of Christ (formerly Zion's Reformed Church) in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern P ...
are Center City landmarks. An 8,500-capacity indoor arena,
PPL Center, opened in August 2014, and is the home arena for the
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey L ...
, the primary development team of the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
.
Neighborhoods
Center City Allentown includes several residential
neighborhoods
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
: Seventh Street, Downtown, Old Allentown, Old Fairgrounds District, and NOTI (North of Tilghman Street).
Economy
Center City is home to the corporate headquarters of
PPL Corporation
PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
History
Pennsylvania Power & Light was founded in 1 ...
.
Education
Center City Allentown's public schools, which are operated by
Allentown School District
The Allentown School District is a large, urban public school district located in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The district is the fourth largest school district in Pennsylvania as of the 20 ...
, include:
High schools
*
Allen High School
*
Dieruff High School
Middle schools
*Francis D. Raub Middle School
*Harrison-Morton Middle School
*South Mountain Middle School
*Trexler Middle School
Elementary schools
*Central Elementary School
*Cleveland Elementary School
*Hiram Dodd Elementary School
*Jackson Elementary School
*Jefferson Elementary School
*Lehigh Parkway Elementary School
*Lincoln Elementary School
*Luis A. Ramos Elementary School
*McKinley Elementary School
*Mosser Elementary School
*Midway Manor Elementary School
*Muhlenberg Elementary School
*Ritter Elementary School
*Roosevelt Elementary School
*Sheridan Elementary School
*Union Terrace Elementary School
*Washington Elementary School
Charter schools
*
Roberto Clemente Charter School
Private schools
*
Allentown Central Catholic High School
Allentown Central Catholic High School (ACCHS) is a private, parochial school located at 301 North Fourth Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, ACCHS predominantly serves students from the Lehigh ...
*Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena School
*Holy Spirit School
*Mercy Special Learning Center
*Sacred Heart School
*St. Francis of Assisi School
See also
*
Allentown, Pennsylvania
*
List of Allentown neighborhoods
Allentown, Pennsylvania is the largest city in the Lehigh Valley, the third largest city in Pennsylvania, and the county seat of Lehigh County. The city includes several neighborhoods, districts, and other places, though these neighborhoods an ...
*
List of people from the Lehigh Valley
The following is a list of notable people who were born, or have lived a significant portion of their lives, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.
Authors, journalists, playwrights, and poets
*Christian Bauman, ...
External links
Old Allentown Preservation Association website
{{authority control
Geography of Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them:
*Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
*Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County
*Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...
Neighborhoods in Pennsylvania