Allentown, Pennsylvania

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Allentown
Nickname : The Queen City
Allentown, Downtown 2007
Allentown, Downtown 2007
Location in Pennsylvania
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown
Allentown
Basic data
Foundation : 1762
State : United States
State : Pennsylvania
County : Lehigh County
Coordinates : 40 ° 36 ′  N , 75 ° 29 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 36 ′  N , 75 ° 29 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents : 118.032 (as of 2010)
Population density : 2,571.5 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 46.5 km 2  (approx. 18 mi 2 ) of
which 45.9 km 2  (approx. 18 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 103 m
Postcodes : 18101, 18102, 18103, 18104, 18105, 18106, 18109, 18175, 18195
FIPS : 42-02000
GNIS ID : 1213700
Website : www.allentownpa.gov
Mayor : Ed Pavlowski

Allentown ( Pennsylvania Dutch : Allenschteddel ) is a city in Lehigh County in the east of the US state of Pennsylvania . Allentown is the third largest city in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh . Allentown is located on the Lehigh River and is the county seat of Lehigh County.

Billy Joel's song "Allentown", which appeared on his album "The Nylon Curtain" in 1982, is about Allentown and the neighboring city of Bethlehem , both industrial cities in decline (see: Rust Belt ).

history

The city was founded in 1762 under the name Northamptontown by William Allen . Deviating from its formal name, however, the place was known as Allen's Town after its founder from the beginning . The spelling Allentaun was also common among the immigrants from Germany, who published and read the newspaper Der Lecha Patriot there from 1848 to 1859 . The founder's original plan to build a trading center on the Lehigh River failed because the water level of the river was mostly too low. This disadvantage was later partially offset by the construction of the Lehigh Canal .

From September 1777 the Liberty Bell was temporarily stored in what is now Allentown , as it was feared that the British colonial power could melt it down in the course of the American War of Independence . She was brought back to Philadelphia in June 1778 .

The place, which officially got its current name in 1838, experienced an enormous boom in the iron industry in the 1850s and 1860s. It was produced especially for the rapidly growing rail network in the USA. This market later suffered considerably from the founder crash of 1873 ( Panic of 1873 ). The iron industry in Allentown got into turbulence, as a result of which more and more factories were closed and from which it no longer recovered. Instead, businesses in the textile industry, especially silk production, and the furniture industry settled in the city. Since the 1970s, the city has been struggling with the decline of the manufacturing industry and the resulting structural change .

economy

The companies Air Products & Chemicals and the energy supplier PPL have their headquarters in Allentown. Mack Trucks too until 2009 . Today the largest Mack factory is still in nearby Macungie .

The largest employers in 2017 were:

employer Workers
Lehigh Valley Hospital 3,614
Allentown School District 2,560
Muhlenberg College 2.141
Allied Personnel Services 1,679
Lehigh County & Institutions 1,666
Integrity Staffing Solutions 1,585
Phoebe Home 1,437
PPL 1,308
Sacred Heart Hospital 1,189
City of Allentown 1,037

sons and daughters of the town

Climate table

Allentown, Pennsylvania
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
80
 
1
-7
 
 
75
 
3
-6
 
 
83
 
9
-1
 
 
89
 
16
4th
 
 
107
 
22nd
10
 
 
95
 
27
15th
 
 
105
 
29
18th
 
 
109
 
28
17th
 
 
100
 
24
12
 
 
75
 
18th
6th
 
 
99
 
11
1
 
 
89
 
4th
-4
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: National Weather Service, US Dept of Commerce
Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Allentown, Pennsylvania
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 1.3 3.2 9.3 15.8 21.8 26.7 29.2 27.9 23.9 17.7 11.0 4.0 O 16
Min. Temperature (° C) −7.3 −6.2 −1.2 3.8 9.6 14.9 17.6 16.7 12.3 5.8 1.2 −4.2 O 5.3
Precipitation ( mm ) 80.3 74.9 83.3 89.4 106.7 95.3 105.2 108.7 99.8 74.7 98.6 88.6 Σ 1,105.5
Rainy days ( d ) 8.2 7.9 8.6 9.2 9.7 9.1 8.1 8.1 7.3 6.2 8.5 8.6 Σ 99.5
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
1.3
−7.3
3.2
−6.2
9.3
−1.2
15.8
3.8
21.8
9.6
26.7
14.9
29.2
17.6
27.9
16.7
23.9
12.3
17.7
5.8
11.0
1.2
4.0
−4.2
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		80.3
74.9
83.3
89.4
106.7
95.3
105.2
108.7
99.8
74.7
98.6
88.6
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

literature

  • Edgar Sandoval: The New Face of Small-Town America: Snapshots of Latino Life in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park 2010, ISBN 978-0-271-06082-8 .

Web links

Commons : Allentown (Pennsylvania)  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CHRONICLING AMERICA - Historic American Newspapers ( Library of Congress ), About Der Lecha Patriot. (Allentaun, Pa.) 1848-1859 (accessed: Aug. 11, 2014)
  2. ↑ a b Allentown City History. City of Allentown, accessed June 29, 2009 .
  3. ^ A Short History of the Liberty Bell's Trek and the Hiding of the Bells in Allentown. Liberty Bell Museum, archived from the original on January 7, 2005 ; accessed on June 29, 2009 .
  4. ^ Macungie Cab & Vehicle Assembly , at www.macktrucks.com , accessed December 24, 2015
  5. ↑ 2017 CAFR , accessed May 25, 2019