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Major thoroughfare in Allentown, Pennsylvania From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hamilton Street is a major thoroughfare and historic street in the Center City section of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The street dates back to 1762, when Allentown's founder, William Allen, included it as one of the first of several streets to be constructed in the city.[1]
![]() The 500 block of Hamilton Street in 2021 | |
Part of | Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40.601716804720525°N 75.47359499864886°W |
East end | Hanover Avenue |
Major junctions | ![]() |
West end | PA Route 222 |
The street is named for James Hamilton, who served as the mayor of Philadelphia from 1745 to 1746 and two terms as deputy governor of the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania from 1759 to 1763 and 1748 to 1754.[2]
Hamilton Street begins at the end of Hanover Avenue just east of the Lehigh River in Allentown's east-side, then crosses the Lehigh River, and proceeds through Center City Allentown, where it becomes PA Route 222 past 13th Street in Allentown's west-side.
Hamilton Street was one of the first streets developed in the 18th century by William Allen, a shipping merchant and former mayor of Philadelphia. On September 10, 1735, Allen acquired 5,000-acre (20 km2) that includes present-day Center City Allentown, from Joseph Turner, an iron manufacturer and also a former mayor of Philadelphia.
In the 1970s, Hamilton Street was developed as the central shopping district in Allentown.
In the late 20th century, however, the subsequent development of indoor shopping malls in Allentown suburbs, including Lehigh Valley Mall in Fullerton, South Mall in Salisbury Township, and Whitehall Mall in Whitehall Township, drew customers away from Hamilton Street's shopping district, and many of its largest stores, including Hess's, Leh's, and others, were either acquired or went out of business.[3]
In September 2014, a major development project was completed on Hamilton Street, which included the construction and opening of PPL Center, an 8,500 indoor arena that serves as the home arena for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, an American Hockey League team and the primary development hockey team for the Philadelphia Flyers. The arena also hosts major concerts, sports, and entertainment events throughout the year.[4]
The City of Allentown holds its annual "Classics & Cruisers" event on Hamilton Street, which features classic cars from the 1970s and 1980s.[5]