Best Web Design in Allentown, PA (2026)

Web Design for Allentown, Pennsylvania

Allentown is Pennsylvania's third-largest city and the seat of Lehigh County, the industrial heart of the Lehigh Valley. Founded in 1762 by William Allen, it sheltered the Liberty Bell during the Revolution, powered the nation's early industry in steel, silk, and trucks, and later inspired Billy Joel's 1982 Rust Belt anthem Allentown.

AppWT works with Allentown, PA businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Allentown

Also known as. The Queen City. A-Town. Silk City. Band City USA.

History. Laid out in 1762 by colonial Philadelphia mayor William Allen (originally called Northampton Towne); the name Allentown was adopted officially in 1838. The Liberty Bell was hidden in the basement of Zion Reformed Church from September 1777 to June 1778 to keep it from British capture. Allentown was incorporated as a city in 1867. It became an early industrial hub for iron and steel, silk textiles, cement, and Mack Trucks (which relocated its operations to Allentown after its 1905 founding).

Local economy. Historically manufacturing-heavy in steel, silk, cement, and trucks; by 1928 the city had about 85 silk mills, the largest concentration in the U.S. Western Electric's Allentown plant produced the world's first commercial transistors in 1951. Mack Trucks was a signature employer until it relocated its headquarters to Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2009. The 21st-century economy shifted toward health care, warehousing and logistics, transportation, and services. Downtown was revitalized through a Neighborhood Improvement Zone anchored by the PPL Center arena, which opened in 2014.

Culture and community. Billy Joel's 1982 hit Allentown, from The Nylon Curtain, made the city a national symbol of Rust Belt decline. The Great Allentown Fair, running since 1852, is one of the nation's oldest continuous fairs. The historic Allentown Farmers Market offers Pennsylvania Dutch fare alongside international specialties. The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL hockey) play at PPL Center; the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A baseball) play at Coca-Cola Park. Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, which opened in 1884, sits on the city's edge.

What makes Allentown distinct. The Liberty Bell spent roughly nine months hidden beneath the floorboards of an Allentown church during the Revolution. Western Electric's Allentown factory manufactured the world's first commercial transistors in 1951. Mack Trucks' Bulldog brand grew from a British Army nickname for the sturdy Mack trucks used in World War I. Allentown was nicknamed Silk City for once hosting the country's largest cluster of silk mills. Billy Joel first wrote the song as Bethlehem before renaming it Allentown for its rhyming potential and to avoid religious connotations.

Allentown Landmarks and Local Life

• Zion's Reformed United Church of Christ and its Liberty Bell Museum - where the bell was hidden
• PPL Center arena in downtown Allentown.
• Allentown Art Museum and Miller Symphony Hall.
• America on Wheels Museum and the Mack Trucks Historical Museum.
• Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom amusement and water park.
• The Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Center Square - dedicated in 1899