Allentown

Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populated city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the largest of three adjacent cities, including Bethlehem and Easton, of a region of eastern Pennsylvania known as the Lehigh Valley. Allentown is 60 miles (97 km) north of Philadelphia, and 90 miles (140 km) west of New York City.

A few notable landmarks include the Civic Theatre of Allentown, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, Coca-Cola Park, J. Birney Crum Stadium, Lehigh Valley Mall, The Morning Call newspaper, Muhlenberg College and Lehigh Valley International Airport.

Historically, Allentown hid the Liberty Bell from the British during the American Revolutionary War to keep the British from melting it down for canons.

Allentown began as Northampton Town in 1762 by William Allen, a wealthy shipping merchant, former mayor of Philadelphia and Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, Who purchased the 5,000-acre property, which originally belonged to Thomas Penn, son of William Penn, to become the seat of Northampton County and a commercial center, due to being near the Lehigh River and Philadelphia.

Allentown remained a small town until the Lehigh Canal was built in 1827, allowing greater commerce and industrial capacity, which made it a major center for heavy industry and manufacturing, such as iron, railroads, beer, silk and textiles. It was officially renamed Allentown in 1838 and formally incorporated as a city in 1867.

Allentown is in the Lehigh Valley, which is surrounded by Blue Mountain, a ridge of the Appalachian mountain range to the north, and South Mountain to the south.

The wildlife in Allentown is not very unique. It has the usual skunks, squirrels, groundhogs, stray cats and dogs, among other small animals. Due to its proximity to nearby Hawk Mountain, it has its fair share of birds and birds of prey, such as hawks.

The climate is an humid continental climate zone, with hot and muggy summers, mild fall and spring, cold winters. Winter lows average −6 °C (21.2 °F) and summer highs average 29.2 °C (84.6 °F). Annual average snowfall is 82.3 centimetres (32.4 in) and rain is 110.54 centimetres (43.52 in). While high winds, due to hurricanes or tornadoes, are not common, there have been a few during the last few decades.