Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
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| Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | |||
| |||
| Coordinates: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Pennsylvania | ||
| Counties | Lehigh and Northampton | ||
| Founded | 1741 | ||
| Mayor | John B. Callahan | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 50.3 km² (19.4 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 49.9 km² (19.3 sq mi) | ||
| - Water | 0.4 km² (0.2 sq mi) | ||
| Population | |||
| - City (2000) | 71,329 | ||
| - Density | 594.0/km² | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Website: http://www.bethlehem-pa.gov | |||
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 71,329.
Bethlehem lies in the center the Lehigh Valley, a 731-square-mile area that is home to more than 650,000 people. The Lehigh Valley region embraces a trio of cities (Bethlehem, Allentown and Easton) within two counties (Lehigh and Northampton), making it Pennsylvania's third-largest metropolitan area. Smaller than Allentown but larger than Easton, Bethlehem is the Lehigh Valley's second most populous city.
There are three general sections of the city, North Bethlehem, South Bethlehem and West Bethlehem. Each of these sections blossomed at different times in the city's development and each contain areas recognized under the National Register of Historic Places.
In July 2006, Money magazine included Bethlehem as one of its "Top 100 Places to Live."<ref>[1]</ref>
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Religious roots
On Christmas Eve in 1741, Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf of Saxony, Germany, leading a small group of Moravians, founded the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the "Forks of the Delaware" River along the banks of the Monocacy Creek by the Lehigh River. They named the settlement after the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the place where Jesus Christ was born.
In 1762, Bethlehem became home to the first water works in America to pump water for public usage. While George Washington and his troops stayed in Valley Forge, his personal effects were stored at the farm of James Burnside, which is now a historical museum.<ref>[2]</ref> The prosperous village was incorporated into a free borough in the County of Northampton in 1845.
On March 27, 1900, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem presented the American debut of Lutheran composer Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor in the city's Moravian church.
[edit] Bethlehem Steel F.C.
In the early part of the 20th century, Bethlehem was a hotbed of American soccer, with the corporate Bethlehem Steel team, named Bethlehem Steel F.C. after the company, winning the 1918-19 championship in the National Association Football League (NAFL), and then winning what amounted to national championships three more times during the next decade (1920-21 in the NAFL; 1926-27 in the American Soccer League I; and in 1928-29 winning the EPSL II). The Bethlehem Steel sides consisted largely of British imported players and also had the distinction of being the first American professional soccer team to play in Europe, which it did during its tour of Sweden in 1919. The team also won the US Open Cup, now called the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup after billionaire sports franchise owner Lamar Hunt, five times beginning in 1915, and for the last time in 1926.
[edit] The "Christmas City"
In 1937, the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, mindful of Bethlehem's historic tie to the Christmas story since its founding, adopted the nickname "Christmas City, USA" for Bethlehem. Many tourists now come to Bethlehem each year at Christmas time to see the historic downtown and the 81 foot high electric "Star of Bethlehem" on South Mountain. The city's Musikfest festival in late summer can also draw more than one million people. Since the 1990s, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem has recorded three "Christmas In Bethlehem" volumes.
[edit] Center of American heavy industry
Bethlehem became a center of heavy industry and trade during the industrial revolution. The Bethlehem Steel Corporation, founded in 1904, began producing the first wide-flange structural shapes to be made in America, was the first company to produce the now-ubiquitous 'I-beam', and was a major supplier of armor plate and ordnance products during World War I and World War II. After roughly 140 years of metal production at its Bethlehem plant, Bethlehem Steel ceased operations in Bethlehem in 1995.
[edit] Media
Bethlehem's daily newspaper, The Globe-Times, ceased publication in 1991. The Morning Call, based out of Allentown, and the smaller Express-Times, based out of Easton, are now the city's dominant newspapers. Both newspapers have an office on Bethlehem's historic Main Street, separated by only a couple buildings. Bethlehem is part of the Philadelphia DMA and also receives select radio and television broadcasts from New York City.
Two television stations, WLVT Channel 39, a PBS affiliate, and WFMZ Channel 69, an independent station, are based in neighboring Allentown.
Local Lehigh Valley-based radio stations include WZZO, a hard rock music station based in Whitehall Township, WAEB, an Allentown-based news and talk station, WAEB-FM (B104), an Allentown-based contemporary Top 40 station, and others.
[edit] Post-secondary and primary education
[edit] Colleges and universities
Bethlehem is home to two highly-respected institutions of higher learning, Lehigh University and Moravian College. Moravian College also has a Theological Seminary with approximately 100 students of differing religious backgrounds. Founded in 1742, Moravian College is also the sixth oldest college in the nation. Northampton Community College is also located in Bethlehem.
[edit] Primary and secondary education
Bethlehem is home to two public high schools, Freedom High School and Liberty High School, for grades 9 through 12. Liberty High School is the larger of the two schools.
Bethlehem also has two private high schools, Bethlehem Catholic High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, and Moravian Academy, which serves all primary and secondary school grades. The city is also the home of the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Performing Arts, or LVPA.
Bethlehem Catholic, Freedom and Liberty all compete in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley Conference, one of the most competitive high school athletic conferences in the state.
Bethlehem is also home to four public middle schools for grades six through eight: Broughal Middle School, East Hills Middle School, Nitschmann Middle School, and Northeast Middle School. It has 19 public elementary schools for grades K-5. In addition, it has a number of smaller, parochial and other religious grade schools that serve students Pre-K through 8th grade.
[edit] Athletics
[edit] Philadelphia Eagles training camp
The Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League hold their pre-season training camp each summer at the Bethlehem-based football facilities of Lehigh University. The Eagles camp in Bethlehem is among the most highly-attended training camps in the entire NFL, drawing thousands of fans to each practice. During training camp, Eagles' practices typically are held twice daily (at 8:45am and 2:45pm) and are usually open to the public.
An estimated 10,000 fans attended Eagles practice daily, the highest in of any NFL team's training camp, in the summer of 2006.
[edit] Lehigh Valley Outlawz
Bethlehem also is home to Lehigh University's Stabler Arena, which hosts numerous athletic and music events. Stabler is home to the Great Lakes Indoor Football League's Lehigh Valley Outlawz and to Lehigh University collegiate basketball.
[edit] Bethlehem Steel F.C. soccer
Bethlehem Steel F.C., founded in 1911, was one of the most successful early American soccer clubs. Bethlehem Steel won the American Cup in 1914, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1924. Additionally, they won the National Cup, currently the U.S. Open Cup, in 1915, 1916, 1918, 1919, and 1926, the Allied Amateur Cup in 1914 and the Lewis Cup in 1928. The team folded in 1930.
[edit] Lehigh Valley rugby
The Lehigh Valley RFC rugby union team play their matches in Bethlehem at Monocacy Park.
[edit] Geography
Bethlehem is located at (40.626198, -75.375673)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 50.3 km² (19.4 mi²). 49.9 km² (19.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.88%) is water.
[edit] Notable people from Bethlehem
- Michael Andretti, professional racing team owner, former professional race car driver.
- Michael Behe, professor of biochemistry, author, intelligent design proponent.
- Chuck Bednarik, former professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles.
- H.D., writer, poet.
- Russell Davenport, publisher and writer.
- Jimmy DeGrasso, former drummer, Megadeth.
- Edwin Drake, landmark oil driller.
- Jonathan Frakes, director and actor, Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- Mel Harris, actress, ABC's thirtysomething.
- Dwayne Johnson ("The Rock"), professional wrestler and actor.
- Steve Kimock, rock musician.
- Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
- Billy Packer, CBS basketball analyst
- Daniel Roebuck, actor, ABC's Lost.
- Sheetal Sheth, actress, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.
- Jonathan Taylor Thomas, actor, ABC's Home Improvement.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 71,329 people, 28,116 households, and 17,094 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,429.9/km² (3,704.4/mi²). There were 29,631 housing units at an average density of 594.0/km² (1,538.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.85% White, 3.64% African American, 0.26% Native American, 2.22% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.44% from other races, and 2.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.23% of the population.
There were 28,116 households out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.0% under the age of 18, 14.4% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,815, and the median income for a family was $45,354. Males had a median income of $35,190 versus $25,817 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,987. About 11.1% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
The city is served by Lehigh Valley International Airport, which also serves Allentown, Pennsylvania and the greater Lehigh Valley.
[edit] Politics and government
The city government is composed of a mayor and a 5-person city council. The current mayor of Bethlehem is John B. Callahan, who was elected to his 2nd term in November of 2005. His election marks the 10th year that a Democrat has sat in the mayor's office in Bethlehem.<ref>[3]</ref> Bethlehem has a seven-member city council.
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- Bethlehem, PA Online.
- City of Bethlehem.
- Current Bethlehem news at Examiner.com.
- Dutch Springs Official Web Site (in Bethlehem).
- Historic Bethlehem Partnership.
- History of Bethlehem.
- Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp (in Bethlehem).
- Stabler Arena (in Bethlehem).
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| Image:Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lehigh County.svg | Municipalities and Communities of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania (County Seat: Allentown) |
|---|---|
| Cities | Allentown | Bethlehem |
| Boroughs | Alburtis | Catasauqua | Coopersburg | Coplay | Emmaus | Fountain Hill | Macungie | Slatington |
| Townships | Hanover | Heidelberg | Lower Macungie | Lower Milford | Lowhill | Lynn | North Whitehall | Salisbury | South Whitehall | Upper Macungie | Upper Milford | Upper Saucon | Washington | Weisenberg | Whitehall |
| Communities and CDPs | Ancient Oaks | Fullerton | Hokendauqua | Schnecksville |
| Image:Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County.svg | Municipalities and Communities of Northampton County, Pennsylvania (County Seat: Easton) |
|---|---|
| Cities | Bethlehem | Easton |
| Boroughs | Bangor | Bath | Chapman | East Bangor | Freemansburg | Glendon | Hellertown | Nazareth | North Catasauqua | Northampton | Pen Argyl | Portland | Roseto | Stockertown | Tatamy | Walnutport | West Easton | Wilson | Wind Gap |
| Townships | Allen | Bethlehem | Bushkill | East Allen | Forks | Hanover | Lehigh | Lower Mount Bethel | Lower Nazareth | Lower Saucon | Moore | Palmer | Plainfield | Upper Mount Bethel | Upper Nazareth | Washington | Williams |
| Communities and CDPs | Belfast | Eastlawn Gardens | Middletown | Old Orchard | Palmer Heights |
fr:Bethlehem (Pennsylvanie) pl:Bethlehem (Pensylwania) pt:Bethlehem (Pensilvânia)
