Lehigh Valley

Infobox Metropolitan Area
MSA_name = Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
name = Lehigh Valley


largest_city = Allentown
other_cities = - Bethlehem - Easton
rank_us = 62^nd
population = 790,535 (2005 est.)
density_mi2 =
density_km2 =
area_mi2 =
area_km2 =
states = Pennsylvania, New Jersey
highest_ft=2180+ cite web |url=http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=13321 |title=Pennsylvania County High Points |accessdate=2007-01-01 |work=Peakbagger.com]
highest_m=664+
lowest_ft =
lowest_m =

The Lehigh Valley, also known as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area, is an official metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and Warren county on the western edge of New Jersey, in the United States.

The Lehigh Valley is the third most populous region of Pennsylvania, following metropolitan Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The region is named for the Lehigh River, which runs through it.

Cities and location

The Lehigh Valley's principal cities are Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, comprising the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metropolitan area. The traditional bounds of the region are The Poconos to the north, the Delaware River to the east, the boundaries of Berks County and Montgomery County to the southwest, and the boundary with Bucks County to the south. More recently, however, the area around Phillipsburg, New Jersey west of Pohatcong Mountain, parts of upper Bucks County around Quakertown, and portions of northeastern Berks County and southwestern Carbon County in Pennsylvania are considered outer parts of the Valley.

The Lehigh Valley is located approximately 50 miles (96 km) north of Philadelphia, the country's sixth largest city, and 70 miles (144 km) west of New York City, the country's largest city. The Valley is home to some 790,000 people. Recent census studies show it to be the fastest growing region of the state, due mostly to its growing popularity as a bedroom community for the highly-populated neighboring regions of Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York City.

The Lehigh Valley is geologically and geographically part of the Great Appalachian Valley, a region largely made up of limestone that stretches along the eastern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. The Lehigh Valley is so named because it comprises an actual valley that lies between two mountain ranges, Blue Mountain to the north and South Mountain to the south.

Cities and towns with more than 10,000 people

*Allentown
*Bethlehem
*Easton
*Emmaus
*Phillipsburg

Towns with fewer than 10,000 people

Philadelphia Eagles

The Lehigh Valley is the home of pre-season training camp for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, which is held each summer on the practice fields of Lehigh University in Bethlehem. The camp, which attracted in excess of 20,000 fans daily in July 2007, draws some of the largest crowds of any NFL team's pre-season camp.

IronPigs baseball

In early 2008, Coca-Cola Park, an 8,100-seat Minor League baseball stadium, opened in east-side Allentown. [cite web |url=http://www.ironpigsbaseball.com/cocacola/stadiuminfo/ |title= Coca-Cola Park Info, IronPigs Baseball Official Website|accessdate=2008-05-05] The stadium hosts the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies' AAA-level International League franchise. The team previously played as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (1989-2006) and Ottawa Lynx (2007). [cite web |url= http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Scranton/Wilkes-Barre_Red_Barons |title= Baseball Reference Bullpen: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons |accessdate=2008-05-05] The club's move to the Lehigh Valley brought the franchise closer to Philadelphia and the Phillies' large eastern Pennsylvania fan base. The team’s name is a reference to pig iron, a key ingredient in the steel-making process for which the Lehigh Valley area is known worldwide.

Groundbreaking ceremonies for Coca-Cola Park were held September 6, 2006, and construction was completed in December 2007. The stadium hosted its first game on March 30, 2008, when the Phillies major league team faced the IronPigs.

tabler Arena

Lehigh University's Stabler Arena, an indoor arena, is in Bethlehem, in the Lehigh Valley. Stabler hosts regular sporting and concert events. The arena is home to Lehigh University men's and women's college basketball teams and also to the Lehigh Valley Outlawz, an indoor football team that plays in the Continental Indoor Football League.

"The Rivalry": Lehigh vs. Lafayette

The Lehigh Valley is also home to a strong collegiate football rivalry, between two Lehigh Valley colleges: Easton's Lafayette College and Bethlehem's Lehigh University. The two teams, located a mere convert|17|mi|km a part, have played each other for 142 times since 1884, making it the longest-running, uninterrupted series in all of college football. For this reason, the game is often referred to regionally as simply "The Rivalry".

In the 142-game series, Lafayette currently leads with 75 wins to Lehigh's 62. The two teams also have played to a tie on five occasions.

High school athletics

The 12 largest high schools in the Lehigh Valley compete athletically in the Lehigh Valley Conference. The conference has produced numerous professional and Olympic-level athletes. Lehigh Valley Conference football, basketball and wrestling teams are very commonly ranked as the nation's best and typically draw large and ethusiastic Lehigh Valley crowds.

Currently, seven former athletes from Lehigh Valley Conference schools are on active professional athletic rosters, including four in the National Football League (Dan Koppen, New England Patriots center from Whitehall High School; Tim Massaquoi, Buffalo Bills tight end from Parkland High School; Jim Molinaro, Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle from Bethlehem Catholic High School; and Tony Stewart, Oakland Raiders tight end from Allentown Central Catholic High School); one in the National Basketball Association (Aaron Gray, Chicago Bulls center from Emmaus High School); and one in Major League Baseball (Brian Schneider, New York Mets catcher from Northampton Area High School).

Running Events

The Lehigh Valley hosts the Lehigh Valley 15K Road Race annually each September. It is one of the premiere eastern Pennsylvania running events.

Arts

The Allentown Art Museum, based in center city Allentown, is the Lehigh Valley's largest museum. The museum carries over 11,000 works of art. Lehigh University's Zoellner Arts Center and Lafayette College's smaller Williams Center for the Arts host a wide variety of plays, concerts and performances throughout the year.

Lehigh Valley in popular music

The Lehigh Valley is the subject of four rock music songs, one folk music song and one ska reggae album:

*"Cheeses...(of Nazareth)," an album by Five Iron Frenzy (2003).
*"Speedway at Nazareth," a song by Mark Knopfler (appears on "Sailing to Philadelphia") (2000).
*"Allentown," a song by Billy Joel (appears on "The Nylon Curtain") (1982).
*"200 Years Old," a song by Frank Zappa (appears on "Bongo Fury") (1975).
*"The Weight," a song by The Band (appears on "Music from Big Pink)" (1968).
*"Allentown Jail," a song by Irving Gordon and recorded by Jo Stafford (1951).

Recreation

The Lehigh Valley is home to Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, a popular amusement and water park. Located in South Whitehall Township, Dorney Park is known nationally for its elaborate roller coasters and water rides.The region's ski resorts are Bear Creek Ski and Recreation Area and Blue Mountain Ski Area. Bear Creek is a 21 slope resort located outside of Macungie, Pennsylvania. Blue Mountain is located near Danielsville, Pennsylvania. The Poconos, which feature some of the East Coast's best-known ski resorts, is approximately convert|30|mi|km north of the Lehigh Valley. Several large lakes used for boating and fishing also are located there. The Pocono 500, a NASCAR Nextel Cup race, is run each June at Pocono Raceway in the Poconos.

New Jersey shore beaches are approximately convert|45|mi|km east of the Lehigh Valley.

Dutch Springs, the nation's largest SCUBA amusement park, is located in Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth Township. Over 40,000 divers annually utilize the facilities, which have sunken "treasures" to enhance the underwater experience. In addition to scuba diving, kayaking and paddle boats are available. The facility has a water park, camping grounds, and picnic areas.

In 2009, Sands BethWorks, a casino, hotel and apartment complex owned by the Las Vegas Sands is scheduled to open in Bethlehem, bringing legalized gambling to the Lehigh Valley for the first time.

Four large festivals are held each year in the Lehigh Valley. Musikfest, a large, 10-day music festival, is held in Bethlehem each August. Mayfair, an arts and crafts festival, is held in Allentown each May. In September, one of the largest celtic heritage festivals in America, The Celtic Classic, is held in Bethlehem. The Great Allentown Fair has been held on the grounds of the Allentown Fairgrounds in Allentown annually in late August through early September for more than 150 years.

Retail

The Lehigh Valley is home to many retail establishments. The largest retail area of the Lehigh Valley is the Pennsylvania Route 145/MacArthur Road Corridor, just north of Allentown. It is anchored by the Lehigh Valley Mall and the Whitehall Mall.

Other malls in the region include Palmer Park Mall (in Easton), Phillipsburg Mall (in Phillipsburg, New Jersey), South Mall (in Emmaus), and the Westgate Mall (in Bethlehem). In October 2006, a new Valley-based shopping mall, The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, was opened. Located off Route 309 in Upper Saucon Valley Township, it is roughly half the size of the Lehigh Valley Mall, but features more upscale stores.

Yocco's Hot Dogs, the regionally-famous fast food establishment known for their hot dogs and cheesesteaks, maintains six locations, all of which are based in the Lehigh Valley. Its original restaurant, founded in 1922, is still located at its original center city Allentown location, on West Liberty Street. Five additional Yocco's locations can be found in the Lehigh Valley (in west-side Allentown, east-side Allentown, Emmaus, Fogelsville, and Wescosville).

Transportation

;Air transportation

The Lehigh Valley is served by air transportation through Lehigh Valley International Airport Airport codes|ABE|KABE, located in the Lehigh Valley's Hanover Township, three miles (5 km) northeast of Allentown.

Other regionally-located airports include Philadelphia International Airport (in Philadelphia) and Newark Liberty International Airport (in Newark, New Jersey).

;Bus transportation

Private bus companies provide multiple daily roundtrip transportation to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal, Philadelphia's Greyhound Terminal, Atlantic City's Bus Terminal and other regional locations. Public bus service within The Valley is provided by LANTA, which serves Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and the cities' suburbs with various routes.

;Rail

Passenger service to the region ceased in 1981, when several rail operators opted to curtail long-distance services. From the south, SEPTA Regional Rail limited their services to their electrified-only territory, with trains going only as far north as Lansdale and Doylestown, Pennsylvania. To the east, the Central Railroad of New Jersey ceased operations into Pennsylvania in 1972. Current operator New Jersey Transit has looked at restoring rail service as far west as Phillipsburg, New Jersey; there are no plans to extend service over the border into Pennsylvania at present. Currently, freight operator Norfolk Southern Railway heavily serves the region, with a major classification yard in Allentown.

;RoadsThe Lehigh Valley has four major highways: Interstate 78, a major east-west highway, runs through the southern part of the Valley, duplexed with Pennsylvania Route 309. I-78 runs from Harrisburg in the west to the Holland Tunnel and New York City in the east.

U.S. Route 22 is a major freeway that runs through the Valley from Kuhnsville in the western part of the Valley to Easton in the eastern part of the Valley. U.S. Route 22 starts in Cincinnati, Ohio in the west, running through the Valley to Elizabeth, New Jersey in the east. A third highway, Pennsylvania Route 33, runs north-south through the Lehigh Valley, from the Poconos in the north to Northampton County in the south.

The fourth major highway in the Valley is Interstate 476, the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It stretches convert|131|mi|km from Chester in the south to the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area in the north.

Other major roads in the Valley include MacArthur Road (PA 145), a divided local road that leads to the Lehigh Valley Mall and its surrounding commercial district. Cedar Crest Boulevard, a north-south highway, runs from North Whitehall Township in the north through west-side Allentown to Emmaus in the south. Lehigh Street runs from northeast to southwest, originating in downtown Allentown and ending in Emmaus. Tilghman Street runs from Fogelsville in the west to MacArthur Road (PA 145) in the east. Tilghman Street runs through most of Allentown and also intersects with Cedar Crest Boulevard, Pennsylvania Route 100, Pennsylvania Route 309 and several other major Lehigh Valley highways.

County statistics

ee also

*2007 triple homicide in Easton, Pennsylvania
*Lehigh Valley Conference
*Lehigh Valley Hospital
*Lehigh Valley International Airport
*Lehigh Valley IronPigs
*Lehigh Valley Outlawz

References

External links

* [http://www.lehighvalleychamber.org/ Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce] .
* [http://www.lehighvalleypa.org/ Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau] .
* [http://www.mcall.com/news/local/ Lehigh Valley news at "The (Allentown) Morning Call" newspaper] .
* [http://www.lehighvalleypaonline.com/ Lehigh Valley Online] .
* [http://www.lehighvalleypa.org/ LehighValleyPA.org] .
* [http://lehighvalleyrealestatenews.com/ Lehigh Valley Real Estate News] .
* [http://www.lvpc.org/ Lehigh Valley Planning Commission] .
* [http://www.mcall.com/community/guide/community/ "Living in the Greater Lehigh Valley," by "The Allentown Morning Call"] .