Lehigh Street
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Location | Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
|---|---|
| South end | State Avenue in Emmaus |
| Major junctions |   I-78 / PA 309 in Allentown |
| East end |  PA 145 in Allentown |
Lehigh Street is a major road that connects Emmaus, Pennsylvania in the west to Allentown, Pennsylvania in the east in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The road is one of six roads that enter and depart Allentown, the third-largest city in Pennsylvania.
Lehigh Street is one of several major Allentown-area exits off Interstate 78, which runs from Interstate 81 in Lebanon County in the west to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan in the east.
Lehigh Street also serves as a major commercial center for the Lehigh Valley. The Auto Mile, which includes approximately a dozen new and used automobile dealerships, is located on Lehigh Street's western border with Emmaus. As the road enters Allentown from the west, it passes Queen City Airport, an Allentown airport used primarily by small, privately owned aircraft. South Mall, an enclosed shopping mall in Salisbury Township, is located on Lehigh Street.
The Emmaus side of Lehigh Street is the location of Shangy's, a beer distributor with the largest selection of domestic and global beers in the nation, including over 3,000 selections overall.
Revolutionary War
Over the evening of December 25 and 26, 1776, George Washington secretly led his troops across the Delaware River. On the New Jersey side of the Delaware on December 26, Washington and his Continental Army troops then launched a successful surprise attack on Hessian troops at the Battle of Trenton.
Following the victory at Trenton, Washington and his Continental Army staff proceeded to Allentown, where they passed up Lehigh Street, then called Water Street, where they stopped at the foot of the street at a large spring on the property that is the present-day Wire Mill. There, Washington and staff rested and watered their horses, and then went their way to their post of duty.[1]
20th century
In 1941, from Cedar Crest Boulevard in Emmaus to S. 6th Street and Auburn Street at present-day PA Route 145 in Allentown, Lehigh Street was designated as Pennsylvania Route 29.[2] In 1960, the designation was removed and it was called Lehigh Street.[3]
