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Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. [5]As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781, making it the second-largest city in the Lehigh Valley after Allentown and the seventh-largest city in the state.[6] Among its total population as of 2020, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19,343 were in Lehigh County. The city is located along the Lehigh River, a 109-mile-long (175 km) tributary of the Delaware River.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

United States

December 24, 1741

19.46 sq mi (50.40 km2)

19.11 sq mi (49.51 km2)

0.34 sq mi (0.89 km2)

289.50 sq mi (749.79 km2)

730.0 sq mi (1,174.82 km2)

360 ft (109.728 m)

75,781

3,964.48/sq mi (1,530.67/km2)

865,310 (US: 68th)

18015, 18016, 18017, 18018, and 18019

42-06088

Bethlehem lies in the geographic center of the Lehigh Valley, a metropolitan region of 731 sq mi (1,890 km2) with a population of 861,899 people as of the 2020 census that is Pennsylvania's third-most populous metropolitan area and the 68th-most populated metropolitan area in the U.S. Bethlehem borders Allentown to its west and is 48 miles (77 km) north of Philadelphia and 72 miles (116 km) west of New York City.


There are four sections to the city: central Bethlehem, the south side, the east side, and the west side. Each of these sections blossomed at different times in the city's development and each contains areas recognized under the National Register of Historic Places. Norfolk Southern Railway's Lehigh Line, formerly the main line of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, runs through Bethlehem heading east to Easton and across the Delaware River to Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The Norfolk Southern Railway's Reading Line runs through Bethlehem and west to Allentown and Reading.


Bethlehem has a long historical relationship with the celebration of Christmas. The city was christened as Bethlehem on Christmas Eve 1741 by Nicolaus Zinzendorf, a Moravian bishop. In 1747, Bethlehem was the first U.S. city to feature a decorated Christmas tree.[7] On December 7, 1937, at a grand ceremony during the Great Depression, the city adopted the nickname Christmas City USA in a large ceremony.[8] It is one of several Lehigh Valley locations, including Egypt, Emmaus, Jordan Creek, and Nazareth, whose names were inspired by locations in the Bible.[9]

Center City is bounded by to the west, Dewberry Ave. to the North, and Stefko Boulevard to the east.

Monocacy Creek

Lehigh River

The East Side is bordered to the west by Center City and to the east by Bethlehem Township and . The East Side includes the Pembroke Village area.

Freemansburg

The South Side's borders are to the west, the Lehigh River to the north, South Mountain to the south, and Hellertown to the east.

Fountain Hill

The North Side begins above Dewberry Ave and extends up Route 191 (Linden Ave) to Oakland Road, where the city and township divide is. Northside extends as far West as Monocacy Creek on Macada Road and as far East as Easton Ave and Stefko Blvd. intersection. 'North Side' refers more to a cultural division than an actual boundary.

Bethlehem Square on the edge of the city in

Bethlehem Township

Lehigh Center Shopping Center on Union Boulevard near the border

Allentown

Martin Court Shopping Center on 8th Avenue near

Route 378

Stefko Boulevard Shopping Center between Washington and Easton Avenues

an enclosed mall, on Schoenersville Road

Westgate Mall

Parks and recreation[edit]

Bethlehem owns 39 park sites, encompassing 568 acres (2.3 km2). Among the city's parks are Buchannan Park, Elmwood Park, Illick's Mill Park, Johnston Park, Monocacy Park, Rockland Park, Rose Garden, Sand Island, Saucon Park, Sell Field, South Mountain Park, Triangle Park, West Side Park, and Yosko Park.[46][47]

Michael G. Colón (D), Council President

Grace Crampsie Smith (D)

Wandalyn Enix (D)

Hillary Kwiatek (D)

Rachel Leon (D)

Paige Van Wirt (D)

Kiera Wilhelm (D)

former professional race car driver

Jeff Andretti

former professional race car driver in NASCAR and IndyCar Series

John Andretti

professional racing team owner and professional race car driver

Michael Andretti

data science professor, Georgia Tech

David Bader

former professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles, Pro Football Hall of Fame member, responsible for The Hit, one of the most famed plays in NFL history

Chuck Bednarik

intelligent design advocate and Lehigh University biochemistry professor

Michael Behe

former poet and novelist

Stephen Vincent Benét

children's book author

Josh Berk

former professional and collegiate basketball coach

Pete Carril

actress, CBS's As the World Turns and ABC Family's The Lying Game

Alexandra Chando

former writer and poet

H.D.

publisher and writer

Russell Davenport

heavy metal drummer, Alice Cooper band and former drummer, Megadeth and Ratt

Jimmy DeGrasso

archaeologist, academic and Mesoamericanist scholar

Richard Diehl

first American oil driller

Edwin Drake

director and actor, Star Trek: The Next Generation

Jonathan Frakes

country music singer

Mark Wayne Glasmire

real estate developer[71]

Murray H. Goodman

industrialist, former president of Bethlehem Steel

Eugene Grace

former Canadian sports administrator[72]

W. R. Granger

German-born American painter and Moravian preacher

John Valentine Haidt

actress, ABC's Thirtysomething

Mel Harris

former professional football player, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings

Mike Hartenstine

professional basketball player, San Antonio Spurs

Darrun Hilliard

progressive rock musician

George Hrab

a.k.a. The Rock, athlete and actor.[56][73]

Dwayne Johnson

industrialist, mayor, and civic leader

Archibald Johnston

actor, voice actor and producer[74]

Daniel Dae Kim

freeform rock guitarist

Steve Kimock

ballerina

Gelsey Kirkland

religious leader and 3rd president, Jehovah's Witnesses

Nathan Homer Knorr

world champion, Olympic silver medalist in shot put

Joe Kovacs

former professional football player, Cleveland Browns

Noel LaMontagne

former professional baseball player, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays

Gary Lavelle

theatre organist in the 1920s-1970s

Richard Leibert

executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Barry W. Lynn

thoroughbred trainer in National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

John E. Madden

mixed martial artist fighting in UFC's flyweight division

Zach Makovsky

former chairman, chief executive officer and president of Air Products

John E. McGlade

spoken word poet

Alix Olson

professional football player for Chicago Bears

Bob Parsons

CBS basketball analyst

Billy Packer

actor, ABC's Lost

Daniel Roebuck

country music singer and songwriter

Thom Schuyler

industrialist, former President of U.S. Steel, later founded and was first Chairman of Bethlehem Steel Corporation

Charles M. Schwab

former professional football player, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks

John Spagnola

attorney

Donald Smaltz

novelist, creator of Bubbles

Sarah Strohmeyer

wellness director and speaker

Ross Szabo

actor, ABC's Home Improvement

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Pennsylvania State Representative and State Senator

Joseph Uliana

singer, songwriter, and musician

Melissa VanFleet

founder and chief executive officer, Galvanized; author, Eat This, Not That

David Zinczenko

2019: Christmas Radio, a film, takes place in Bethlehem.

Lifetime Movies

2015 to 2019: In the series Ballers about retired NFL players, Dwayne Johnson's character Spencer Strasmore is from Bethlehem. Johnson attended high school at Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township.[56]

HBO

2009: was the filming location for the movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Bethlehem Steel's blast furnaces and the surrounding area appear in the film's opening sequences.

Bethlehem Steel

1982: The lyrics to the song "Allentown", the lead track on The Nylon Curtain album, references Bethlehem: "Out in Bethlehem, they're killing time. Filling out forms, standing in line."

Billy Joel

1963: In the comic strip "Dennis in the Christmas City", a series, Dennis' grandfather lives in Bethlehem. The comic strip has been reprinted frequently since its original publication.[75]

Dennis the Menace

Corfu, Greece

Greece

Murska Sobota, Slovenia

Slovenia

Tondabayashi, Japan

Japan

Bethlehem's sister cities are:[76]

Official website

Official visitor website

," The Morning Call, August 18, 2006

"Famous People from the Lehigh Valley