Culture of Allentown, Pennsylvania

Before the first European settlers arrived, the region that would become Allentown was inhabited by the Lenape, a Native American people. Mennonites, Amish, Moravians and Pietists moved to the state during the 17th century, because of Pennsylvania's freedom of religion. A century later, in the 19th century, many Catholics moved to the area from Germany and Ireland. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown is the head of all the Catholic churches in Allentown and the surrounding area.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, Hispanic and African American groups moved from the South into Northeast cities. In the last 10 years, many of these people have moved from New York City and Philadelphia to Allentown and Reading.

Allentown's reputation as a rugged blue collar city has led to many references to the city in popular culture:

• Parts of the 2019 movie Glass were filmed in Allentown at the Allentown State Hospital and elsewhere.[3]
• The television production company Medstar Television, which produced the series Medical Detectives from 1996 to 2000, and the series Forensic Files from 2000 on, is headquartered in Allentown. Locations throughout the city have been used as settings for dramatic reenactments of crimes profiled in the shows.
• The city is the subject of the popular Billy Joel song, "Allentown", originally released on The Nylon Curtain album in 1982. Joel's song uses Allentown as a metaphor for the resilience of working class Americans in distressed industrial cities during the recession of the early 1980s.
• The X-Files season 3 episode "Nisei," which aired November 25, 1995, is the first of a two-part episode in which character Dana Scully joins a UFO abductee group in Allentown. In the season 4 episode "Memento mori," which aired February 9, 1997, characters Fox Mulder and Scully return to Allentown to follow up with one of the women from Nisei.
• Allentown is referenced as the secret location of a bomb planted by The Joker in Frank Miller's comic book series, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, published in 1986.
• Allentown is the hometown of up and coming showgirl Peggy Sawyer in the long-running, Tony Award-winning Broadway musical 42nd Street, released in 1980, and its associated Academy Award-nominated movie. When Sawyer expresses her desire to leave Broadway to return to Allentown, the show's director and entire cast successfully dissuade her by singing the famed musical number "Lullaby of Broadway".
• Hiding The Bell, a 1968 historical fiction novel by Ruth Nulton Moore, chronicles events surrounding American patriots' hiding of the Liberty Bell in Allentown during the American Revolutionary War in 1777 to avoid its capture by the British Army.[4]
• Allentown was the subject of the 1963 Irving Gordon song "Allentown Jail," which was subsequently recorded by several other artists, including The Kingston Trio, The Lettermen, The Seekers and Jo Stafford.
• In the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie, character Rosie Alvarez is from Allentown. In the song "Spanish Rose," she sings: "I'm just a Spanish Tamale according to Mae/ Right off the boat from the tropics, far, far away/ Which is kinda funny, since where I come from is Allentown, PA."
• Allentown was mentioned in the song "200 Years Old" on the 1975 Frank Zappa album Bongo Fury.
• Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, based outside of Allentown, is featured in the 1968 movie Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows.
• Exterior shots of Allentown's 24-story PPL Building are featured in the 1954 movie Executive Suite.[5]

Headquartered in Center City Allentown, The Morning Call is among the 100 largest circulation newspapers in the United States.[6]

Allentown's media includes print, web, radio and television outlets. Allentown has two daily newspapers, The Morning Call and The Express-Times, and numerous weekly and monthly print publications. Allentown has the 68th largest radio market in the United States by Arbitron.[7] Stations licensed to Allentown include WAEB-AM (talk, news and sports), WAEB-FM (Top 40 music), WDIY (NPR and public radio), WHOL (tropical music), WLEV (adult contemporary music), WMUH (Muhlenberg College campus radio), WSAN (Fox Sports Radio and Philadelphia Phillies broadcasts), WZZO (hard rock music) and others. In addition, many New York City and Philadelphia stations can be received in Allentown.

Allentown is part of the Philadelphia television media market.[8] WFMZ-TV Channel 69, based in Allentown, has studios and a transmitting site atop South Mountain. WLVT-TV, also based in Allentown, is the local PBS affiliate. The major Philadelphia-based network stations serving Allentown include: KYW-TV (CBS), WCAU (NBC), WPVI-TV (ABC) and WTXF-TV (Fox). There are also other network and local television stations.[9][10][11]

Allentown is influenced by cuisine from the Pennsylvania Dutch, Hispanic and Latino Americans, and Philadelphia. Allentown has a local variant of the Philly cheesesteak, and local pizza parlors. Pennsylvania Dutch foods like head cheese, liver pudding, sous vide, chow-chow, apple butter, and others are available at some diners across the region. Ethnic food types represented include Dominican, Puerto Rican, West Indian, Japanese, Italian, Lebanese and Syrian. Fast food and restaurant chains have established a presence in the Lehigh Valley due to the growing population. A regionally-famous hot dog chain, Yocco's Hot Dogs, maintains several restaurants in the city.

The Great Allentown Fair and Mayfair are held in Allentown annually. Musikfest is held annually in neighboring Bethlehem, and Das Awkscht Fescht is held in nearby Macungie.[12]

The Lehigh Valley Spring Home Show and the Lehigh Valley Auto Show[13] are held at Stabler Arena in Center Valley. The AAA minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, plays its home games from the beginning of April through the end of September each year at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown.

The Drum Corps International[14] has been held for over thirty years at J. Birney Crum Stadium, bringing together the top junior drum and bugle corps in the world over two nights of competition.

• Buildings and architecture of Allentown, Pennsylvania
• List of people from the Lehigh Valley
• Media in the Lehigh Valley

• Allentown Art Museum
• Lehigh Valley Arts Council