Allentown offers many of the attractions of larger cites, but with the advantage of affordable living and a calmer way of life. With a history of heavy industry and manufacturing, these days the city is positioning itself as a hub for the healthcare and biotech industries.

Pennsylvania's third most populous city, Allentown boasts two colleges, an art museum, two theatre companies, two symphony orchestras and the Municipal Opera Company of Allentown. In 2008, the Coca-Cola Park Baseball Stadium opened as the home field of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies' AAA-level minor league baseball team. The city also hosts the Great Allentown Fair every September at the Allentown Fairgrounds, where it has been held since 1889.
 

Allentown's Big Idea: An Arena For All Seasons--And Shows

By: John Steele, 3/19/2009 A new arena for the Flyers' farm team, the Phantoms, could bring more than minor league hockey to Allentown; it could change the way people in the Lehigh Valley see live music, and lure a whole new roster of national touring acts.

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If You Build It, They Will Come: How to Make Iron Pigs Fly

By: John Davidson, 1/8/2009 Professional baseball came back to the Lehigh Valley last year for the first time since 1960 in the form of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, AAA affiliate of the Phillies. One of the principal architects of the plan to build the stadium, former Lehigh County Community and Economic Development Director Ken Mohr, talked with us about why this project succeeded where others had failed.

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The New Downtowns: Renaissance in the Long Run

By: Marty Levine, 11/20/2008 Cities across the Commonwealth are working hard to re-make their downtowns in the hope that a thriving center of mixed-use developments and cultural amenities is the key to a sustainable future.

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Allentown