Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is a city that became well known throughout the country for its industrial history. For almost 100 years, the city revolved around the Bethlehem Steel plant, which made Bethlehem an important part of American development and industry. The plant was permanently closed in 1995 and was transformed into a cultural center that celebrates a variety of different art forms. Stay at Historic Hotel Bethlehem which has been restored to its original 1922 grandeur and has hosted many celebrity guests and heads of state.
1. Burnside Plantation
Burnside Plantation is an historic farm that was established in 1748 and has since been restored. It was the first privately owned home of James and Mary Burnside, who were Bethlehem Moravians. Today, the plantation has the farm’s original home, several barns, and a variety of out buildings. The property also has one of the country’s only horse-powered wheels that is still in operation. A variety of events occur at the plantation throughout the year, including workshops hosted by master gardeners from Penn State. There are also live cooking demonstrations and tours of the farm. The Open Gate Farm Tours are some of the most popular activities and include a variety of farming demonstrations, guided farm tours, and much more.
1461 Schoenersville Road, Bethlehem, PA 18018, Phone: 610-882-0450
2. Banana Factory Arts and Education Center
The Banana Factory Arts and Education Center is an art gallery, classroom, and studio space located inside a former banana distribution warehouse. A variety of arts-related organizations share space across six different buildings. It is home to the ArtsQuests visual arts programs, 30 artist studios, three different art galleries, and a number of classrooms. The Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, offering performing arts classes to students aged 6 to 18, is located here. The artists hold an annual gallery show as well as First Friday events throughout the year, where the public can come and enjoy art for free.
25 W. 3rd Street #300, Bethlehem, PA 18015, Phone: 610-332-1300
3. Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts
The Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts is an art museum spread across three homes from the 19th century. The museum is the state’s only museum of decorative arts and is one of only 15 such museums in the whole country. The three interconnected homes have a variety of period rooms, rotating exhibits, and galleries that showcase furniture, china, flatware, artwork, and clothing from three centuries. The museum clearly illustrates the changing style and design trends over a period of 300 years. The property also has a Scott Rothenberger-designed garden that utilizes both contemporary and traditional elements and makes for a great space for special events.
427 N. New Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018, Phone: 610-868-6868
4. Colonial Industrial Quarter, Bethlehem, PA
Bethlehem’s Colonial Industrial Quarter is an historical site that preserves the earliest industrial park in the country and is part of the larger Historic Moravian Bethlehem National Historic Landmark District. The Moravians built the site near a spring and along Monacacy Creek, which provided power for a variety of different industries that came to be based here. Initially, the buildings were small wooden structures, but within a couple of years they had built the area up to include saw and soap mills, wash houses, a grist mill, a blacksmith shop, a tannery, and a brass foundry. The buildings fell into disrepair over time and were revitalized and restored in the second half of the 20th century. Today, visitors can tour many of the buildings and ruins to learn about the area’s history.
459 Old York Road, Bethlehem, PA 18018, Phone: 800-360-8687
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5. Historic Bethlehem Tours, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
There are a number of interesting historical attractions located in Bethlehem. It’s quite possible to pick and choose what you want to see as you explore the area, but for those who prefer a simpler approach, a tour can be just what you are looking for. Historic Bethlehem Tours offers walking tours, custom tours, and special seasonal tours of historic Bethlehem. They have a number of theme-specific tour options that visit different sites around town. Some examples include the 1752 Apothecary Tour, the Christmas City Stroll, the Death and Dying Cemetery Tour, and the Colonial Industrial Quarter Walking Tour.
505 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018, Phone: 800-360-8687
6. Hoover Mason Trestle, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
The Hoover Mason Trestle is a 1,650-foot elevated park that sits on the reclaimed site that was formerly home to Bethlehem Steel. The trestle was once used by a narrow-gauge railway to transport the raw materials needed to make iron from the ore yards to the furnaces. Today, it stands as a public walkway that is at the same time a museum and a recreation space. A visit to the site affords visitors the unique opportunity to get a close-up view of the blast furnaces and the gas blowing engine house. There is a visitors center on site that has information, souvenirs, and tours available to visitors.
SteelStacks, 711 First Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015, Phone: 610-297-7100
7. Lit Roastery and Bakeshop
Lit Roastery and Bakeshop is a coffee shop and bakery created by a collaboration between the Made By Lino bakery and the Monacacy Coffee Company. The shop specializes in fresh-roasted in-house coffees, pour-overs, French macaroons, and a variety of other fresh-baked items. Virtually everything is baked, cooked, and roasted in house, and they pride themselves in making especially high-quality coffee beans and coffee drinks. The coffee shop usually has approximately eight different varieties of coffee available, and they use a refractometer to adhere to quality standards. The space is a nice place to sit and spend a few hours while you enjoy some freshly made items.
8. Moravian Museum of Bethlehem
The Moravian Museum of Bethlehem is a historical landmark that features several buildings from the 1700s. Tours of the buildings are available, and tour-goers will learn a great deal of information about the town’s early settlers and its history. The Gemienhaus is one of the highlights of a visit here. It was built in 1741, making it the oldest building in Bethlehem. Today the five-story log home contains a museum that tells the stories of the Moravians who founded the town. The large, multi-purpose building also has the distinction of being the largest log building from the 1800s in the entire country. The site also has a drug store from 1752 as well as other interesting 18th century buildings.
66 W. Church Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018, Phone: 610-867-0173
9. National Museum of Industrial History
The National Museum of Industrial History is located in the former location of Bethlehem Steel, which was historically an industrial powerhouse. The museum is an Smithsonian-affiliated institution that is dedicated to preserving and displaying industrial artifacts as well as educating the public about the nation’s industrial history. The museum has a number of different exhibits that represent the propane gas, textile, and steel industries as well as a nice collection of industrial machinery that was loaned to the museum by the National Museum of American History. There are four main exhibits, each of which showcase a different part of the nation’s industrial past and the way that these industries have impacted the state and the nation as a whole.
602 East 2nd Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015, Phone: 610-694-6644
10. Fegley's Brew Works
Fegley’s Brew Works is a brewery and pub that provides a warm brick-walled environment to enjoy microbrews, burgers, and happy hour. Since it opened in 1998, the Brew Works has quickly become a popular bar and restaurant among locals and visitors alike. The restaurant is family friendly and offers services for special events and catering. The restaurant is quite popular and often has a long wait. Favorite menu items include the Fegley’s beer battered fish and chips, the Brewers’ grain-fed burger, and their loaded nachos. For drinks they offer a variety of their own brews as well as local mead, local spirits, and other cocktails and wine.
559 Main Street #101, Bethlehem, PA 18018, Phone: 610-882-1300
11. Things to Do in Bethlehem: SteelStacks
SteelStacks is a cultural center that contains both indoor and outdoor venues spread across a 10-acre campus. The center occupies the site of the former Bethlehem Steel plant, which has been renovated as a space for the community to celebrate arts, culture, education, and fun. More than 1,000 concerts are held here each year, in addition to several different annual festivals and a large number of private and public events. The space is named after the tall “stacks,” which are the five blast furnaces that were used by Bethlehem Steel for several decades. A visit to SteelStacks is encouraging because it is an example of disused industrial space being transformed a vibrant and beautiful part of the community.
101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, PA 18015, Phone: 610-297-7100
12. Billy's Downtown Diner
Billy’s Downtown Diner is a small, local diner with locations in Bethlehem, Allentown, and Easton. The diner serves basic diner meals with a bit of flair. You’ll find all of your classic favorites on the menu alongside quirky dishes like pink-lemonade pancakes and omelets with mango. It is a favorite among locals and visitors alike for its unfussy atmosphere and reliably delicious food. The menu includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and a variety of beverages including coffee drinks, tea, lemonades, and hand-spun milkshakes. There are vegetarian and healthier options available for those who are careful about what they eat.
10 E. Broad Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018, Phone: 610-867-0105
13. Wind Creek Bethlehem
The Wind Creek Bethlehem casino is located within the Wind Creek Bethlehem, which is a four-star casino hotel. The casino is quite large, covering 150,000 square feet, which is approximately the size of three football fields, and you’ll find quite a lot under one roof here. Gaming options include more than 3,000 slot machines in the casino as well as nearly 40 live poker tables in their popular Sands Poker Room. The 180 live table games will give you plenty of blackjack, craps, and roulette action. Hotel rooms here will cost you a pretty penny, but the proximity to the games and entertainment makes it worth it.
77 Sands Blvd, Bethlehem, PA 18015, Phone: 484-777-7777
14. Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum, Inc.
The Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is approximately 5,000 square feet in size and operates a model railroad that features scenes representative of the routes by the Reading, CJ, and Lehigh Valley railroads that once ran through the Lehigh Valley area. Scenes of the model railroad spotlight the Allentown Freight Yard, Phillipsburg, Easton, and Bethlehem Steel areas, as well as the Huber Coal Breaker. A number of the structures at the Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum are created from pictures that have been acquired and modeled from the 60's and 70's.
705 Linden St, Bethlehem, PA 18018, 610-868-7101
15. Things to Do in Bethlehem, PA: Black River Farms
A family owned and operated urban winery and vineyard just outside of downtown Historic Bethlehem, Black River Farms is owned by Kris and Andy Warner and grows more than a dozen grape varieties. White wines produced here include Vidal Blanc, Traminette, Seyval, La Crosse, Kerner, Chardonnay, and Cayuga. As for red wines at Black River Farms, there is Sangiovese, Lemberger, Cabernet Franc, and Chambourcin. An array of blends, both red and white, are available as well. Visitors can make a reservation for a wine tasting in the tasting room and the staff are known for being friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.
2472 Black River Rd, Bethlehem, PA 18015, 484-935-1011
16. Lehigh Millennium Folk Arch and Art Enclave
The Lehigh Millennium Folk Arch and Art Enclave of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania could be described as a “concrete playground” made out of recycled materials. Located on the upper campus of Lehigh University, the Millennium Folk Arch was the first piece of the Enclave. This concrete arch serves as a walkway to a rather obscure collection of unconventional works of art. Built in 1999 for a university art course, the Millennium Folk Arch features various items embedded into the piece, including protruding sculpted faces, computer hardware, and vintage toys. In the Lehigh Art Enclave, every art piece has its own story.
Upper Sayre Park Rd, Bethlehem, PA 18015
17. Captured LV Escape Room
Established by Lori Warsing in 2016, Captured LV Escape Room was opened to offer the local community a place where friends and families can enjoy an engaging and fun activity in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Captured LV Escape Room consists of a variety of escape rooms, each with its own theme, such as fantasy, horror, pirates, action, adventure, and mystery. The puzzles featured in the escape rooms are designed to encourage participants to think more “out-of-the-box” and games are designed around elements of soft-skill development to push players to use their own critical thinking, communication, and decision making skills.
559 Main St, Bethlehem, PA 18018, 610-419-0449
18. Freefall Trampoline Park
An indoor entertainment center for both local residents and visitors alike, Freefall Trampoline Park offers plenty of adrenaline-pumping activities and fun for all ages. The facility boasts approximately 33,000 square feet of wall-to-wall trampolines. These include Extreme Air, dodgeball courts, an air bag, three dunk hoops, and performance trampolines. In addition to these activities, Freefall Trampoline Park also offers a Ropes Course and its eight-person “battle game” called Meltdown that tests the reactions, agility, and stamina of participants. There are also massage chairs, vending machines, free Wi-Fi, and comfortable seating for anyone visiting as a spectator.
2800 Baglyos Cir, Bethlehem, PA 18020, 610-849-0373
What is Bethlehem, Pennsylvania known for? What to do. What are the top attractions to visit in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania?
The top attractions to visit in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania according to local experts are:
- Burnside Plantation
- Banana Factory Arts and Education Center
- Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts
- Colonial Industrial Quarter, Bethlehem, PA
- Historic Bethlehem Tours, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- Hoover Mason Trestle, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- Lit Roastery and Bakeshop
- Moravian Museum of Bethlehem
- National Museum of Industrial History
- Fegley's Brew Works
- Things to Do in Bethlehem: SteelStacks
- Billy's Downtown Diner
- Wind Creek Bethlehem
- Lehigh & Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum, Inc.
- Things to Do in Bethlehem, PA: Black River Farms
- Lehigh Millennium Folk Arch and Art Enclave
- Captured LV Escape Room
- Freefall Trampoline Park
Attraction Spotlight: Banana Factory Arts and Education Center
Located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the Banana Factory Arts and Education Center is a complex of six buildings hosting a number of cultural organizations, including ArtsQuest, the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, and Santa Bannon Fine Art.
History
The history of the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is closely intertwined with the Bethlehem Steel corporation, which served as the basis for the city’s economy for more than seven decades in the 20th century. Following the increase of competition from foreign steel companies, the company experienced a series of layoffs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The company’s downsizing, combined with the emergence of suburban malls, caused the city’s SouthSide and Moravian Districts to experience a downturn in economic development, leading to a number of vacancies within the city’s downtown area. A number of cultural redevelopment endeavors were embarked upon by the Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee in the 1980s to revitalize the city’s downtown, including the development of the annual Musikfest event, which led to the formation of the Bethlehem Musikfest Association nonprofit organization in 1993.
In 1996, the BMA embarked on an effort to create a cultural center in the city’s downtown district aimed at a youth educational audience. A vacant former banana distribution warehouse located on the city’s SouthSide was selected as the location for the complex, and funding was secured to purchase the facility throughout the donations of local philanthropists. Following major renovations to the facility, the Banana Factory Arts Center was opened to the public in 1998, offering studio, gallery, and classroom spaces for several regional arts organizations. In 2000, the BMA rebranded itself as ArtsQuest and extended its facilities into an adjacent former auto parts store, expanding the complex to encompass an entire city block. Throughout the mid 2000s and early 2010s, a number of additional facilities were added to the complex, including the Olympus Digital Imaging Center and the Pediatric Cancer Foundation’s arts center.
Organizations and Programming
Today, the Banana Factory Arts and Education Center complex encompasses an entire city block in the city’s SouthSide district, featuring six renovated historic buildings, including the original former banana warehouse building. The complex is home to a large number of regional arts organizations, with a specific focus on arts programming geared toward youth and children. Gallery exhibitions, public performances, outreach initiatives, and educational and special event programming are presented by the Center, which serves as the anchor of the city’s revitalized downtown cultural district.
The Banana Factory’s artist in residency program provides artist studio space for up to 30 artists at a time, with rent subsidization providing affordable living and work conditions. All artist-in-residency participants are offered the opportunity to participate in the organization’s annual group show and First Friday events, as well as space on the complex’s featured artist wall. Communal work and discussion are encouraged among artists in residence, and public workshop programming is presented periodically at artists’ discretion.
Several art galleries are located within the complex, including the Banko Family Community Room and Gallery, a multipurpose venue that showcases five annual exhibitions of works by regional and national artists. The Crayola Gallery offers a multipurpose gallery and creative space with rotating exhibitions, and a Hallway to the Arts bridges the two facilities with unique art exhibitions. The Olympus Digital Imaging Center, opened in 2005, is the only freestanding permanent digital classroom in the United States officially sponsored by Olympus America, offering digital imaging workshop stations for student and teacher use as part of public programming and open drop-in time. The R.K. Laros Ceramics Classroom and Photography Darkroom also provide community spaces for pottery and photography work.
Fine art is showcased at Santa Bannon Fine Art, which opened at the complex in 2013. The Center is also home to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley, which offers art therapy to young cancer patients, and the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, a nonprofit performing arts organization that presents musicals and plays throughout the year for acting, dancing, and singing students. A variety of public art is also showcased at the facility, including the Mr. Imagination Bus Shelter, Susan Small’s A Joyful Noise, and Karel Mikolas’ Homage to Humanity.
A wide variety of public art programming is presented at the Center, including arts courses and workshops for students of all ages hosted by ArtsQuest. Courses focus on multidisciplinary arts such as drawing, painting, fiber arts, ceramics, mosaics, and jewelry and glass work and are offered for participants of all skill levels. STEM-focused summer art camps and teen intensive workshops are also offered on a periodic basis, and an Arts Education Fund offers outreach programming to local schools and community groups to supplement shrinking arts and arts education funding nationwide. Public special events hosted at the complex include the monthly First Friday open house community celebration, the SouthSide Arts and Music Festival, the InVision Festival, and the ArtPop contest, which gives local youth and professional artists the chance to be featured on local billboards.
25 W 3rd St #300, Bethlehem, PA, Phone: 610-332-1300
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Attraction Spotlight: National Museum of Industrial History
Located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the National Museum of Industrial History is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum presenting exhibits related to the historical industrial businesses of the Pennsylvania region, including the steel, iron, textile, and propane gas industries. The vision for the National Museum of Industrial History dates back to the late 1990s, when a museum facility was proposed for the preservation of America’s industrial heritage, with a particular focus on artifacts related to the steel industry.
History
The museum project was sidelined temporary throughout the mid-2000s due to legal issues connected to the mismanagement of funds connected to a $17 million public fundraising campaign, but in 2014, the project’s organizing group was cleared of wrongdoing allegations by the United States Attorney General and given approval to continue with museum construction and development within a two-year window. Though the plans of interpretive planner Rosalind Remer had been structured to be completed within a three-year window, construction was fast-tracked under the supervision of museum design project manager Aaron Goldblatt. A former electrical repair shop at the site of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania’s historic steel mill was acquired as the future site of the museum and renovated with a $4.5 million grant by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and an agreement between the Smithsonian Institution, the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and the museum’s overseeing organization was established for the installation of museum exhibits and collections, which included more than 100 machines donated from the Smithsonian’s 1876 collection. In August of 2016, the museum was officially opened to the public in a dedication ceremony featuring keynote speeches from National Museum of American History Director John Gray and United States Representative Charlie Dent.
Permanent Collections and Exhibits
Today, the National Museum of Industrial History is housed within the former Bethlehem Steel plant building in a facility formerly used as a concert venue and historical walking path site. As a public museum facility, the museum is dedicated to forging connections between the nation’s industrial past and future and educating the public on the history and innovations of the steel, iron, textile, and propane gas industries. The Museum is a Smithsonian-affiliated institution and receives financial support and artifacts on loan from the National Museum of American History.
More than 200 industrial artifacts are displayed within the museum’s exhibit, with many artifacts of note as the first-produced, last-produced, or longest-operating examples of their type of technology. Major artifact collections have been donated or loaned by the National Museum of American History, the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and silk manufacturers Scalamandre, Inc. Artifacts on note on display include machines presented at the Centennial International Exposition in 1876, including a variety of engines and pumps. The first and last pieces of steel and Class-A armor rolled at the Bethlehem Steel Corporation are also displayed.
The museum’s Machinery Hall exhibit focuses on items from the 1876 Philadelphia World’s Fair, including 21 loaned artifacts from Smithsonian Institution collections. A 115-ton Corliss steam engine is displayed, formerly used for water pumping for the city of New York, along with a crane produced by Milwaukee’s Pawling and Harnischfeger Company and a Bethlehem Steel H-beam. An Iron and Steel exhibit is dedicated to the history of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, showcasing historic company artifacts such as worker training equipment, uniforms, and time cards. An interactive map exhibit also allows visitors to trace the impact and distribution of Bethlehem Steel products throughout the United States during the company’s operations.
In the Silk Gallery Hall, the story of women and children workers at the Lehigh Valley Silk Mills is chronicled, with historic artifacts on display such as bobbin trays, line shafts, and looms. A Jacquard loom used by Long Island’s Scalamandre Silk Mill is displayed, famously used to produce fabric utilized in interior design at the White House up to the presidency of Bill Clinton. A Propane Gallery focuses on the technologies of the American Gasol Company and its founder, Allentown chemist Walter O. Snelling. A climb-aboard hot air balloon is displayed within the exhibit, along with a collection of historic laboratory items and a display detailing American propane usage during World War II. A Rotating Exhibit Gallery also showcases a variety of exhibits connected to American industries and historic events.
Ongoing Programs and Events
In addition to standard visitor admission, the museum offers regular guided tours for visitors on Saturday afternoons for an additional fee, exploring museum exhibits with a docent and elaborating on artifact significance and history. Group guided tours are available by appointment, including curriculum-incorporated field trip opportunities for elementary and secondary school students. Add-on workshops are available for student groups, and Badge Day programs are offered for scouting groups looking to complete history and engineering-related badges. Public special events include celebrations for American-history-related holidays and an annual student summer camp. The museum’s facilities may also be rented for private special events, including cocktail receptions, team-building retreats, and business functions.
602 East 2nd Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015, Phone: 610-694-6644
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