| The Lehigh River in Bethlehem in 2007.Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States.Smaller than Allentown but larger than Easton, Bethlehem is the Lehigh Valley's second most populous city.There are three general sections of the city, North Bethlehem, South Bethlehem and West Bethlehem.In July 2006, Money magazine included Bethlehem as one of its "Top 100 Best Places to Live."Colleges and universities
5.They named the settlement after the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.In 1762, Bethlehem became home to the first water works in America to pump water for public usage.On March 27, 1900, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem presented the American debut of Lutheran composer Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor in the city's Moravian church.In the early part of the 20th century, Bethlehem was a hotbed of American soccer, with the corporate Bethlehem Steel team, named Bethlehem Steel F.The Bethlehem Steel sides consisted largely of British imported players and also had the distinction of being the first American professional soccer team to play in Europe, which it did during its tour of Sweden in 1919.The team also won the U.Open Cup after billionaire sports franchise owner Lamar Hunt, five times beginning in 1915, and for the last time in 1926."Star of Bethlehem" on South Mountain.Since the 1990s, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem has recorded four "Christmas In Bethlehem" volumes.The Christmas Star
On December 7, 1937, at a grand ceremony, Mrs.Grace was the daughter of a former South Bethlehem burgess, Charles F.Brown and wife of Eugene Grace, President of Bethlehem Steel Corporation.The switch for the lights was located in the ballroom of the Bethlehem Hotel.This was the first year that Mayor Robert Pfeifle and the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce adopted the nickname "Christmas City, USA" for Bethlehem.Donations from the community were raised for the street decorations.The star was created with four wooden planks, overlapped to create an eight point star.The lighting ceremony, in the Bethlehem Hotel, was an appropriate location.This was the site of the first building in Bethlehem, a two room log house.On Christmas Eve in 1741, the original settlers were conducting their evening worship in this building.Not Jerusalem, But Lowly Bethlehem.Chief Executive, Bethlehem School administrators, and prominent church officials were also there to celebrate.In 1967, the star was redesigned, and Plexiglas was installed to protect the 250 light bulbs, 50 watts each.This is the star we see today.However during World War II, from 1941 to 1945, none of the Christmas decorations in Bethlehem were lit.The star has become an important symbol for Bethlehem."Follow the Star to Bethlehem."Center of American heavy industry
Bethlehem became a center of heavy industry and trade during the industrial revolution.After roughly 140 years of metal production at its Bethlehem plant, Bethlehem Steel ceased operations in Bethlehem in 1995.The population density was 3,704.Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.Between 1940 and 1960, Bethlehem was the only city in Pennsylvania which gained population.The average household size was 2.In the city the population was spread out with 21.For every 100 females there were 91.For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.The city is served by Lehigh Valley International Airport, which also serves Allentown, Pennsylvania and the greater Lehigh Valley.The current mayor of Bethlehem is John B.His election marks the 10th year that a Democrat has sat in the mayor's office in Bethlehem.Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.Colleges and universities
Bethlehem is home to two liberal arts colleges, Lehigh University and Moravian College.Moravian College also has a Theological Seminary with approximately 100 students of differing religious backgrounds.Northampton Community College is also located in neighboring Bethlehem Township.Primary and secondary education
Bethlehem is home to Liberty High School for grades 9 through 12.Liberty is part of the Bethlehem Area School District.The district's other high school, Freedom High School, also hosting 9th through 12th grade students is located in neighboring Bethlehem Township.Bethlehem also has two private high schools, Bethlehem Catholic High School, which serves grades 9 through 12, and Moravian Academy, which serves all primary and secondary school grades.Bethlehem Catholic, Freedom and Liberty all compete in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley Conference, one of the most competitive high school athletic conferences in the state.Bethlehem is also home to four public middle schools for grades six through eight: Broughal Middle School, East Hills Middle School, Nitschmann Middle School, and Northeast Middle School.Times, ceased publication in 1991.White, based in Lehigh University in Bethlehem, and Weekly, based in Muhlenberg College in Allentown.Religious broadcaster WBPH is the only television station licensed in Bethlehem, though WLVT Channel 39, a PBS affiliate, has its operations in Bethlehem.Bethlehem is part of the Philadelphia DMA and its cable systems also receive select radio and television broadcasts from New York City.Bethlehem has two licensed commercial radio stations, variety WGPA AM, and hard rock WZZO FM (though the latter's facilities are in Whitehall Township).In addition, public radio WDIY FM, while licensed in Allentown, maintains its facilities in Bethlehem.There are numerous other stations broadcast from Allentown and Easton representing a variety of commercial formats, as well as several translators of public stations from Philadelphia and New Jersey.An estimated 10,000 fans attended Eagles practice daily, the highest of any NFL team's training camp, in the summer of 2006.Bethlehem also is home to Lehigh University's Stabler Arena, which hosts numerous athletic and music events.Bethlehem Steel won the American Cup in 1914, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1924.Additionally, they won the National Cup, currently the U.The Lehigh Valley RFC rugby union team play their matches in Bethlehem at Monocacy Park.The Bethlehem Area Public Libraryis another popular destination for recreation and entertainment.Historic Bethlehem hosts the famed Musikfest and also features many specialized boutiques, spas and clubs along its main streets.The city is set to be the future location of a large casino, the Sands BethWorks, located on the former Bethlehem Steel property.The Lehigh Canal provides hiking and biking opportunities along the canal towpath which follows the Lehigh River in Bethlehem.People from Bethlehem
Michael Andretti, professional racing team owner, former professional race car driver.Bader, Georgia Tech professor.Russell Davenport, publisher and writer.Jonathan Frakes, director and actor, Star Trek: The Next Generation.Eugene Grace, industrialist, President of Bethlehem Steel Corp.Mel Harris, actress, ABC's thirtysomething.Steve Kimock, rock musician.Nathan Homer Knorr, religious leader and 3rd president, Jehovah's Witnesses.Schwab, industrialist, former President of United States Steel Corp.Bethlehem Steel in 1904.John Spagnola, former professional football player, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.Sarah Strohmeyer, novelist, creator of Bubbles.External links
Bethlehem, PA Tourist Web Site.City of Bethlehem Offical Web Site.All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.See Copyrights for details.Jerusalem no town in
the world has such a glorious history or exalted status as Bethlehem.Prophet Muhammad prayed on his way to
Jerusalem.The town of Bethlehem
has 27,000 inhabitants half of whom are Moslems and half are Christians.Islam in the 7th century did not alter the situation for the people of
Bethlehem who remained Christian in their majority until this century.Nativity Church where Jesus was born.Easter in Bethlehem, where Jesus, The Prince of
Peace was born.Website where every single Bethlehemite Palestinian in flesh
or in spirit feels that he is at home.Information Services of City of Bethlehem.East Church Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018, United States.This aerial photograph shows the main road to
Bethlehem from the north (Jerusalem).Several churches have been built to
commemorate this event.The entrance to the famous church in Bethlehem is remarkably
unimpressive.Buses no longer are allowed to enter the square, but
instead are directed to a large parking structure.The church built at the direction of Constantine's mother was octagonal in
shape, typical of Byzantine memorial churches.But it is also true that many
houses in the area are built in front of caves.According to tradition, Mary gave birth
to Jesus at the place of where the star is located on the floor.Origen notes that the cave of
Jesus' birth was pointed out in his day and no doubt this was the same place
where the Byzantine church was erected.Bethlehem, including a location
profile, with an interesting article on the birth of Jesus.History of Bethlehem (Holy Land Network) A succinct article on
the history of Bethlehem.All of the sites in Bethlehem are the traditional locations
and not necessarily the actual locations of the events.Bethlehem (Catholic Encyclopedia) An encyclopedia article on
the city and its history.Includes a history of the early
tradition that Jesus was born in a cave.Bethlehem (Crystalinks) An article about the city and the
Christmas story with a few photographs and drawings.Slingerlands, and South and North Bethlehem.Lake George and Lake Placid practically at their fingertips.Town of Bethlehem: 445 Delaware Avenue, Delmar, NY 12054 Ph: 518.Abbey into her home when they arrived in
Bethlehem, is internationally known for her religious artwork.Christmas cachets and mailed with the
Bethlehem post mark.Since 1981, Bethlehem has held its annual Christmas Town Festival.It is with this spirit of joy that we welcome you to the little town of
Bethlehem, CT.Town of Bethlehem, CT. |
