North Bethlehem and South Bethlehem (Allentown, Easton: low income, apartments, renters)

[jaimep101]

Hello All,
I am thinking of moving from NY to Bethlehem, PA and was reading previous posts about the neighboorhoods but am confused on which areas of Bethlehem are North and which are South.

Could someone educate me?

Thanks!

[toobusytoday]

The Lehigh river seperates the town. The north side has Moravian College and cute shops and it's where Musikfest takes place. The south side has Lehigh University and also some nice restaurants and the Banana factory, a cool art place. It's also where the new casino is going to be built. It's also known as having a bit more crime.

[jaimep101]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

The Lehigh river seperates the town. The north side has Moravian College and cute shops and it's where Musikfest takes place. The south side has Lehigh University and also some nice restaurants and the Banana factory, a cool art place. It's also where the new casino is going to be built. It's also known as having a bit more crime.

Wow! I couldn't have possibly said it any better myself. Also don't forget that South Bethlehem has that big blue mule I photographed! HEE-HAW!

[loose cannon]

The big blue mule was created by artist Mr. Imagination who lost a lot of his artwork in a winter fire. Numerous fundraisers have been held for him since this tragedy occurred. He has more artwork at the Banana Factory and additional spots in South Bethlehem.

[markas214]

Do you speak Spanish? Do you have kids in elementary school? The only grade school on the south-side, Donegan elementary is predominantly Latino and does there orientations in Spanish. No joke and not meant to be a racial hate comment. The area has some gentrification but is mostly poor and Latino. Please no attacks on me. This is a fact. Whether it is a good thing or not I'll leave others to decide depending on their preferences.

[nxn459]

it depends on where one lives in bethlehem.. fountain hill has kids who live in bethlehem in attendance.

and southside may have a bit more crime and latin spice but the northside definately has more pretentious Moderator Cut: Inappropriate image

[markas214]

I'll take prestentiousness over ghetto attitude every time. The latest spice on the southside this week are gangs of thugs knocking down Lehigh students and robbing them. The southside is mostly low income renters and college students with the typical problems that come with them. The rich disrespectful students cause most of the nuisance complaints. The people that live in the poor neighborhoods are for the most part honest with a desire to get ahead but cheap housing attracts the low lifes as well.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by jaimep101

Hello All,
I am thinking of moving from NY to Bethlehem, PA and was reading previous posts about the neighboorhoods but am confused on which areas of Bethlehem are North and which are South.
Thanks!

While Easton City was incorporated in 1789 (37 years after Northampton County was erected), and Allentown was incorporated as a borough in 1811 (Lehigh County was broken from Northampton County the next year) and Allentown became a city in 1867.

In contrast Bethlehem remained several different boroughs and townships until less than a hundred years ago. They had very different characteristics. North Bethlehem borough was actually a religious community with no private land ownership for a hundred years. South Bethlehem was build in the industrial revolution that followed the civil war, and was always a magnet for immigration. West Bethlehem was a smaller community in the West side of the Monocacy Creek, and extended to Rittersville which contained a prominent amusement park until the 1950's. On the east side the township of Bethlehem remained a farming community with a small urban center in Middletown.

Three of the boroughs merged into a city during and after WWI.

Today, some of the mansions in north Bethlehem are maintained as private homes. The tradition is Germanic and is more upscale.

The South side of Bethehem actually border on the borough of Fountain Hill. The great industrial fortunes of post civil war built about 2 dozen giant mansions, none of which are still private homes. One is a bed and breakfast, and some are office buildings, but most are apartments today. The immigrant groups consisting primarily of Hungarians, Slovaks, and Slovenes with multiple other groups represented became a magnet for the Puerto Rican and Central American immigrants starting from the late 1960's.

The Lehigh River divides North from South Bethlehem, and the Monocacy Creek divides North from West Bethlehem. North, South, and West originally referred to the boroughs, but now refer to sections of the City. Bethlehem Township remains a distinct municipality. There is also a Bethlehem township in New Jersey about 20 miles away.