Category:Lehigh Parkway

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation Jump to search
<nowiki>Lehigh Parkway; リーハイ公園道路; park in Allentown</nowiki>
Lehigh Parkway 
park in Allentown
Upload media
Location
  • United States of America
official website
Map40° 34′ 41.16″ N, 75° 29′ 29.76″ W
Authority file
Edit infobox data on Wikidata

Lehigh Parkway is a large public park along the Little Lehigh River in Allentown. Along with much of the rest of Allentown’s park system, Lehigh Parkway was developed largely by the Great Depression Era Works Projects Administration (WPA).

However plans for a park along the Little Lehigh date back to about 1907, when Allentown industrialist/philanthropist General Harry C. Trexler began to plan it. The idea may have first come to him in 1907 when he took over the creek's Trout Hatchery. From 1915 to 1923, Trexler was the head of Allentown's City Planning Commission. Among those he came into contact with at the time was B. Antrim Haldeman, a noted Philadelphia city planner, advocate of the "City Beautiful" movement of the day, and designer of that city's Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Trexler asked him to survey Allentown for potential parks. Haldeman noted a number of sites and he called special attention to the Little Lehigh Creek area for its potential.

Trexler had already gotten to know Philadelphia's J. Franklin "Frank" Meehan, one of the country's best known landscape architects. His father Thomas had designed Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. Trexler and Meehan had worked together on Allentown's West Park, which Trexler helped to plan and to partially fund. The two also worked together on Springwood, which was then Trexler's summer home. Now it's Trexler Memorial Park. Meehan drew up a design plan for Trexler that took advantage of the creek bed's topography, creating the paths, walkways, sweeping vistas and shady nooks that impress all that use them today. He also created concepts for "follies," or imitation ruins, using the stone that had been left behind by the former railroad projects.

Despite his role in the community and the support of Allentown Mayor Malcolm Gross, Trexler was not supported by Allentown's city council. So in the 1920s and 1930s he went ahead and purchased the property himself. When Trexler died in an automobile accident in 1933 Gross took up the park's banner. Thanks to having a "shovel ready" project already planned, Allentown was able to get federal money from the WPA and jobs for local men to help create the Little Lehigh Park. Preliminary approval for its construction was granted in October, 1934 at a cost of $107,000. 243 men were allocated to work on park facilities, however it took over a year, until December 1935 for the site preparation and the WPA to issue final approval. The major construction of it took nearly three years, not finishing until 1938.

Today, Little Lehigh Park's amenities include trails, bridle path, disc golf, fishing, and restrooms. It is home to the Little Lehigh Fish Hatchery, Museum of Indian Culture, Little Lehigh Fly Shop, Hunter's Cabin, Police Academy, Lehigh Valley Road Runners Club House, Maintenance Shed, Log Cabin, Bogert's Bridge, Schreiber's Bridge, Robin Hood Bridge, Klein's Bridge, Fireman's Bridge, Rathburn Bridge and Keck's Bridge. Lehigh Parkway is home to many 5K walk/runs and has more than six miles of trails to explore.

Subcategories

This category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total.

Media in category "Lehigh Parkway"

The following 66 files are in this category, out of 66 total.