File:1915 Firemans Parade heading west from 6th and Hamilton.jpg

English: This photograph is looking to the northeast from the south side of the 600 block of Hamilton Street. The Allentown Fireman's band is marching west and behind it the firemen from the various stations in front of the spectators. The date of the photo is unknown, however the spectators are wearing hats and coats so it's likely this was taken in the spring of 1915.

Hamilton Street has two sets of streetcar tracks, one heading eastbound, the other westbound. It consists of packed earth, and is not paved. Note the dog on the right side of the street with the pile of earth. With the rise of the automobile, it would be paved in the 1920s, although horse-drawn wagons were used until the early 1930s.

On the left side of the photo you can see a corner of the Zollinger-Harned department store with the new 48-star American flag being hung from the third story window. Next door is Kline & Hartwell, a hardware store at 605 Hamilton. The Kline & Hartwell building would be purchased by Zollingers in the early 1920s and first was remodeled with second-story glass windows. In 1925 Zollingers underwent a major renovation and expansion. As part of the expansion, the store was remodeled into a seven bay wide building with Classical Revival style influences. It featured architectural terra cotta panels and richly detailed bronze display window. Today it is known as the Sovereign Building.

On the northwest corner of Sixth and Hamilton is a candy store, the company name is unreadable in the photograph. The building was erected probably after the Civil War in the 1870s. It would be torn down in the late 1940s and a two-story building erected in its place, now known as the Mussleman Building.

On the northeast corner is the Hotel American, it's orgins dating to the 1840s. In 1926 it would be torn down, and the Americus Hotel would be built on the site, opening in 1927. The G. C. Aschbach music store, opened in 1876 sold pianos, organs and all sorts of sheet music. It closed in the 1930s, a victim of the Great Depression.