Category:Neighborhoods of Allentown, Pennsylvania

Neighborhoods in Allentown, Pennsylvania can be determined by the Ward system. It's basically a geographic way of dividing the city into various areas, however some neighborhoods, such as the Central Business District or Nineteenth Street District consist of parts of several wards.

The Allentown Ward system began in 1853 before Allentown became a city. It was a political division which the Borough of Allentown was split into three areas, or "Wards": Lehigh, North and South. The various Wards were a way to localize the municipal government into various government functions, such as a Burgess, high constable, auditor, justice of the peace, constable, assessor, school directors, election officers and two members of town council.

Eventually as Allentown became a City in 1866 and the city grew, the Wards became numbered and eventually grew into Nineteen Wards. The Ward officials over the years were eliminated as the municipal government consolidated into a unified government and school district. Today, most of the wards are divided into voting districts. Outside of voting and occasionally social reasons, the wards or districts carry little official meaning.