File:1897 - Center Square looking south.jpg

English: A December 1897 photo of Center Square, looking SE from the NW. The large building in the center is the Second National Bank, the building was erected in the 1850s, shortly after the great fire that destroyed most of Allentown's Central Business District. The large building on the Southeast Corner with the overhead awning is Lehr & Shankweiler, a men's store that sold business suits.

The Solider's and Sailor's monument would be built in the center of the square in 1899, two years later. However the early electrification of the Business District was well underway. Note the tall utility pole with many power and also telephone lines, along with an early electric streetlight strung across Hamilton Street.

Some Lehigh Valley Traction company streetcar tracks, drawn by horses are visible in the square, and it appears a dusting of snow is on the ground and on the Lehr & Shankweiler canopy. The streets are all unpaved, with horse and carriages the transportation of the time. Some horses tied to hitching posts are visible on the lower right corner of the photo, which was taken where the Dime Bank would be erected in the mid 1920s.

On the south side of the square appear to be a large number of Christmas Trees