Well done. Thanks for this interesting and thoughtful tour of the area, sometimes taken for granted by we locals. I enjoyed the comments that were shared as well. As a Bethlehem resident raised in the Moravian Church, I was surrounded by it's heritage. In my older years I was delighted to hear more of the surrounding areas; Allentown, Easton, Coplay, Catasauqua, Hellertown and Saucon Valley to name a few. Marvelous farmland graced this region with some of the richest soil in the country. I learned more and more about the Easton area from coworkers when I began working there in the early 2000s. We are truly blessed to live here.
I currently live in Allentown and this has made me appreciate my home town a million times more than before. Glad to see the Lehigh Valley be such an integral part of American History. I always knew about Bethlehem steel but not about the rest. Great video!
Thank you. Every city has a small piece to add to America’s rise but they’re all buried in the shadows of the big cities. I’m fully motivated to bringing some of that history to light as I enjoy learning so much about these smaller areas.
This video is awesome, I plan on moving there by Dec 2024 from Arizona. I am originally from NY, but my mom and 2 oldest kids live in Brodsheadville. This area is close but far enough from my daughter, lol. You made a great video to convince me that I have made a right choice to move
José, love your tour of the Lehigh Valley. I wish you had talked more about Easton’s historical past: one of only two public readings of the Declaration of Independence; first in the country open air farmer’s market in Easton’s center square that’s still popular today; Karl Stirner Arts Trail along the Bushkill Creek; Easton is the connection to the Morris Canal allowing PA to ship its coal to NYC and beyond; Easton has a thriving art, music, and restaurant scene with incomparable street festivals; and how about mentioning Larry Holmes?
I was born in Allentown and grew up there through 1950's to early 1970's. During the late 196o's I saw Allentown begin urban renewal and I saw the decline in inner city neighborhoods start to declined and an uptake in crime. When Allentown's wonderful Hess Brothers Store closed in the downtown, to me that signaled Allentown's *Death Knell,* and the City I grew up in was never the same again. Like many others I moved out and went West. I only miss Yocco's hot dogs, Brass Rail steak sandwiches, Paddock Pizzas and of course *Schmidt's Beer of Philadelphia. *(Closed/R I P 1987)
Zandy’s steaks on St. John Street and South Eighth St. Corner…still going strong! Place has not changed since the 1960’s although the building they occupy was a movie theatre in the 30 and 40’s.
My ancestors settled in the Lehigh Valley prior to the American Revolution, and so I want to thank you for this excellent video. I learned some things! Also, we pronounce the town name “Cop-plea.”
Thats so great too hear. Its funny you mention that, I was testing the pronunciation and siri told me cop-plea and google kept saying coplay. In the end I just got nervous while filming and wound up saying Coplay.
question is it the town a good and friendly town or there's racist cause I'm Hispanic it's my first time going over to Pennsylvania alone for work thank you please comment back
Hats off to you sir. This is a fantastic and history rich video. Sadly most people from the area have no idea about this. Great content and great editing. Thank you! #weareprivada
Love how you phrase things your words are deep and meaningful and show your passion for America its history and mystery ! Well done ! I have seen the Steel stacks in western PA And they are like you say enormous powerful haunting and unbelievable!
I love all the smaller history that no one talks about. It's what prompted me to take this journey. I drove by the Carnegie Steel Mills in Western PA on my way to Pittsburgh and have those on my list. There's so much to unpack and learn from the stories of these relics and there larger impact.
That was great. Thank you. Grew up in southern Lehigh County and was kidnapped at 15 and taken away and never found my way back. Thank you for reacquainting me.
Born & raised in Easton Pa . I now live in NC for the past 15 yrs now .I miss home often & go back to visit & buy food we still cant get here yet that we love .But it is slowly getting here
I think that's the hardest part when we move away from our hometown. I remember moving from Queens to Pennsylvania 20 years ago and in those days it was so difficult to find a lot of the basics I would get in NY. But slowly in that time everything became available here.
More Historic tidbits... Asa Packer founded Lehigh University. Lee Iacocca, an Allentown native, went to Lehigh Univesity. His team at Ford created the mustang. Allentown was the first location in the world to manufacture semiconductors. Its interesting how areas transform. The biggest employers in the 70's were Bethlehem Steel, ATT Microelectronics, Mack Trucks. Now the biggest employers are the government and the health providers St. Lukes and Lehigh Valley Hospital system.
Thank you for sharing Chaz. I love local history and the legends that made the world spin. Our general history through media and education always focuses on a small group of popular inventors but never focuses on the unsung heroes who did everything else to bring the world forward. I love the great history of all the small towns of America because there is always a story to uncover. The focus of my UA-cam channel is to shed a bit of light to that history. I’m glad others enjoy it and I am able to spark curiosity for those that might not know their own town. And at the end of the day are these great conversations with the people who know all the bits and pieces of the areas they live in to add to the story.
Well done! This was so informative! My husband and I are considering leaving NY and relocating to this area. It looks beautiful and I love the history! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by my channel. I moved from Queens NY 20 years ago this month and tried going back in 2008 and couldn’t get use to NY life anymore. Living in this area and other parts of PA is so much more calm and peaceful. Plus you’ll get to enjoy a lot more things within the local towns and PAs beautiful nature. If you still need the city fix, NY, Philly, Baltimore, and DC are almost the same distance.
I really enjoyed your presentation! I'm. Of this area and I wouldn't live anywhere else! I've been around the country but I'm always glad to come home to the Greater Lehigh Valley!
Grew up in this area and moved away for work, have been thinking of buying a home here in a few years to be closer to family. You’ve officially triggered my nostalgia
I grew up in Allentown and moved away a few years ago (to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area actually!) and I have since dearly missed the Lehigh Valley. I hope to move back some day. Great video! This area is truly amazing and you definitely captured some of the major things that bring people to the Valley. Fun fact, the movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had a scene filmed in Steel Stacks! It's a shame you didn't visit in December, Steel Stacks has this massive Christmas market called Christkindelmarkt, it's truly a sight to see. they have ice scultptors, vendors selling all these neat hand-crafted goodies and Christmas decorations, awesome food and live music.
Jose great video and info.! I grew up in Bethlehem. One of my grandfathers was a foreman at the Bethlehem Steel. I wish I would have had talks with him about his career there. My other grandfather worked in Easton at Dixi-another abandoned plant. I’m proud and thankful to have grown up in the area! Main Street in Bethlehem is absolutely beautiful! One of the finest Christmas towns in PA. I wish your viewers could have seen that, as well as Hotel Bethlehem-established in 1922.
Thank you Kelly. I've always been fascinated with the Bethlehem Steel Factory so I can image all the interesting stories your Grandfather must've had. I am planning a Redux Pennsylvania series for next summer thru fall and want to do a separate video just on Bethlehem itself.
Great video! I live near the Lehigh Valley and it truly cannot be stated how much of an impact it has had on the nation. One interesting hidden gem in Easton (technically Wilson) is the Dixie Cup Plant. It features a water tower in the shape of a Dixie cup.
When we break it down, so much of the country's development comes between this small area in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. From Paterson to Lehigh, almost all of the great industries of America have had an influence from these areas. I've lived in the area half my life and can say there is so much more to explore.
Thank you so much for your wonderful video of Bethlehem I done sub work for Bethlehem steel in the late 70s I have not seen in almost 50 years Bethlehem until your video I alway wonder how that city turn out after the steel plant closed Look great
Thank you for sharing. I would've loved to see the Steel Plant in its glory days. They've repurposed it into a museum / entertainment venue. This is too beautiful to just let it go like many other closed done facilities in this area.
Thanks for highlighting our area so well! Of course I thought of so much more for Bethlehem but with doing all three cities, you couldn't do it all. Downtown Bethlehem (by the Industrial section you showed by the Monocacy Creek) also has the Central Moravian Church in its original building, standing since the mid 1700's, with the apothecary next door where Revolutionary War soldiers came to get medical help. We also have the Moravian Book Shop which is the oldest book store in the country. Up the street is also the Sun Inn where George Washington stayed. On the Southside by the steel is also Lehigh University. A beautiful campus. Anyway, I am glad you got to see Bethlehem all decorated for Christmas. Great job! Loved the video over all ❤
Hello Jose, I love your video!! You did a magnificent job featuring all the highlights! It is extremely sentimental as I have precious memories associated with all of the places you took the viewer. My only complaint is that it's gorgeous in spring/ summer I would love to collaborate on a follow up video! I was a tour guide for Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites! Thanks for your hard work!
Great video! It was quite educational but not boring, entertaining but not perfunctory! Thank you for your job! And big thanks for the weekend getaway idea!
My great grandfather Solomon Butz and his father built that covered bridge and almost all the covered bridges in the Lehigh Valley. His son's company, Alvin H. Butz, later built many of the large structures in the area including schools/colleges, hospitals, the Sands Bethworks Resort and the Pocono 500 racetrack. Today they also own other contractor branches in Philly and Harrisburg.
This was so interesting thank you for sharing. I'm not too far from the Racetrack and now that you've shared this I'm going to look at the racetrack in a whole different light. They've done a fantastic job with all the bridges
@@JoseOnTour Thanks for responding Jose. You are very talented and your editing is very professional. I miss Allentown, having moved to Florida back in '84. So my 92 year old uncle Lee Butz is still the Chairman and my cousin Greg is the CEO of the company now. More recently, they did the PPL Center, right across the street from the corporate offices and Beaver Stadium refurb/expansion. For awhile they even had operations in Panama City Panama, SW Florida and California but that got to be difficult to maintain. They sponsor a lot of the street festivals in center city.
Great video, very informative and lots of history! We are actually thinking about moving to the Lehigh Valley in the near future. Can’t wait to live near those cool places! Thank you!👍😊
Hey Jose, You posted one of your previous videos in a subreddit I'd created and you mentioned that you had an 18 minute long video that just breezed by. I'm going to assume that it's this one. I 100% agree with you this video was a blast to watch. I've gotten to see cities that I've never even heard of and learnt thing that weren't even on my radar because of the content you've created. Out of the almost 60 videos that were submitted on that subreddit, yours is the only channel i subbed to. There is so much potential in this content and I have a feeling this channel is going to blow up before long. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for the great feedback Ryan. It’s a pretty ambitious project that will get better with time. I have a great roadmap of where I want to take this channel and what’s coming next. I’ve been passionate about this for over a decade and been jotting notes of where I’d take a travel show.
Lehigh. Valley. Is. Ok. Dont. Help. The. Homeless. People. 1. Homeless. Place. In. Bethlehem. 1. In. Easton. More. In. Allentown. I. Am. Homeless. I. Help. People. When. Can. I. See. Help. Show. Greenland. In. Southbethlehem. And. Way. Allentown. To. Easton. On. Lehigh. Valley. River
Loved watching this! We recently moved to the area but haven't been to explore much because of the pandemic. Looking forward to seeing more of these small towns!
Thank you for enjoying the video. This area is very beautiful during the spring-summer-fall months with all the outdoor and natural parks to visit. I definitely recommend trying the D&L trail. There are tons of festivals, hopefully the pandemic eases up so we can get back to those. Winter is another world with activities and the holidays changes the whole vibe of these towns.
Great production Mr.Molina. You packed a lot of information in an eighteen minute video. The area is near to my heart and I would like to add some tidbits of historic information. Bethlehem was founded by the Moravians. They emigrated from Europe in search of religious freedom. Bethlehem was an ideal location for steel making for it was down river from the coal and iron ore deposits to the north. Charles Schwab (not the broker), a Pa native, took leadership of Bethlehem Steel after leaving US steel. He acquired the rights to a patent to manufacture I beams. The I beam design effected a much higher strength to weight ratio and enabled buildings to be much larger. Before the I beam, I believe the tallest building was the Flatiron in NYC. The I beam created a boom in skyscraper construction. Thanks to Bethlehem Steel, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Woolworth building and many others were built. You mentioned the more famous bridges built by Bethlehem Steel. Bethlehem Steel was a huge industrial site. Besides the blast furnaces, the property extended east along the river past the casino. Part of the process of making steel was to inject high pressure oxygen into the molten iron ore. I lived on the north side of town miles away from the steel plant. When they blasted the O2, it would light up the night sky.
THANK YOU for mentioning Jim Thorpe. The Lehigh Valley never would have existed if it wasnt for the Antracite in Carbon County that was mined and floated down the river to the LV and Philly
*I TAKE PICTURES IN MANY OF THESE PLACES, OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!! IT'S AMAZING TO HAVE THE PLACES I KNOW SO WELL FINALLY BE REPRESENTED FULLY!!!!!!!!* :D That, and... man. I didn't know so much of this stuff. 😅 And I got *SUPER EXCITED* when you mentioned Monocacy Creek, because that's one of my favorite places to take photos! :D Also, side note, but the video quality is *STUNNING!!!!!!* I happily will subscribe to you, bro. :)
I grew up in Allentown in the 70's and 80's lots of history in the area. Moved out to the Mid-West of Evansville, IN. I definitely miss my home town in many ways, definitely the food. Great video, THANKS! Also I had always heard Coplay pernounced as Cop-Lay not CO-Play.
I have been looking into this area recently. Video looks great and sounds great per usual. Definitely want to check out this area. Being from Baltimore I can understand Bethlehem Steele declining and rusting away but hope good music comes out of that space now
I have a lot of family from Allentown, and I knew nothing about it because I live in the south. I really appreciate you making this video to help us learn more about what’s in the Allentown area. You rock!
Very nice..my birthplace, but never experienced some of the places (like Coplay)..Maybe add in MusicFest, and Lehigh University and its pivotal role with Beth Steel and how both worked together to make steel for America.. Engineering Education and Industry, a great early America example that lead to great prosperity. Most all building codes for structural steel in America developed at LU, Tested at Homer Labs on top of South Mountain, and created from iron in those large Blast Furnaces, ovens fired with coal from the northern areas of PA, with Rail Roads build by the founder of Lehigh University, Asa Packer...making things like Building, Battle Ships, Tanks, Cars, Appliances.....how that for a contribution to things you use every day.
Very nicely done! But one thing that seems to distinguish the locals from outsiders is their pronunciation of the city of Coplay. Most you-tubers pronounced it "Co' play" while the locals say: "Cop' lee".
Thank you Gracie. I’ve been in the area for 20+ years and am still embarrassed I miss pronounced this one. UA-camrs mispronounce it because the Google Assistant says Co-Play on the gps. I wish there was a way to fix it
So much history from this Steel Mill. In the early 90’s, I use truck past it while it was still in operation. Years later still Trucking past it brings back lots of memories of smoke and noise coming from this Mill. Sad that union and corporate greed along with mismanagement was the largest cause of this giant to close forever.
I would’ve loved to see it in full operation. I’m a big fan of America’s industrial history and the steel stacks is such a remarkable piece of NEPA’s story
COPLAY pronounce Cop-Pla-y Not Co-Play. You missed so many historically important areas that makes the Lehigh Valley so great. Oldest Bookshop in all America that's still open to this day The Moravian Bookstore located on 428 Main St, Bethlehem, PA 18018 first opened 1745. Bethlehem Steel originally sat on more than 11,000 acres of land; the site of the 4 Blast Furnaces is only a total of 5,000 acres. Down the back east-side of Bethlehem steel towards Hellertown where all the Trucking warehouses are located now a days was actually still part of Bethlehem Steel right up to Silver Creek Country Golf Club.
I my cousins lived by Nisky Hill Cemetery, You should of seen the steel from the hill at night when it was running during the heyday while producing steel for the VietNam war, There is Revolutionary war soldiers buried under 378 as the Moravian Complex was a Hospital
yo estoy en clifton new jersey aca tengo una tienda y 5 casas me tocara una hora y 45 de viaje, pero se que mucha jente de new york se es mudando a P A . quiera Dios y hagamos ambiente.
The world’s first transistor production line was in Allentown During the 50’s and 60’s, the air pollution from Bethlehem Steel and their coke works was unbearable
"Nice and creative Videos，I can see A lot of thought has been put into the content and editing of the video， This is really my favorite channel.:) .🌴🌴🌴excellent 👍👌👍👌👍 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 " Blenheim Schoharie 2021
Bethlehem steel and Allentown pollution Ruined the rest of the Lehigh river. It’s fascinating that the Delaware river dilutes the Lehigh waters enough that wildlife isn’t affected the same. You have to drive as far north as Slatington to start seeing signs of trout spawning. The small mouth bass can’t grow bigger the 2 lbs. yes people LV occasionally catch nice sized fish down river from blue mountain area. That’s only because floods carry the decent fish down.
Hey! Did you experience any racism? My husband and I wanted to visit for the Christmas Holdiays but had several acquaintances that told us they visited there and experienced non stop racism and were even called the N word and was told they didn’t belong. They said they felt very uncomfortable and unsafe cause they didn’t see any other black people. I’m not afraid to go, I just don’t want to be around any form of ignorance or negative energy. It looks like an awesome place to visit.
That’s very strange I didn’t experience any racism in the area especially with such large cities like the ones in this video. I have experienced some minor comments in smaller towns throughout Pennsylvania
Hello! Please share a great karaoke restaurant in the Lehigh valley area to take my mom (a Christian that likes jazz and R&B) for her birthday? Please help. Thanks in advance. 😊
Has the State of PA got alot of German heritage n German migrants living there from long ago its just that lots of the buildings n names of places sound very German to me thats all ? cheers
Hi Dave, Pennsylvania is heavily integrated with German ancestry. I have another video in Lancaster PA and there are full communities in the style of 1700-1800 Germany. All over the state you can trace German roots. Thank you
Well done. Thanks for this interesting and thoughtful tour of the area, sometimes taken for granted by we locals. I enjoyed the comments that were shared as well. As a Bethlehem resident raised in the Moravian Church, I was surrounded by it's heritage. In my older years I was delighted to hear more of the surrounding areas; Allentown, Easton, Coplay, Catasauqua, Hellertown and Saucon Valley to name a few. Marvelous farmland graced this region with some of the richest soil in the country. I learned more and more about the Easton area from coworkers when I began working there in the early 2000s. We are truly blessed to live here.
Jose I must say, you are a wealth of knowledge and an absolute inspiration of a professional when it comes to presenting all this information!
Thank you I really appreciate this feedback
Thank you..just wonderfull
Thank you Carmine
I currently live in Allentown and this has made me appreciate my home town a million times more than before. Glad to see the Lehigh Valley be such an integral part of American History. I always knew about Bethlehem steel but not about the rest. Great video!
Thank you. Every city has a small piece to add to America’s rise but they’re all buried in the shadows of the big cities. I’m fully motivated to bringing some of that history to light as I enjoy learning so much about these smaller areas.
This video is awesome, I plan on moving there by Dec 2024 from Arizona. I am originally from NY, but my mom and 2 oldest kids live in Brodsheadville. This area is close but far enough from my daughter, lol. You made a great video to convince me that I have made a right choice to move
I mailed something to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and USPS tracking says it made a stop at Lehigh Valley!
I no longer live in PA but it was my home for years, THANKS for the history lesson and the many sights I have not seen for so long !!
same
Very nice information thanks
Thanks for your videos, very informative.
José, love your tour of the Lehigh Valley. I wish you had talked more about Easton’s historical past: one of only two public readings of the Declaration of Independence; first in the country open air farmer’s market in Easton’s center square that’s still popular today; Karl Stirner Arts Trail along the Bushkill Creek; Easton is the connection to the Morris Canal allowing PA to ship its coal to NYC and beyond; Easton has a thriving art, music, and restaurant scene with incomparable street festivals; and how about mentioning Larry Holmes?
I thought the same about Larry Holmes. He showed his statue but didn't say who the boxer was. I would have wondered if I hadn't already known.
I was born in Allentown and grew up there through 1950's to early 1970's. During the late 196o's I saw Allentown begin urban renewal and I saw the decline in inner city neighborhoods start to declined and an uptake in crime. When Allentown's wonderful Hess Brothers Store closed in the downtown, to me that signaled Allentown's *Death Knell,* and the City I grew up in was never the same again. Like many others I moved out and went West. I only miss Yocco's hot dogs, Brass Rail steak sandwiches, Paddock Pizzas and of course *Schmidt's Beer of Philadelphia. *(Closed/R I P 1987)
Brass Rail has since closed! Yoccos is still going!!
Zandy’s steaks on St. John Street and South Eighth St. Corner…still going strong! Place has not changed since the 1960’s although the building they occupy was a movie theatre in the 30 and 40’s.
Mountainville Bowling is closed, Zandy's is still there but Willy Joes is closed
Thanks for shinning light in a position way on our great Queen City . A -Town
Great Video. Keep doing this kind of quality and this channel will blow up.
Excelente presentación
Hats off Jose! What a refreshing review of our space without politics or other negative influences. What the world needs now is more of this.
Thank you Mike
My ancestors settled in the Lehigh Valley prior to the American Revolution, and so I want to thank you for this excellent video. I learned some things! Also, we pronounce the town name “Cop-plea.”
Thats so great too hear. Its funny you mention that, I was testing the pronunciation and siri told me cop-plea and google kept saying coplay. In the end I just got nervous while filming and wound up saying Coplay.
We pronounce it "cop - lee".
I learned how to pronounce Lehigh! LOL For some reason I was pronouncing it “Lee” 😅
@@AY-hq4qz Try to pronounce: Schoenersville Rd.
question is it the town a good and friendly town or there's racist cause I'm Hispanic it's my first time going over to Pennsylvania alone for work thank you please comment back
Hats off to you sir. This is a fantastic and history rich video. Sadly most people from the area have no idea about this. Great content and great editing. Thank you! #weareprivada
Thank you really appreciate the feedback
Love how you phrase things your words are deep and meaningful and show your passion for America its history and mystery ! Well done ! I have seen the Steel stacks in western PA And they are like you say enormous powerful haunting and unbelievable!
I love all the smaller history that no one talks about. It's what prompted me to take this journey. I drove by the Carnegie Steel Mills in Western PA on my way to Pittsburgh and have those on my list. There's so much to unpack and learn from the stories of these relics and there larger impact.
That was great. Thank you. Grew up in southern Lehigh County and was kidnapped at 15 and taken away and never found my way back. Thank you for reacquainting me.
What a great father you are with your children.
Thank You Steven
Thank you for the video....nicely done!! I've lived in this area 73 years and really appreciate how well you represented the area. Very interesting!!!
Thank you Abbey it was a pleasure working on this video.
This was super dope. Thanks for your hard work in putting all this together, Jose.
Dude, this is a great video! Thanks. Btw, it's pronounced Cop-LEE. Yeah it's dumb.
LOL, I caught that.
And how about Schoenersville Rd, ( Shane- ers- ville lol)
Nice small city Allentown, i have stay there for 1 month, i miss you
Love your style, Jose! I moved away 25 years ago, and this made me home-sick like you wouldn't believe. Great work!
Thank you
Born & raised in Easton Pa . I now live in NC for the past 15 yrs now .I miss home often & go back to visit & buy food we still cant get here yet that we love .But it is slowly getting here
I think that's the hardest part when we move away from our hometown. I remember moving from Queens to Pennsylvania 20 years ago and in those days it was so difficult to find a lot of the basics I would get in NY. But slowly in that time everything became available here.
More Historic tidbits...
Asa Packer founded Lehigh University.
Lee Iacocca, an Allentown native, went to Lehigh Univesity. His team at Ford created the mustang.
Allentown was the first location in the world to manufacture semiconductors.
Its interesting how areas transform. The biggest employers in the 70's were Bethlehem Steel, ATT Microelectronics, Mack Trucks. Now the biggest employers are the government and the health providers St. Lukes and Lehigh Valley Hospital system.
Thank you for sharing Chaz. I love local history and the legends that made the world spin. Our general history through media and education always focuses on a small group of popular inventors but never focuses on the unsung heroes who did everything else to bring the world forward. I love the great history of all the small towns of America because there is always a story to uncover. The focus of my UA-cam channel is to shed a bit of light to that history. I’m glad others enjoy it and I am able to spark curiosity for those that might not know their own town. And at the end of the day are these great conversations with the people who know all the bits and pieces of the areas they live in to add to the story.
Great video. Thanks for posting.
Thank you
Well done! This was so informative! My husband and I are considering leaving NY and relocating to this area. It looks beautiful and I love the history! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by my channel. I moved from Queens NY 20 years ago this month and tried going back in 2008 and couldn’t get use to NY life anymore. Living in this area and other parts of PA is so much more calm and peaceful. Plus you’ll get to enjoy a lot more things within the local towns and PAs beautiful nature. If you still need the city fix, NY, Philly, Baltimore, and DC are almost the same distance.
Jose thank you so much for Lehigh Valley Histoty.
Thank you Cristian
I really enjoyed your presentation! I'm. Of this area and I wouldn't live anywhere else! I've been around the country but I'm always glad to come home to the Greater Lehigh Valley!
Thank you Linda, I've actually done the same where I moved away and came right back.
Great video...thanks for highlighting the ABE area! 👍🏻
Grew up in this area and moved away for work, have been thinking of buying a home here in a few years to be closer to family. You’ve officially triggered my nostalgia
Wow such a great channel! Happy to have found it, you should have thousands of subs!
Thank you for the support
Great Video, thanks
thank you for the support
Great video and summary of this area's history!
Thank you Will
love this. Great job Jose!
Thank you
Great video. I use to go to Cedar Crest and never knew all of this was so near by.
I grew up in Allentown and moved away a few years ago (to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area actually!) and I have since dearly missed the Lehigh Valley. I hope to move back some day. Great video! This area is truly amazing and you definitely captured some of the major things that bring people to the Valley. Fun fact, the movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had a scene filmed in Steel Stacks! It's a shame you didn't visit in December, Steel Stacks has this massive Christmas market called Christkindelmarkt, it's truly a sight to see. they have ice scultptors, vendors selling all these neat hand-crafted goodies and Christmas decorations, awesome food and live music.
Thanks for this and I love your music choices
Thank you
Jose great video and info.!
I grew up in Bethlehem. One of my grandfathers was a foreman at the Bethlehem Steel. I wish I would have had talks with him about his career there. My other grandfather worked in Easton at Dixi-another abandoned plant. I’m proud and thankful to have grown up in the area! Main Street in Bethlehem is absolutely beautiful! One of the finest Christmas towns in PA. I wish your viewers could have seen that, as well as Hotel Bethlehem-established in 1922.
Thank you Kelly. I've always been fascinated with the Bethlehem Steel Factory so I can image all the interesting stories your Grandfather must've had. I am planning a Redux Pennsylvania series for next summer thru fall and want to do a separate video just on Bethlehem itself.
@@JoseOnTour Oh great! I hope you enjoy your time in Bethlehem again!!
Awesome video! Very informative and entertaining. Will definitely be subscribing 👍🏼
Great video! I live near the Lehigh Valley and it truly cannot be stated how much of an impact it has had on the nation. One interesting hidden gem in Easton (technically Wilson) is the Dixie Cup Plant. It features a water tower in the shape of a Dixie cup.
When we break it down, so much of the country's development comes between this small area in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. From Paterson to Lehigh, almost all of the great industries of America have had an influence from these areas. I've lived in the area half my life and can say there is so much more to explore.
This is FANTASTIC and very well done!!! Thank you !!!!
Thank you so much for your wonderful video of Bethlehem I done sub work for Bethlehem steel in the late 70s I have not seen in almost 50 years Bethlehem until your video I alway wonder how that city turn out after the steel plant closed Look great
Thank you for sharing. I would've loved to see the Steel Plant in its glory days. They've repurposed it into a museum / entertainment venue. This is too beautiful to just let it go like many other closed done facilities in this area.
Thanks for highlighting our area so well! Of course I thought of so much more for Bethlehem but with doing all three cities, you couldn't do it all. Downtown Bethlehem (by the Industrial section you showed by the Monocacy Creek) also has the Central Moravian Church in its original building, standing since the mid 1700's, with the apothecary next door where Revolutionary War soldiers came to get medical help. We also have the Moravian Book Shop which is the oldest book store in the country. Up the street is also the Sun Inn where George Washington stayed. On the Southside by the steel is also Lehigh University. A beautiful campus. Anyway, I am glad you got to see Bethlehem all decorated for Christmas. Great job! Loved the video over all ❤
Great vid bro. Loving the industry. Thank you. !👍✌
Hello Jose, I love your video!! You did a magnificent job featuring all the highlights! It is extremely sentimental as I have precious memories associated with all of the places you took the viewer. My only complaint is that it's gorgeous in spring/ summer I would love to collaborate on a follow up video! I was a tour guide for Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites! Thanks for your hard work!
Thank you. I would love to do a collab. I have been writing a follow up to the area. I will stay in touch.
Great video! It was quite educational but not boring, entertaining but not perfunctory! Thank you for your job! And big thanks for the weekend getaway idea!
Thank you
My great grandfather Solomon Butz and his father built that covered bridge and almost all the covered bridges in the Lehigh Valley. His son's company, Alvin H. Butz, later built many of the large structures in the area including schools/colleges, hospitals, the Sands Bethworks Resort and the Pocono 500 racetrack. Today they also own other contractor branches in Philly and Harrisburg.
This was so interesting thank you for sharing. I'm not too far from the Racetrack and now that you've shared this I'm going to look at the racetrack in a whole different light. They've done a fantastic job with all the bridges
@@JoseOnTour Thanks for responding Jose. You are very talented and your editing is very professional. I miss Allentown, having moved to Florida back in '84. So my 92 year old uncle Lee Butz is still the Chairman and my cousin Greg is the CEO of the company now. More recently, they did the PPL Center, right across the street from the corporate offices and Beaver Stadium refurb/expansion. For awhile they even had operations in Panama City Panama, SW Florida and California but that got to be difficult to maintain. They sponsor a lot of the street festivals in center city.
Great video, very informative and lots of history! We are actually thinking about moving to the Lehigh Valley in the near future. Can’t wait to live near those cool places! Thank you!👍😊
Thank you. The Lehigh Valley is a wonderful area and even more beautiful in summer
Appreciate your looking into the history. I learned a lot and I lived in Allentown
Hey Jose, You posted one of your previous videos in a subreddit I'd created and you mentioned that you had an 18 minute long video that just breezed by. I'm going to assume that it's this one. I 100% agree with you this video was a blast to watch. I've gotten to see cities that I've never even heard of and learnt thing that weren't even on my radar because of the content you've created.
Out of the almost 60 videos that were submitted on that subreddit, yours is the only channel i subbed to. There is so much potential in this content and I have a feeling this channel is going to blow up before long. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for the great feedback Ryan. It’s a pretty ambitious project that will get better with time. I have a great roadmap of where I want to take this channel and what’s coming next. I’ve been passionate about this for over a decade and been jotting notes of where I’d take a travel show.
Wait... Which subreddit?
Lehigh. Valley. Is. Ok. Dont. Help. The. Homeless. People. 1. Homeless. Place. In. Bethlehem. 1. In. Easton. More. In. Allentown. I. Am. Homeless. I. Help. People. When. Can. I. See. Help. Show. Greenland. In. Southbethlehem. And. Way. Allentown. To. Easton. On. Lehigh. Valley. River
Thanks for sharing this fine video brother.
Loved watching this! We recently moved to the area but haven't been to explore much because of the pandemic. Looking forward to seeing more of these small towns!
Thank you for enjoying the video. This area is very beautiful during the spring-summer-fall months with all the outdoor and natural parks to visit. I definitely recommend trying the D&L trail. There are tons of festivals, hopefully the pandemic eases up so we can get back to those. Winter is another world with activities and the holidays changes the whole vibe of these towns.
Great production Mr.Molina. You packed a lot of information in an eighteen minute video. The area is near to my heart and I would like to add some tidbits of historic information. Bethlehem was founded by the Moravians. They emigrated from Europe in search of religious freedom. Bethlehem was an ideal location for steel making for it was down river from the coal and iron ore deposits to the north. Charles Schwab (not the broker), a Pa native, took leadership of Bethlehem Steel after leaving US steel. He acquired the rights to a patent to manufacture I beams. The I beam design effected a much higher strength to weight ratio and enabled buildings to be much larger. Before the I beam, I believe the tallest building was the Flatiron in NYC. The I beam created a boom in skyscraper construction. Thanks to Bethlehem Steel, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Woolworth building and many others were built. You mentioned the more famous bridges built by Bethlehem Steel. Bethlehem Steel was a huge industrial site. Besides the blast furnaces, the property extended east along the river past the casino. Part of the process of making steel was to inject high pressure oxygen into the molten iron ore. I lived on the north side of town miles away from the steel plant. When they blasted the O2, it would light up the night sky.
THANK YOU for mentioning Jim Thorpe. The Lehigh Valley never would have existed if it wasnt for the Antracite in Carbon County that was mined and floated down the river to the LV and Philly
*I TAKE PICTURES IN MANY OF THESE PLACES, OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!! IT'S AMAZING TO HAVE THE PLACES I KNOW SO WELL FINALLY BE REPRESENTED FULLY!!!!!!!!* :D That, and... man. I didn't know so much of this stuff. 😅
And I got *SUPER EXCITED* when you mentioned Monocacy Creek, because that's one of my favorite places to take photos! :D
Also, side note, but the video quality is *STUNNING!!!!!!* I happily will subscribe to you, bro. :)
Very nicely done. I grew up in Allentown/ LV. It brings back fond memories.
I moved to Bethlehem 10 years ago.Peaceful
Facts.
Great videos, Jose. I live in Philly and take day trips to these nearby places, but never seem to cover as much ground as you do. Keep em coming!
I grew up in Allentown in the 70's and 80's lots of history in the area. Moved out to the Mid-West of Evansville, IN. I definitely miss my home town in many ways, definitely the food. Great video, THANKS!
Also I had always heard Coplay pernounced as Cop-Lay not CO-Play.
I like your tours
Thank you
I have been looking into this area recently. Video looks great and sounds great per usual. Definitely want to check out this area. Being from Baltimore I can understand Bethlehem Steele declining and rusting away but hope good music comes out of that space now
The summer series held at this venue are really great. It's a good way of re-vitalizing a fallen industry similar to the Silos in Buffalo.
I have a lot of family from Allentown, and I knew nothing about it because I live in the south. I really appreciate you making this video to help us learn more about what’s in the Allentown area. You rock!
Great vi
Thank you
Oh fun. I lived in Bethlehem for a while!!! I saw your comment on Eva Zu Beck's channel. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by my channel
Good video!
May I recommend the Lafayette hotel in Easton. Easton's finest. You will glad you did😁
in whitehall Pa, (not born) but raised on the playground is where i spent most of my days
were you chilling out?
Gorgeous video.
Thank you, I came across your content and really enjoy also.
@@JoseOnTour You're very kind to say so. Wishing you great luck in the future!
Great video
Completely agree
It's pronunciation of Copley is " cop lay" nobody says coopley.
I see it all the time when you go toma ice rink near there
Very nice..my birthplace, but never experienced some of the places (like Coplay)..Maybe add in MusicFest, and Lehigh University and its pivotal role with Beth Steel and how both worked together to make steel for America.. Engineering Education and Industry, a great early America example that lead to great prosperity. Most all building codes for structural steel in America developed at LU, Tested at Homer Labs on top of South Mountain, and created from iron in those large Blast Furnaces, ovens fired with coal from the northern areas of PA, with Rail Roads build by the founder of Lehigh University, Asa Packer...making things like Building, Battle Ships, Tanks, Cars, Appliances.....how that for a contribution to things you use every day.
Very nicely done! But one thing that seems to distinguish the locals from outsiders is their pronunciation of the city of Coplay. Most you-tubers pronounced it "Co' play" while the locals say: "Cop' lee".
Thank you Gracie. I’ve been in the area for 20+ years and am still embarrassed I miss pronounced this one. UA-camrs mispronounce it because the Google Assistant says Co-Play on the gps. I wish there was a way to fix it
I live a few blocks away from that museum is right in the hood
I Like Lehigh Valley
So much history from this Steel Mill.
In the early 90’s, I use truck past it while it was still in operation.
Years later still Trucking past it brings back lots of memories of smoke and noise coming from this Mill.
Sad that union and corporate greed along with mismanagement was the largest cause of this giant to close forever.
I would’ve loved to see it in full operation. I’m a big fan of America’s industrial history and the steel stacks is such a remarkable piece of NEPA’s story
@@JoseOnTour it was amazing to see it.
And like you I’m a big fan of historical Industrial Equipment
We'll were living here in Allentown and their closing all the factories now
COPLAY pronounce Cop-Pla-y Not Co-Play. You missed so many historically important areas that makes the Lehigh Valley so great. Oldest Bookshop in all America that's still open to this day The Moravian Bookstore located on 428 Main St, Bethlehem, PA 18018 first opened 1745. Bethlehem Steel originally sat on more than 11,000 acres of land; the site of the 4 Blast Furnaces is only a total of 5,000 acres. Down the back east-side of Bethlehem steel towards Hellertown where all the Trucking warehouses are located now a days was actually still part of Bethlehem Steel right up to Silver Creek Country Golf Club.
Outstanding
Thank you so much Bob
I my cousins lived by Nisky Hill Cemetery, You should of seen the steel from the hill at night when it was running during the heyday while producing steel for the VietNam war, There is Revolutionary war soldiers buried under 378 as the Moravian Complex was a Hospital
I'm going over on Monday is it prejudice or a good place I'm from tx going alone and never been to Pennsylvania. please leave a comment
Ummmm no
Not prejudice
Nice views in the fall but do not show in winter under 6 ft. Of snow.
I shoveled snow as a kid of 8 years old with a snow shovel.
muy lindo tu reportaje me estoy comprando una mansion en scranton y me da algo de miedo el cambio de jersey a pa
Pennsilvania es mas tranquilo. Dependiendo de donde vivias en Nueva Jersey. Yo vengo de Nueva York y la tranquilidad no la cambio por la cuidad
yo estoy en clifton new jersey aca tengo una tienda y 5 casas me tocara una hora y 45 de viaje, pero se que mucha jente de new york se es mudando a P A . quiera Dios y hagamos ambiente.
The world’s first transistor production line was in Allentown
During the 50’s and 60’s, the air pollution from Bethlehem Steel and their coke works was unbearable
My home at ❤️
"Nice and creative Videos，I can see A lot of thought has been put into the content and editing of the video， This is really my favorite channel.:) .🌴🌴🌴excellent 👍👌👍👌👍 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 " Blenheim Schoharie 2021
Thanks for the feedback and glad you enjoy my channel. I have a lot of great content coming up
Bethlehem steel and Allentown pollution Ruined the rest of the Lehigh river. It’s fascinating that the Delaware river dilutes the Lehigh waters enough that wildlife isn’t affected the same. You have to drive as far north as Slatington to start seeing signs of trout spawning. The small mouth bass can’t grow bigger the 2 lbs. yes people LV occasionally catch nice sized fish down river from blue mountain area. That’s only because floods carry the decent fish down.
Hey! Did you experience any racism? My husband and I wanted to visit for the Christmas Holdiays but had several acquaintances that told us they visited there and experienced non stop racism and were even called the N word and was told they didn’t belong. They said they felt very uncomfortable and unsafe cause they didn’t see any other black people. I’m not afraid to go, I just don’t want to be around any form of ignorance or negative energy. It looks like an awesome place to visit.
That’s very strange I didn’t experience any racism in the area especially with such large cities like the ones in this video. I have experienced some minor comments in smaller towns throughout Pennsylvania
@@JoseOnTourok & thank you!
Its “cop-lee”. Not “CO-play”. Like Copley Place in Boston.
Hi William, thank you for visiting my channel. Cop-lee pronunciation has been added to the video notes.
COP LEE. 😮🤔😎
Hello! Please share a great karaoke restaurant in the Lehigh valley area to take my mom
(a Christian that likes jazz and R&B) for her birthday?
Please help. Thanks in advance. 😊
wow I know every spot in this video lmaooo
Has the State of PA got alot of German heritage n German migrants living there from long ago its just that lots of the buildings n names of places sound very German to me thats all ? cheers
Hi Dave, Pennsylvania is heavily integrated with German ancestry. I have another video in Lancaster PA and there are full communities in the style of 1700-1800 Germany. All over the state you can trace German roots. Thank you
😍👍🏻
It’s Cop lee not co play.
Hey where you from?
I’m Dominican living in Northeast PA from the Scranton/WB/Hazleton area. I am originally from Queens NY
Ok im from P.R but i live before in 3 th st in bethlehem
COPLAY=COP-LEE