Category:Hamilton Mall, Allentown, Pennsylvania

By the late 1960s, the development of suburban strip shopping centers and especially the opening of the indoor Whitehall Mall in 1966 were steadily reducing the number of shoppers along Hamilton Street. Consumers preferred the convenience of easy access via automobile, and the enclosed Whitehall Mall to the pedestrian outdoor sidewalk shopping which was found along Hamilton Street.

The City of Allentown hired the firm of David M. Walker Associates in 1969 to explore the needs of Center City. It was decided to develop a traffic-free business district between Linden, Walnut, Sixth and Tenth Streets. This would become known as the "Hamilton Mall". The final plans allowed limited two-lane automobile traffic on Hamilton Street one-way west to east, with limited drop-off and pick-up only parking. Traffic lights were installed at each major street and half street with a speed limit of 20 MPH. The sidewalks would be expanded outwards with canopies covering them. Final plans were developed and approval was given by City Council in October 1971. Construction of Hamilton Mall began in early 1972. It was officially opened in November 1973, with all addresses between 6th and 10th street being changed from "Hamilton Street" to "Hamilton Mall".

Hamilton Mall never lived up to the expectations of the city planners. Large numbers of shoppers did not return to the downtown area. By the late 1970s, increased suburbanization led to a general decline in the popularity of the downtown shopping district. Retail shopping downtown declined with the closing of Leh's (1987) and Zollinger's (1978) downtown and culminated with the last major department store, Hess's, being sold-off in 1995, eventually being closed and subsequently demolished in 2000.

Its goal, to revive the Allentown downtown shopping district was never fully realized, although, in fairness, it did extend the life of the retail central business for about a decade. With the demise of the retail sector of Hamilton Mall in the 1980s, Center City Allentown, instead of a shopping Mecca, downtown Allentown turned into office buildings and increasingly became a center-city campus for city and county government workers. Some new buildings, such as the Cosmopolitan Restaurant, and the PPL Plaza were built, but they were really the exception The majority of former storefronts were largely empty and some buildings, like the former Colonial Theater, became extremely blighted.

By the end of the 1980s many were bemoaning the mall, but no one could bring themselves to the solution. It was assumed it was just too expensive to be torn down. It was Allentown Mayor Bill Heydt who finally solved the problem by having the Hamilton Mall torn down. In 1999, the sidewalk canopies of Hamilton Mall were taken down along with much of the street-level lighting. The last canopy was removed in front of the former H. Leh & Company building, and the street addresses were changed back to "Hamilton Street" in August 1999.

During the 2010s, the passage of the "Neighborhood Improvement Zone", or NIZ in in the Pennsylvania legislature was accomplished to revitalize the central business district of Allentown. As a result, many of the buildings which lined Hamilton Street, many of which dated to the 1800s were torn down or fully renovated. The PPL Center, used for various sports and entertainment was constructed, and new tall, glass office buildings and apartments are being built. The success of the NIZ to bring people back into the downtown is yet to be determined.

The reminants of Hamilton Mall remain with the wide sidewalks, the large number of trees planted on it, and the limited parking along Hamilton Street.