High German Evangelical Reformed Church

High German Evangelical Reformed Church

Zion United Church of Christ, October 2011
Location 620 West Hamilton Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Area 0.5 acres (0.20 ha)
Built 1762
Architect Jacoby,Lewis
Architectural style Late Gothic Revival
NRHP Reference # 83002259[1]
Added to NRHP July 28, 1983

High German Evangelical Reformed Church, also known as Zion Reformed and Zion United Church of Christ, is a historic Evangelical and Reformed church at 620 Hamilton Street in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

A log structure was built on the site in 1762. A simple brick church, said to be in the vernacular Federal style, was built a few yards north of the log church in 1773. In 1777, while the British occupied Philadelphia, this church was used to hide the Liberty Bell as well as the chimes from Philadelphia's Christ Church. This clandestine act of patriotism prevented the British from melting down these treasures for use as ammunition.[2] In 1838 the church was enlarged and may have incorporated the 1762 structure into the building, inside the walls of the current boiler room. The building was doubled in size in from 1886 to 1888 in the Gothic Revival style, to the designs of architect Lewis Jacoby.[3]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[1] The Liberty Bell Museum, a local attraction commemorating the hiding of the Liberty Bell, is located inside the church.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Bloom, Ken; Wolbers, Marian (1984). Allentown A Pictorial History (Special ed.). Norfolk, VA: The Donning Company/Publishers. pp. 18–19.
  3. ↑ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Theodore J. Mabus (June 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: The High German Evangelical Reformed Church" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-03-04.

External links

Coordinates: 40°36′08″N 75°28′13″W / 40.6023°N 75.4704°W / 40.6023; -75.4704


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.