Allentown, New Jersey, United States

🇺🇸 Allentown is a borough, located in western Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, bordering nearby Mercer County. The borough is nestled within central New Jersey, and is roughly equidistant between New York City and Philadelphia.

History Allentown was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 29, 1889, from portions of Upper Freehold Township, based on the results of a referendum held that day. The borough was named for settler Robert Burnet's son-in-law, Nathan Allen or for William Allen, who served as Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania.

Economy Allentown's shopping district has antique and specialty shops, as well as restaurants. Many historic homes and historic buildings are located in the borough. The Horse Park of New Jersey is a park located near the borough but does have an Allentown mailing address. Heritage Park is located within the borough near the shopping district.

The borough received the 'Village Center' designation in 2002, which will allow the borough to receive additional state aid aimed at preserving historic and natural resource sites that are at risk.

For larger scaled shopping, Freehold Raceway Mall in nearby Freehold, Quaker Bridge Mall in nearby Lawrence, and Princeton Market Fair in nearby Princeton, are a short distance away.

Historic district The Allentown Historic District is a 17-acre (6.9 ha) historic district encompassing the community along North and South Main streets, Church, Pearl and Hamilton streets, Lakeview Drive and Yardville Road. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1982 for its significance in architecture, commerce, education, industry, invention, religion, and transportation. The district includes 219 contributing buildings, including the Allentown Mill, which was added individually to the NRHP in 1978.

The Allentown Presbyterian Church was built in 1837, expanded in 1858, and features Greek Revival architecture. The Georgian-style John Imlay House, built c. 1790, was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1936. The Ephraim Robbins House now serves as the Borough Hall. The former First Baptist Church is now used by the Allentown Public Library Association. 


Transportation As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 6.84 miles (11.01 km) of roadways, of which 4.55 miles (7.32 km) were maintained by the municipality and 2.29 miles (3.69 km) by Monmouth County.

The only major roads that pass through are CR 524, CR 526 and CR 539.

Limited access roads that are accessible just outside the borough include Interstate 195 and the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95).

Allentown is about one hour south-west of Manhattan via the Turnpike and about 50 minutes north-east of Philadelphia. Both Princeton and Trenton are easily accessible from Allentown via I-195.