The Lehigh waterfront seems to be the next target in Allentown's redevelopment.
Wendy davis: As tonight's History's Headlines shows us... It's an area that's already seen a lot of change.
Reporter: Downtown re-do? Check. Now developers who want a piece of the action in Allentown are getting serious on a new front: The waterfront.
Rob vaughn: Plans to transform the space along the Lehigh River have been in the works for years. Now... Developers are thinking even bigger.
Reporter: There's been talk of creating office.. Residential.. And retail space... As well as offering recreational activities on the river. Whatever does end up putting down roots here.. Will have a big act to follow.
Martha capwell fox: The Lehigh River can fairly be said to have been the lifeblood of the Industrial Revolution of the United States.
Reporter: The area's earliest settlers used the Lehigh River for practical pursuits... Like transportation... Even though it didn't provide the smoothest of rides.
Martha capwell fox: It's shallow and it's rocky.. And in the old days apparently it had a tendency to dry up in the summertime, too.
Reporter: The completion of the Lehigh Canal in 1829 made it possible to send coal from Carbon County to Philadelphia. Then... In 1840... David Thomas... A Welsh iron master... Built the first commercially successful anthracite coal powered iron furnace in North America... Right in Catasauqua.
Martha capwell fox: He put it into blast on the 4th of July 1840. And on that day he made more iron in one day than a charcoal fired furnace could make in a week.
Reporter: Iron furnaces were all the rage along the river until the 1870's.. When the industry collapsed. Silk mills sprang up next. A slaughterhouse greeted visitors that crossed the river at Front and Hamilton. In 1913.. The Neuweiler Brewery moved its operations to the area. But.. Gradually... Businesses began to find footholds farther away from the river. Still... Years of decline and inactivity will all be "water under the bridge".. If the vision for a new Lehigh waterfront becomes reality.
Rob vaughn: Community members are rallying to save a pair of Catholic schools in Northampton County.. The story at 10.
Wendy davis: Edition... Bitter cold continues to take a toll on our region.forecast.
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