The Lehigh Valley has a rich culture and heritage, including for art, history and even some sick-looking cars. Here’s where to find them and what they can teach you.
Art
At the Allentown Art Museum — currently at 31 N. Fifth St. — enjoy rare international paintings and sculptures from the 1300s to 1700s, American art from artists such as Benjamin West, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Franz Kline, Harry Bertoia, Jésus Rafael Soto, Louise Nevelson, Keith Haring and Kay WalkingStick, and visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1915 library from the Francis W. Little House.
Ongoing exhibits include rare Tiffany landscape windows and art favored in 16th century European homes. The museum also offers a variety of programs, including monthly art workshops.
In April 2025, the museum announced plans to build a new site at 10th and Hamilton streets in coming years.
Guests can visit the museum for free 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, and until 8 p.m. every third Thursday of the month.
The Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts has exhibits, galleries and period rooms displaying furniture, paintings, china, clothing and silver across three interconnected homes from the 1800s at 427 N. New St. in Bethlehem.
It’s open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, as well as custom tours throughout the rest of the week.
The Martin Museum has over 100 guitars from across nearly two centuries on display at 510 Sycamore St. in Upper Nazareth Township, including Kurt Cobain’s D-18.
It offers free admission and is open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
History
The Museum of Indian Culture hosts displays for Indigenous peoples’ participation in the United States military, the Walking Purchase of 1737, prehistoric stone tools, pottery, photographs and clothing at 2825 Fish Hatchery Road in Allentown.
It is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, September through May, before expanding hours and opening Thursday June through August.
The museum also hosts the annual Roasting Ears of Corn Festival in August.
The Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum offers exhibits such as for the region’s history, including of the Lenni Lenape and the Pennsylvania Dutch peoples; industrialist and conservationist Harry Trexler, including a display of his desk; presidential portraits like of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy; and the American Revolution.
It also houses the Scott Andrew Trexler II Research Library and Archive, which has 200,000 photographs and nearly 3 million historical documents.
The museum is located at 432 W. Walnut St. in Allentown and operates 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The Sigal Museum offers exhibits for Easton civil rights activist Tim Hare, 20th-century artifacts from Northampton County residents, Easton’s first pumper truck, early settlements, agriculture and industry at 342 Northampton St. in Easton.
The Jane S. Moyer Library & Archives also operates there, hosting 5,000 books and 120,000 photographs.
The museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
The National Canal Museum at 2750 Hugh Moore Park Road in Easton lets guests learn about canal history through exhibits, a collection of model canal boats and tools, a water table for building one’s own canal system, and riding the Josiah White II canal boat on the Lehigh Canal, pulled by the mules Hank and George.
The museum is open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. The canal boat departs at noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily.
Industry
Guests can learn about Bethlehem Mayor and Bethlehem Steel Vice President Archibald Johnston, artifacts from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the Industrial Revolution and more at the National Museum of Industrial History at 602 E. Second St. in Bethlehem, inside the former Electric Repair Shop of the Bethlehem Steel plant site.
The museum operates 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Various vintage vehicles and a tribute to transportation are on display at the America On Wheels museum at 5 N. Front St. in Allentown, including a LEGO display and rides from Antique Truck Club of America, “Free Spirit” Chapter of the Buick Club of America, Lehigh Valley Model “A” Club and the Mid-Atlantic Classic AMX-AMC Club.
The hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Mack Trucks History Museum displays vintage Mack truck models, memorabilia and history at 2402 Lehigh Parkway South in Allentown.
It hosts tours at 9:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Lehigh Valley Insider’s Guide is an occasional series on places to go and things to do and see. Have an idea for a topic or a place that we missed? Email us at goguide@mcall.com.
