-Allentown Atlas and Business

When paired with the view books and city directories displayed in the Cafe Gallery on the ground floor, this atlas paints a clear picture of the neighboring city of Allentown. This atlas was published for insurance purposes to document the risk of fire in neighborhoods, providing extensive details about the businesses and institutions in the area as well as the building materials used to construct them. As the buildings and streets changed over time, the Sanborn Map Company issued corrections that were applied as pasted down patches, with this work being updated through the 1930s. The area of Allentown on display was once home to local businesses like the G. Buehler & Co. furniture manufacturers. Also shown here are some of the 206 hand drawn furniture design illustrations from the sketchbook of Gottlieb Buehler. Gottlieb was a trained carpenter and cabinetmaker who founded his furniture factory in 1896 after emigrating from Germany in 1881. Buehler’s company remained in business for three generations until his grandson sold it to the Bethlehem Furniture Company in 1986. Having such important geographic data available in the library provides new angles of research for existing materials, such as GIS visualizations, and makes other local history materials more worth keeping.