Built 1762 Opened 1762 Added to NRHP 28 July 1983 | NRHP Reference # 83002259 Area 2,000 m² | |
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Location 620 West Hamilton Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania Architectural style Gothic Revival architecture Similar Zollinger‑Harned Company Building, Americus Hotel, Hotel Sterling, Liberty Bell Museum, Woodstock Express | ||
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. 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.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Liberty Bell Museum, a local attraction commemorating the hiding of the Liberty Bell, is located inside the church.