Category:Allentown Motor Inn

The Allentown Motor Inn at 404 Hamilton Street had its origins in a 1960 redevelopment plan. In the late 1950s, the Allentown City Hall in the 700 Block of Linden was nearly 80 years old and needed replacing. In addition, the Lehigh County Courthouse at North Fifth and Hamilton Streets was last expanded in 1915 and was vastly overcrowded. The area between Jordan Creek and Fifth along Hamilton Street was becoming somewhat of an eyesore, and city and county planners decided to redevelop the area. On the north side of Hamilton, the neighborhood along Hamilton Street east to Jordan Creek and north to Court was torn down, along with a block of buildings on the south side of Hamilton between the United States Post Office east to the Lehigh Valley Railroad Station.

The area to the north of Hamilton would become the new home of the New Lehigh County Courthouse on the northeast corner of Fifth and Hamilton, and the new Allentown City Hall and Police Station would be at Penn and Hamilton. The land east of Fourth to Jordan Creek and the land on the south side of Hamilton between Penn and Fourth Street would be sold to developers.

On the lot on the south side, a new hotel was proposed with the plan for visitors to the city to have access to the new government center and downtown shopping district. It also had access to the Lehigh Valley Railroad Station, which was still running passenger service at the time. A proposal was received in October 1963 for the new hotel, called the "Allentown Motor Inn".

Development for the hotel, however, did not proceed as planned. The Lehigh Valley Railroad closed its Allentown Station in 1962, however, limited passenger train service remained with the New Jersey Central Railroad, which operated its passenger terminal to the east of Jordan Creek at Third Street. A preliminary site survey showed the land was unsuitable for the construction of the hotel, which required much work to sink a foundation to bedrock. Then financial issues with the developer delayed the project more and it was not until the fall of 1966, three years after the hotel was proposed that construction began with a new investment group. Construction of the hotel was delayed several times during 1967, with the Allentown Motor Inn finally opening on 1 December 1967.

By the time of the hotel's opening, however, the New Jersey Central had ended passenger rail service to Allentown. The hotel's popularity was also not what was projected by the city planners and a low occupancy rate led to the bankruptcy of the original owners in the summer of 1971. The hotel was purchased by the Sheratan Chain and subsequently renovated. The "Sheridan Inn - Allentown" opened in November 1971. Sheridan operated the hotel until mid-1984 when mounting losses made the chain put the property again for sale. The property was sold to local owners, who took over and renamed the property the "Hamilton Plaza".

By the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Allentown central business district was in a state of economic decline and the Hamilton Plaza went bankrupt and closed in May 1992. Attempts to sell the hotel to new investors failed to find a buyer and the property was taken over by the Allentown Redevelopment Authority in early 1993. The hotel was unused for nearly a decade until it was purchased by a local developer and renovated to become an assisted living home for the elderly. The "Allentown Manor" opened in December 2001, however, the developer/owner claimed it was not making a profit. It was subsequently closed in September 2004.

The property again was vacant for about a year when it was sold to new investors. The new owners converted the former hotel property into a rooming house and renamed it the "Hamilton Tower" It opened in September 2005, renting rooms by the day/week/month/year at low rates.

The Hamilton Tower remains in operation

Camera location	40° 36′ 12″ N, 75° 27′ 57″ W	View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap	40.603333; -75.465833