![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/play-icon.png\"\/){kind=icon}
Listen to this article<\/p>\n Listen to this article<\/p>\n
Bethlehem<\/a> has always been known for its history, but with the recent designation of Historic Moravian Bethlehem as a National Historic Landmark District\u00a0as\u00a0part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has been investing in that history to boost tourism.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Since 2018, when the Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites began seeking the designation, more than $7.6 million has been raised towards\u00a0a $10 million goal of\u00a0enhancing\u00a0historical sites.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n One of the latest projects, the construction of \u201cOverlook on History<\/a>\u201d a steel and glass bridge giving tourists a 360-degree view of the city\u2019s historic industrial quarter, has reached a major milestone.\u00a0<\/p>\n A beam signing was held in May for the\u00a0roughly $2 million\u00a0project\u00a0that will be a highlight of the historical area.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n According to\u00a0LoriAnn\u00a0Wukitsch, president & CEO of Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, the\u00a0steel\u00a0and glass overlook will open a continuous path from Bethlehem\u2019s historic Main Street into the heart of the Colonial Industrial Quarter<\/a>, home to the oldest industrial park in America.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The enclosed bridge will cross above the Antes Mill<\/a> ruins and re-connect the recently restored 1782\/1834 Grist Miller\u2019s House to the 1869 Luckenbach Mill<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n She explained that during the 19th century, the two buildings were linked so the miller could easily travel between his home and work.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very exciting piece of history we discovered when we were\u00a0researching\u00a0these structures,\u201d Wukitsch said.\u00a0 While the original bridge was lost to history,\u00a0Wukitsch\u00a0said the new connection, which is scheduled to open this fall, will be fully ADA accessible and\u00a0provide\u00a0an unobstructed view across the Colonial Industrial Quarter.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cThe Moravians who founded this city were innovators,\u201d said\u00a0Wukitsch. \u201cThey built the first Industrial Park in Northern\u00a0America,\u00a0and they did it together masterfully.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The bridge is being built by Allied construction<\/a> and was designed by an architect familiar with the industrial quarter.\u00a0Earlier in his\u00a0career,\u00a0Architect David Scott Parker<\/a> worked on a number of restoration projects in the quarter.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Today, his\u00a0design portfolio includes the U.S. Treasury building in Washington D.C., and the Mark Twain House in Connecticut.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n For the bridge,\u00a0Parker had to design a structure that stood over but did not disturb the Antes Flour Mill ruins below.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to build a structure that hovered above an archeological site. We wanted to reconnect these buildings without copying them and doing something that is a statement of our own time,\u201d\u00a0Parker said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n There were many features of his design that were aimed at improving the experience of walking across the bridge.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_0612-150x150.jpg\")
A recent beam signing was held recently to mark the latest stage of construction on the \u201cOverlook on History\u201d bridge in Bethlehem. PHOTO\/HBMS \u2013\n<\/p>\n