Central Park (Allentown, Pennsylvania) Central Park (Allentown, Pennsylvania) Central Park is a former amusement park in the Rittersville section of Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was closed in 1951. Central Park's origins date to 1868 when J. Frank Reichart laid out a race course north of the Allentown-Bethlehem turnpike (Hanover Avenue) which was opened for trotting and pacing from May to August. In 1872 the Rittersville Park Association was organized. The park was enlarged to 16 acres and was known as Manhattan Park. When the Allentown & Bethlehem Rapid Traction Company took ownership of the area from Thomas Ritter it was called The Greater Central Park.
Borough Park, Brooklyn and restaurants opened on 13th Avenue to serve the expanding Orthodox Jewish community. In 1987, two of the most popular stores debuted: Eichler's Judaica bookstore, and Kosher Castle Dairy Cafeteria. New stores also opened selling imported goods and computer technology. At the end of the 1990s, businesses began selling electronics and Jewish books, music, and videos to overseas customers via the Internet. The area continued developing into a very large Jewish enclave around that time period. In a 2000 Census study, it was reported that an estimated 76,600 Jews lived in Borough Park. Since that time, Borough Park has grown