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Bethlehem Colonial Industrial Quarter receives funds for restoration work
Stacy Wescoe//June 12, 2026
The1761 Tannery in Bethlehem PHOTO/KATELYN BOBURKA
Bethlehem Colonial Industrial Quarter receives funds for restoration work
Stacy Wescoe//June 12, 2026//
Listen to this articleThe Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites has received a significant boost to its efforts to restore historical sites in the city as it prepares for the increased tourism it expects from being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The organization was recently awarded $75,000 to support the restoration of the historic 18th-century Tannery located in Bethlehem’s Colonial Industrial Quarter. The grant, secured by State Rep. Steve Samuelson, through the state’s Local Share Account grants program.
The funds are in addition to the $63,600 it received from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission through its Keystone Historic Preservation Construction Grants program.
“The 1761 Tannery has been closed to public tours for over a decade,” said Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites President & CEO LoriAnn Wukitsch. “Thanks to the support of Rep. Samuelson and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, HBMS now has the funding necessary to kick off the next phase of restoration work necessary to reopen this historic treasure to our community. This project is especially important since it coincides with the development of the adjacent Overlook on History, the enclosed glass and steel connector that will join the Luckenbach Mill and Grist Miller’s House when it opens this fall.”
Built in 1761, the Tannery was essential to Bethlehem’s early Moravian community, with craftsmen transforming approximately 3,000 hides per year into leather goods such as shoes, boots, saddles and harnesses.
The upcoming Tannery revitalization project will involve both stabilization work and restoration of the building to prepare it for public use and educational programming. When the building reopens, it will become an integral part of HBMS programming, including Birthplace of Industry tours, new Maker’s Retreats, student programs and Community Heritage Day in April.
