English: Hamilton Street 500 Block looking West, likely taken during the summer of 1917 or 1918. Note the large number of American flags hung from windows, indicating this was taken during World War I. Hamilton Street was not yet paved, but there are a large number of automobiles and delivery trucks, along with a Lehigh Valley Transit streetcar and double tracking that allowed both east and west service simultaneously. The electric streetlamps are shown with the "hanging gardens" that were designed by Mayor Reichenbach in 1915.

The north (right) side of the street shows the Old Hamilton Hotel at 513 Hamilton in white, which would be destroyed by fire later in 1918. Adjacent to it heading west is the Allentown Trust building at 527 Hamilton, which was at the NW corner of Law and Hamilton. On the NE corner of Law is the Stiles Building 531 Hamilton. The Styles building was a large four-story building that is visible in red. It had a clothing store, the Styles Book and Stationary Store, and also was the home of the Allentown Post Office before 1921. The 2d through 4th floors were professional offices.

On the south (left) side is the seven-story Commonwealth building with yellow brick at 512 Hamilton. This was a large office building erected in 1893. Next to it in a darker shade of brick is the Eastern Light Building, erected around 1900. Eastern Light was one of the original electric utility companies in Allentown, before being absorbed into the Pennsylvania Power and Light conglomerate in 1920. It later sold electrical appliances for many years. The rest of the buildings on the south side are two or three story buildings with retail shops on the street level and offices on the 2d or 3d floors.