2010-02-05 21:38:38 - A.W. Leh Designed Mansions for Steel Tycoons to
Social Clubs for First Generation Immigrant Americans

BETHLEHEM, PA (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) – In a region that once served as the cradle of the Industrial Era, architect A.W. Leh was prolific as some of his clients were wealthy, designing and building more than 250 structures, from residential to institutional and ecclesiastical, from 1880 until his sudden death in 1918.

Leh’s design career spanned the turn- of- the-century and his

work is documented in the new book “A Living Legacy: Architecture of A.W. Leh,” (Moon Trail Books, $125.00, September 2009). "A. W. Leh (1848-1918) created a good part of the architectural backdrop against which the dramas of peoples’ daily lives here were played out," says author Ken Raniere, who spent nearly two years researching Leh, who designed buildings across the Lehigh Valley, New Jersey and Philadelphia regions.

Perhaps most noteworthy is that Leh, who designed for leading industrialists EP Wilbur, Charles Schwab, and Robert Sayre, designed across class lines. His design print can also be found on bowling alleys, social clubs and food markets, as Leh understood the trends of the era, filtering the national architecture trends to interpret for diverse clients.

In the Lehigh Valley, where the author is a resident, buildings designed by Leh are numerous including Ambre’ Studio, Comenius Hall of Moravian College, the Flat Iron Building, Landmark Commons, dozens of churches including the New Reformed Church, and Main Street Commons, formerly Orr’s Department Store.

Photographers of the book are John Kish IV and Robert Walsh. Publisher is Patricia McAndrew, Moon Trail Books. “A.W. Leh, A Living Legacy,” may be purchased at The Moravian Book Shop, or online at www.moontrailbks.com .

Press contact is Tina Bradford at 610-248-3460 or Tina@TinaBradfordPR.com.