The downtown core listed on the National Register of Historic Places, covering roughly twenty blocks around Centre Square. The fabric is mostly Federal and late-Victorian — three-storey brick rowhouses, painted lady gables, cast-iron fronted commercial buildings on Northampton Street. The town was a Delaware Valley boom centre in the early 1800s thanks to the canals and the iron trade, and the architecture reflects that wealth.
A self-guided walking tour from the visitor centre on Centre Square covers the highlights in about an hour: the Parsons-Taylor House (1757, the oldest house in town), the Herman Simon House, the Jacob Nicholas House with its red sandstone trim, and several Federal-era taverns. A few of the historic homes are open for tours by appointment.