 In 1909, two airships - one bearing the American flag, the other that of Germany, took off from the fairgrounds, raced down Hamilton Street, circled the Soldiers & Sailors Monument, and returned.The airship bearing the American flag won the race.The following year, pilot Glenn Curtiss took off in his plane, using 19th Street as his runway, and flew over the Allentown Fair, in what was the first known heavier-than-air flight in the Lehigh Valley.