The Palmerton Area Historical Society announced a reopening of its Heritage Center at 410 Delaware Ave. in Palmerton from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The center underwent nine months of renovations that were interrupted on several occasions by the COVID-19 pandemic and by state-mandated lockdowns.

The historical society opened the Heritage Center in 2005 after acquiring the property that was formerly Tommie’s Soda and Ice Cream Parlor. The center serves as a heritage museum and displays artifacts and memorabilia covering more than 125 years of the area’s history.

In addition, the center has a special feature room that will recognize the talent and virtuosity of its residents with a display of 75 years of works by local artists. Because of its use to highlight special exhibits, the feature room has been very popular with visitors. It has been used often to present the ethnic and cultural diversity of the many groups that populated the area.

The center provides residents and visitors with an appreciation of the vision of The New Jersey Zinc Company more than a century ago when it brought nationally recognized architects and engineers to the area to create one of Pennsylvania’s first planned communities. This vision brought Palmerton recognition in 2018 as a National Historic District.

The reopening will follow protocols to limit the number of guests at any one time to assure a pleasant visit while striving to minimize the possibility of any virus transmission. For additional information, contact 610-824-6954.