The ancient brick retaining wall in front of the Moravian Church on Main Street will soon have a plaque commemorating the designation last fall of the Historic Moravian Bethlehem as National Historic Landmark District.

Last October the U.S. Department of the Interior designated the14-acre district, which includes properties along Church Street and into the Colonial Industrial Quarter along Monocacy Creek.

The 33-inch by 33-inch, 75-pound metal emblem will be mounted on the convex portion of the wall near the intersection of Main and Church streets.

The historical designation didn't come easily. The application and approval process took several years.

There are less than 2,500 such properties in the United States with the National Historic Landmark designation and only six in Pennsylvania.

Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the designation Oct. 18.

Charlene Donchez Mowers, president of Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites, attended the March 5 meeting of the Historical and Architectural Review Board (HARB) which, after short discussion, voted to give the plaque a certificate of appropriateness.

Next, Bethlehem City Council will likely approve the installation just a block away from city hall where the HARB meets at 4 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month.

The board also authorized the reinstallation of a sign for the Moravian Museum, also on Church Street, with an entrance from the courtyard beside the 1741 Gremeinhous building.

The review board also approved signs for two businesses co-located at 77 West Broad St.: Healing Orchid Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs and Into the Myst Metaphysical Shoppe.

HARB members approved a certificate of appropriateness for signage for a not yet open business at 512 Main St., Jewel Werks.