In a city defined by railroads and industry, the Washington Street Bridge in Reading was never just a simple crossing—it was a necessity. Spanning the busy Philadelphia & Reading Railroad Main Line, this bridge connected neighborhoods, carried daily traffic, and reflected the ongoing [...]
Reading, Pennsylvania has endured a lot over the centuries. Floods. Deindustrialization. The collective trauma of losing Pomeroy's. But lurking beneath all of that heartbreak is a quiet, persistent question that has haunted Berks County since 1913: Is it the Penn Street Bridge, or [...]
If you stand at the quiet bend where River Road meets Leisz’s Bridge Road today, the Schuylkill seems calm—slow, green, and deceptively gentle as it slips past the tree-lined banks. It’s hard to imagine that this peaceful corner was once one of the [...]
In February 1953, Mayor Bamford introduced “Traffic Plan B,” a comprehensive blueprint for alleviating congestion and improving traffic flow throughout Reading. Among its key proposals was the opening of Oley Street, which had been obstructed for over 75 years. This plan also included [...]
The story of the South Reading Bridge is one of vision, advocacy, and setbacks, spanning decades of urban planning in Reading, Pennsylvania. Conceived as a transformative infrastructure project, the bridge was intended to link the West Shore Bypass with the city center via [...]
The current Court Street Bridge was created as part of the Downtown East Urban Renewal Project. Construction of the bridge began in 1970 and was completed in 1971. The bridge was built as part of a plan to expand the traffic capacity of [...]
Anyone traveling into West Reading across the Penn Street Viaduct has probably noticed at one time or another the large rock formation on the right against the exit ramp for motorists traveling West on the By-Pass into West Reading. The rock formation is [...]
The county commissioners were authorized by an Act passed April 23, 1829, to erect a bridge over the Schuylkill River at Gerber’s ferry, on the road from Reading to Lancaster. It was finished in 1831. The bridge was a one lane, two span [...]
The Neversink Reservoir sits adjacent to the 10th & South playground. The Neversink Reservoir was built in 1936 on just over 29 acres of land, which was acquired by the city in 1865 for $890. The cost of construction, including fixing the initial [...]
In 1909, the city leaders celebrated with much fanfare the opening of the Spring Street Subway, a rail bridge that eliminated a dangerous Reading Railroad crossing – first for pedestrians and later for cars. The Reading Railroad was well established in the area [...]
