4 10, 2024

German American Heritage Month

2024-10-04T14:03:46-04:00October 4th, 2024|Breweries, Businesses-Industry, Community, Heritage of Reading, Organizations-Institutions, People|0 Comments

As the Reading Liederkranz celebrates Oktoberfest we are reminded that the month of October is German Heritage Month. German people began moving to Pennsylvania as early as 1683. Between 1683 and 1783, more than 100,000 German-speaking immigrants from the Palantine, Wurttemberg, and Hesse; [...]

20 02, 2022

Don’t Give Up on Reading

2022-02-20T11:45:34-04:00February 20th, 2022|Community, Culture, Heritage of Reading|Comments Off on Don’t Give Up on Reading

By MaryBeth. Thank you for creating GoReadingBerks, one of my go-to websites when I need a dose of hometown nostalgia. Like you, I have fond memories of growing up in Reading. My memories include: being eye level with cases full of Pennsylvania Dutch [...]

24 09, 2021

The Heritage of Reading: 1910-1940: New Annexations; the Automobile; the Suburbs; the Great Depression

2021-09-24T13:02:36-04:00September 24th, 2021|Heritage of Reading, History, Towns-Wards|Comments Off on The Heritage of Reading: 1910-1940: New Annexations; the Automobile; the Suburbs; the Great Depression

By 1910 it was clear to Reading’s leaders that the biggest progress was quickly moving beyond the City limits. A few new suburban industries were already finding their locations an asset. Lower land prices were attractive, there were fewer restrictions on developable land, [...]

24 09, 2021

The Heritage of Reading: 1874-1910: The Height of Progress, Trollies, and the First Suburbs

2021-09-24T08:53:41-04:00September 24th, 2021|Heritage of Reading, History, Towns-Wards|Comments Off on The Heritage of Reading: 1874-1910: The Height of Progress, Trollies, and the First Suburbs

Between the year in which Reading became a Third Class City and the year in which Reading’s prosperity is said to have reached its peak, the City underwent some major physical changes as it saw the years of its greatest progress. The underlying [...]

23 09, 2021

The Heritage of Reading: 1847—1874: Annexations: Industrial Expansion; the Building Industry

2021-09-23T10:39:50-04:00September 23rd, 2021|Heritage of Reading, History|Comments Off on The Heritage of Reading: 1847—1874: Annexations: Industrial Expansion; the Building Industry

Development from the City Charter till 1874, when Reading received a new charter and became a City of the Third Class, progressed steadily and through the same forces which guided it prior to 1847. Population increased from 15,743 in 1850 to 23,162 in [...]

23 09, 2021

The Heritage of Reading: 1813-1847: Canals, Heavy Industry, and the Railroad

2021-09-23T09:40:18-04:00September 23rd, 2021|Heritage of Reading, History, Planes-Trains-Automobiles, Towns-Wards|Comments Off on The Heritage of Reading: 1813-1847: Canals, Heavy Industry, and the Railroad

The town of Reading was chartered as a borough by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1783, and granted a new Borough Charter in 1813, with the legal boundaries set beyond those of the original town plan. The northern and southern boundaries were still [...]

22 09, 2021

The Heritage of Reading: 1745 -1813: Original topography and the Town Plan

2021-09-22T11:56:27-04:00September 22nd, 2021|Books, Heritage of Reading, History|Comments Off on The Heritage of Reading: 1745 -1813: Original topography and the Town Plan

When Thomas Penn and his engineers were discussing the location and plan for the county seat of the proposed Berks County (1745-1748), the land east of the Schuylkill, west of Mount Penn and north of Mount Neversink was divided into large estates whose [...]

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