In the woodlands south of Reading, Pennsylvania, the landscape around French Creek tells two quintessentially American stories. One is the 18th–19th-century tale of Hopewell Furnace—an industrial community of ironmasters, colliers, founders, and teamsters who helped forge a young nation. The other is the [...]
P. F. Eisenbrown & Sons traces its roots to the Eagle Marble & Granite Works in Reading’s 300 block of North Sixth Street, founded in 1873 by Penrose Frederick (“P. F.”) Eisenbrown (1831–1898), the grandson of a German immigrant. Trained in wood-carving by [...]
At the corner of Fourth and Washington Streets in Reading, Pennsylvania, stands a site that embodies over 260 years of transformation. From a humble Quaker log meetinghouse to a Revolutionary War hospital, from a state-of-the-art 1920s skyscraper to a collection of high-end apartment [...]
Mount Penn Dedicates Memorial Clock to Honor War Heroes On the evening of July 18, 1949, the borough of Mount Penn solemnly dedicated its war memorial—a bronze-cased clock atop a towering limestone pylon—in tribute to the men and women who served in the [...]
The corner of 23rd Street and Perkiomen Avenue in Mount Penn has long been a focal point of community life, with a layered history stretching back more than two centuries. One of the earliest known structures at the site was the White Bear [...]
Located along the Allentown Pike in Ontelaunee Township, six miles north of Reading, the Six Mile House was more than just a tavern—it was a fixture of local travel and hospitality that stood for nearly two centuries. Constructed in the early 1770s, the [...]
The history of the Three-Mile House and the adjacent Reading Driving Park is a richly layered narrative that traces Berks County’s transformation from colonial frontier to early automotive experimentation. Built in 1761 by George Riehm, the Three-Mile House was originally a two-story sandstone [...]
Demolition is set to begin today on the city-owned building at 431 Penn Street, marking another chapter in Reading’s ongoing struggle with historic preservation and municipal mismanagement. Once a symbol of architectural grandeur, the structure—particularly its Beaux-Arts façade—has been left to decay under [...]
In the heart of Reading, Pennsylvania, the Astor Theater once stood as a beacon of architectural grandeur and cultural significance. Though the theater met its unfortunate demise years ago, pieces of its storied past have found their way into unexpected places, telling the [...]
The building at 431 Penn Street in Reading, PA, holds a rich history as part of the city's central business district. The façade of the building originally comes from the Reading News building, which was located at 22-24 North Fifth Street. The Reading [...]
