Andrew Carnegie was once the richest man in the world. Coming as a dirt poor kid from Scotland to the U.S., by the 1880s he'd built an empire in steel - and then gave it all away: $60 million to fund a system [...]
The Penn Square Pedestrian Mall was originally a component of a much larger urban renewal plan. Sasaki Associates' Downtown East Urban Renewal Plan of 1971 proposed an enclosed shopping mall in downtown Reading to compete with shopping malls being built in the suburbs. [...]
Reading City Hall, located at the northeast corner of 8th and Washington Streets, was formally dedicated on July 10, 1929. The new City Hall replaced the old one at Fifth and Franklin Streets, which for many years was known to be inadequate for [...]
On April 11, 1882 a contract for constructing the Hampden Reservoir was awarded to Nolan & Bros. for the sum of $87,650. Work began on the 15th of April, 1882 and during that time there were, numerous workmen employed. One hundred and fifty [...]
The property at 730 Centre Avenue, known as the Wilhelm Mansion, consists of two buildings, the mansion and the carriage house on 0.63 acres of landscaped setting on one of Reading's most attractive and prestigious boulevards. The mansion is a three-story Gothic Revival [...]
From 1770 to 1847 the Berks County jail was located at the northeast corner of the Fifth and Washington Streets. This jail was an old two-story stone building erected in 1770. The jail lot, 230 feet by 61 feet, 4 inches, included a [...]
In 1823, George Lauer, father of Frederick Lauer, started in the business of manufacturing beer in limited quantities in Womelsdorf. Three years later, in 1826, the Lauer family relocated to Reading, where a small brewery was established on Chestnut street near Third, on [...]
In 1891, George Frederick Lauer, chairman of the Lauer Brewing Co., erected an elegant mansion which fronted on South Third, at Chestnut. Below: The Fredrick Lauer Mansion, 1897. In April, 1894, a Reading Times newspaper reporter gave this description of the mansion: [...]
The Penn View Motel, located on the block between 2nd and 3rd Streets on Penn Avenue in West Reading, was part of a chain of nine motels called Host Ways Motel. This highly recognizable landmark was clearly visible from the West-Shore By-Pass and [...]
Located at the Southwest corner of 4th and Cherry Streets in Reading are three distinct restaurants. Judy's on Cherry offers Mediterranean-inspired fine dining in a beautifully renovated farmer's market. The Speckled Hen Cottage Pub & Alehouse, is located in an authentically restored 18th [...]
