Electric lines came early in Berks, the East Reading Electric Railway enjoying the distinction of being one of the oldest electric lines east of the Mississippi, and dating from 1888, the year of Frank Sprague’s successful electrification of the Richmond, Virginia Street Railway [...]
In 1886, the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (P&R) decided to provide a safe pedestrian route across its main line and yard tracks east of the Outer Station in Reading. With the closest underpass located two blocks north of the station, pedestrians coming from [...]
Few shoppers at the former Madeira Shopping Plaza, the commercial strip that extends from the former K-mart to the Redner's Warehouse Market, opposite today's Fairgrounds Mall, would guess that the land once was home to a farm and airfield. The Madeira family had [...]
On Thursday July 9, 1914 an enthusiastic crowd of spectators gathered at Carsonia Park to witness two beautiful flights in a large, high-powered Wright biplane from the level lawn near the lake in Carsonia Park. Carsonia Park operated in Lower Alsace Township from [...]
Whander Field was an airport located in the field across Route 73 from the Schuylkill Valley High School. Whander field was developed as a true community project without any Federal or State subsidy. It was quite modest by today's standards. It was little [...]
On Tuesday afternoon, June 30, 1981, commuters gathered at the Franklin Street Station to board one of the last trains making a run from Pottsville through Reading to Philadelphia waited patiently for the diesel to arrive. The trip would be their last on [...]
At the turn of the 20th century there were few means of travel. Of course, there was the horse and carriage, which was fine, if the city dweller had one. There were some foolish people, too, who were making use of that new-fangled [...]
The first air show at Reading, PA was held during dedication ceremonies for the newly built municipal airport in 1939. As early as 1934 the site for the Reading Municipal Airport was selected. The land in Bern Township was acquired by purchases made [...]
Decades ago, Reading was a mighty manufacturing town where the Reading Railroad — once the world's largest company, now a spot on the Monopoly board — built a 19th-century transportation empire, and factories produced everything from hats to hardware. At one time, the [...]
