On the west side of the Schuylkill River above the Bingaman Street Bridge sits an island with a narrow channel separating it from the shore that has been lost to the test of time. The little island near the foot of Bingaman St., [...]
I was fortunate enough to grow up in the city of Reading before it lost its small town feel to the outside world. I was born in 1968 so I was able to experience the good throughout the 70s and 80s before Reading [...]
City fathers 99 years ago were screaming about the double parkers on Penn Street, and citing a city parking ordinance prohibiting the parking of a vehicle in front of any hotel, hospital, church or public building. In 1922, most of the shoppers came [...]
The tradition of the fire truck parade on Penn Street dates back to the turn of the 20th century. It is not known exactly when these parades began on a regular basis. However, they may have started with the tradition of driving a [...]
On November 16, 1974, a man walking along a fire trail in Reading's Egelman Park discovered the body of Steven Warunek. Warunek had been found shot to death with a gaping wound on the left side of his face. On November 18, police [...]
On May 25, 1996, a three alarm arson fire, out of control for more than four hours, destroyed the former Great Factory Store in the 1100 block of Moss Street. The building was vacant since July 1985. The 2nd largest fire in the [...]
In July of 1870, workers began to erect a building at 135 North Sixth Street which was to contain a market house and Masonic Temple. However, the panic of 1873 - 74 prevented completion so the property was sold by the sheriff to [...]
The Crystal Restaurant was once one of Reading’s most popular dining establishments. It was an institution, a landmark, the definitive meeting and eating place in downtown Reading for 70 years, filled with memories and meaning. Founded in 1911 by Constantine Mantis, the Crystal [...]
The city adopted its flag in 1898. The flag as it is today was executed by Bailey, Banks & Biddle, of Philadelphia, and was adopted by Councils as the official standard of the city. The flag consists of three vertical stripes, red, white [...]
The celebration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America by the Catholic of this city took place on October 12, 1892. A number of private and business houses were decorated with flags and streamers. St. Paul’s church, pastoral residence, school building [...]
