Reading, Pennsylvania: Pretzel Capital of the World
If you grew up in Berks County, you’ve probably heard it your whole life: Reading is the Pretzel Capital [...]
The Hampden Haunting: Chief Dell’s Ghost and the Firehouse-Turned-Apartments at 11th and Greenwich in Reading, PA
At 11th and Greenwich Streets in Reading, Pennsylvania, there’s a brick building most people today recognize as an apartment [...]
The Van Reed Story: Men, Mills, a Covered Bridge — and a River Set Free
When I was about eleven, my brother and I roamed our northeast Reading neighborhood collecting newspapers for recycling. We [...]
Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, PA: From Farmland to Retail Landmark
The site that would eventually become Berkshire Mall spent much of its existence as productive farmland, woven into the [...]
The Berkshire Mall’s Glass Elevator: A Vertical Memory Through 55 Years
When the Berkshire Mall opened on February 10, 1970, it debuted a multi-level anchor lineup—Sears, Lit Brothers, and John [...]
Berkshire Mall’s Final Chapter: From Fenced-Off Ruin to Open-Air Revival
Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing sits at an inflection point after a turbulent 2024–2025. By late 2024 the borough, responding [...]
Allentown Diocese fills Mary’s Shrine for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
On October 7, 2025—the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary—the Diocese of Allentown traveled to Washington, D.C., for [...]
Cathedral Heights: The Grand Plan That Reshaped North Reading—Just Not as Intended
In late 1925, a quiet real-estate transaction set the stage for one of Reading’s most ambitious—yet ultimately transformed—urban visions. [...]
Thorn Alley debuts at GoggleWorks
GoggleWorks Center for the Arts cut the ribbon on Thorn Alley, a new open-air performance stage tucked inside the [...]
From Kemp’s Woods to Kutztown Park: A Full, Living History
At the turn of the twentieth century, the tract locals knew as Kemp’s Grove (also Kemp’s Woods) was the [...]
Screpesi’s Sandwich Shop: A Reading Tradition Since 1949
Screpesi’s Sandwich Shop in Reading, Pennsylvania—founded in August 1949 by Joseph and Stella Screpesi—has delighted locals for over seventy-five years [...]
Mary’s Dog House: A Local Legend on St. Lawrence Avenue
There are certain places that, though gone, remain etched in memory—not for their architecture or their menus alone, but [...]
Did You Boscov Today? — How a Catchphrase Turned a Slow Month into a Shopping Phenomenon
Few retail promotions have ever captured the public imagination like Boscov’s famous April tradition: “Did You Boscov Today?” What [...]
The Man Who Made Shopping Fun: The Life and Legacy of Albert Boscov
On February 10, 2017, Albert Boscov left this world as he had lived in it—sharing love. His final words [...]
Reading, Pennsylvania: The City That Nullified the Dry Law
In 1929, at the height of Prohibition, Reading, Pennsylvania was pictured as a city where the Volstead Act was [...]
Speakeasies to Supermoms: A Stumble Through Berks County’s 20th Century
Alright folks, buckle up your Locomobile steamers and put your quarters in the gas meter, because we're taking a [...]
Prohibition in Reading and Berks County: A City Awash with Beer, Bribes, and Bootleggers
Few American towns captured the contradictions of Prohibition as vividly as Reading, Pennsylvania. Between the dawn of the Volstead [...]
From Iron Plantation to Scout Paradise to State Park: The Story of Hopewell Furnace and Camp Hopewell
In the woodlands south of Reading, Pennsylvania, the landscape around French Creek tells two quintessentially American stories. One is [...]
Hawk Mountain Council History: 1908 to the Present Day
Hawk Mountain Council, BSA—serving Berks and Schuylkill counties and the Panther Valley region of Carbon County—stands as a local [...]
Pizza Italia: A Cornerstone of North 14th Street Since 1973
Pizza Italia at 1528 North 14th Street has anchored its block for more than half a century, the kind [...]
Reading Roller Derby to Host First-Ever Music Festival: RDG Jam Fest 2025
Reading Roller Derby is turning up the volume this fall with their first-ever music festival, set for Sunday, September [...]