As early as 1806 Berks County was noted as a great manufacturing center. The assessors' lists of that year show there were 9 tilt hammers, 1 slitting mill, 8 furnaces and 20 forges in the iron industry. Among the other manufacturing plants were: [...]
Saint Michael Convent began as a “seminary for young ladies,” established and conducted by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The fifty acre hilltop tract and the building were the result of a pious bequest in the will of Henry Felix, [...]
When Woolworth's declared bankruptcy back in 1997, it marked the symbolic end of an era when beloved "five and dime" stores could be found in every big city and small town in America. Woolworth's, Kresge’s, Grant's, McCrory’s, and Green’s were all once a [...]
On September 20, 1884, F. W. Woolworth opened a store in Reading, PA at 530-534 Penn Street. The F. W. Woolworth Company (often referred to as Woolworth's or Woolworth) was a retail company and one of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime store. [...]
S.S. Kresge Co. was one of the largest and most successful retail chains of the 20th century. On August 7, 1920, Kresge opened a store in Reading, PA at 544 Penn Street occupying the former Reading Eagle building building at the southwest corner [...]
The southeast corner property at Sixth and Penn Streets, the sixty feet of former Outlot No. 20 of the original town plan of Reading was first conveyed to Conrad Weiser for his own business. Afterwards his decision was altered and he installed his [...]
The Woda Group Inc., an Ohio-based property development firm specializing in affordable housing design, construction and management the water corporate companies, has completed 57 apartments on South Second Street for seniors to provide them with affordable housing. Barley Square is located on the [...]
Douglas Development Corporation will repurpose the former Reading Station Outlet Center at 600 Spring Street by constructing 500 apartments over the next five years. Mayor Eddie Moran made the announcement, Friday, January 29, 2021 during the State of the City Address. Reading Station [...]
Oling, Tulpewihaci, Gokhosing, Machsithanne! Some foreign language? Not at all. These are native American Indian words which Berks County has adopted as place names. Oley, Tulpehocken, Cacoosing, and Maxatawny! To the Indian the first word meant: a place surrounded by hills; the second, [...]
The Skew Arch Bridge in Reading, PA, also known as the Askew Bridge and nicknamed the Soap and Whiskey Bridge, is a historical skew arch bridge completed in 1857 carrying two tracks of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (P&R) at an angle over [...]
