One of the most productive residents of the City of Reading during its period of major growth had absolutely nothing to do with business, commerce, or the trades. He was Monsignor George Bornemann, and he served as pastor of St. Paul’s Roman Catholic [...]
In 1970, M.O. Lee, then-president of VF Corp., introduced the outlet concept. But it was Kitty Solomon who helped spawn the outlet industry. Under the leadership of Kitty Solomon, the Berks County Pennsylvania Dutch Travel Association turned to tourism to increase area earnings. [...]
On Dec. 15, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held for a new A-Plus convenience store at the corner of Fourth and Washington Streets. The 3,500 square-foot store, which sits across the courtyard of the Washington Tower apartment building's lobby, features typical products, such as [...]
In 1890, observing that the braiding industry had rapidly developed in the United States during the last 20 years of the 19"' century, Ferdinand Thun and Henry Janssen rented a suitable brick building, at 222 Cedar Street, Reading for a modest $40.00 [...]
The remodeling and retrofitting of the former CNA building at 401 Penn Street in downtown Reading has started. Alvernia University finalized the purchase of the building on June 30, 2020. Below: CNA building at 401 Penn Street in downtown Reading. Click images to [...]
The Madison Building at 400 Washington Street was sold for $2,500,000. Developer David Hasenfeld, owner of Madison 2020 LLC, New Castle, Delaware, has an adaptive reuse plan to create 85 high-end apartment units with both one and two-bedroom floor plans. [...]
The Rainbow District of the city had a rather inauspicious start, though it later grew to house the seats of city government and education, and many major industries. The area got its name from the Rainbow Fire Co. which was formed on March [...]
Pappy's Pizza was a restaurant chain based out of Newark, Delaware...the territory ran from Ohio to Delaware and Allentown to Maryland. The chain was owned by a man and his two sons; one of the son's names was Mark Balick. Pappy's Pizza in [...]
In 1914, the youth group of First Baptist Church, Reading, began the annual Easter Dawn Service on top of Mount Penn, Reading. Below: Easter Dawn Service at the Reading Pagoda, 1914. The first service was held at the Pagoda, drawing several hundred people [...]
Coronavirus kept Santa from making his traditional appearance in the Reading Holiday Parade this year, but they made up for on Friday by touring the city in a fire truck. Santa Claus visited neighborhoods on Friday, December 18, 2020, in a caravan by [...]
