On April 11, 1882 a contract for constructing the Hampden Reservoir was awarded to Nolan & Bros. for the sum of $87,650. Work began on the 15th of April, 1882 and during that time there were, numerous workmen employed. One hundred and fifty [...]
The old iron bridge which connected Wyomissing and West Lawn was built in 1925. Below: Photos showing the iron bridge which was under construction at the time. Below: 1960 Map showing location of old iron bridge. The bridge had three [...]
The property at 730 Centre Avenue, known as the Wilhelm Mansion, consists of two buildings, the mansion and the carriage house on 0.63 acres of landscaped setting on one of Reading's most attractive and prestigious boulevards. The mansion is a three-story Gothic Revival [...]
John Philip Sousa (November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to distinguish him from [...]
The Reading Railroad massacre of July 23, 1877, in which ten people lost their lives, was the climax of local events in Reading, Pennsylvania during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, from which the Reading Railroad was born, [...]
From 1770 to 1847 the Berks County jail was located at the northeast corner of the Fifth and Washington Streets. This jail was an old two-story stone building erected in 1770. The jail lot, 230 feet by 61 feet, 4 inches, included a [...]
Count Berthold von Imhoff was a famous painter of religious art works. He was born Jan. 14, 1868, in Karlsruhe, Germany. At age 12, he started studying at various European art schools including Oberwinter, Halle-an-der-Halle, and the art institute at Karlsruhe, Baden. In [...]
In 1823, George Lauer, father of Frederick Lauer, started in the business of manufacturing beer in limited quantities in Womelsdorf. Three years later, in 1826, the Lauer family relocated to Reading, where a small brewery was established on Chestnut street near Third, on [...]
In 1891, George Frederick Lauer, chairman of the Lauer Brewing Co., erected an elegant mansion which fronted on South Third, at Chestnut. Below: The Fredrick Lauer Mansion, 1897. In April, 1894, a Reading Times newspaper reporter gave this description of the mansion: [...]
Ferdinand Winter, who for many years was a well-known business man of Reading, and a member of the leather manufacturing firm of Winter & Goetz, retired to his home at 900 Centre Avenue. Below: Ferdinand Winter Residence, 900 Centre Avenue, as it [...]
