The Penn Square traffic circle has a long and troubled history. It was originally installed in May 1934 by Police Commissioner John S. Giles during the administration of Mayor Heber Ermentrout. Its purpose was to slow down converging traffic. Sometimes the traffic was [...]
In 1871 the West Reading Market House was erected on the south side of Penn below Fourth Street, extending in the rear to Cherry Street. The directors of the Market House Company, headed by John Kissinger, president, and George M. Ermentrout, secretary and [...]
In 1910, Theodore Auman, J. George Kuersten, J. George Rick and Frank D. Hill built the "Lyric" theatre at 808-810 Penn Street. The theatre, seating 950, opened October 3, 1910, with a vaudeville policy, but after two years it presented a combination of [...]
The small theatre, which once stood at 819 Penn Street, had various names over the years, including the Crescent, the Princess, and even the Arcadia for a short time after the original Arcadia theatre in the 700 block of Penn Street was replaced [...]
The Temple Inn was erected in 1928 by Morris Sassaman as Penn Temple Hotel at the intersection of Kutztown Road and Fifth Street Highway. It had 25 rooms and two banquet halls. Sassaman sold the facility in 1936. A bar, which operated on [...]
Rising 19 stories or 275 ft., the county courthouse is the tallest building in Reading. The courthouse, located at the northeast corner of Sixth and Court Streets, was the only skyscraper and art-deco style temple of justice in the United States when it [...]
On October 19, 1778 Mr. Hall sold the property located at the Southeast Corner of 5th & Penn Streets to Mark Bird. Mark Bird, of Birdsboro, conveyed the property to John Bishop, of Exeter. Mr. Bishop by will dated February 20, 1812, devised [...]
Green Spot soft drink was first created in Claremont, California in 1934. The first product was the unique tasty Orangeade, which caught on very quickly. Following the success of Orangeade, additional flavors like Grape, Fruit Punch and Lemonade were soon introduced. The brand [...]
Few persons know why Hampden in Northeast Reading was once known by the name of Helltown. About 200 years ago a man named John Hell came with his family to that place, and, as far as can be ascertained, he was the [...]
Authorization for the erection of a comfort station at the southwest corner of 5th and Penn Streets was asked from council by Councilman Yeager on June 15, 1921. Construction of the 5th and Penn comfort station began on July 26, 1921. The contract [...]
