20 02, 2022

Don’t Give Up on Reading

2022-02-20T11:45:34-04:00February 20th, 2022|Community, Culture, Heritage of Reading|Comments Off on Don’t Give Up on Reading

By MaryBeth. Thank you for creating GoReadingBerks, one of my go-to websites when I need a dose of hometown nostalgia. Like you, I have fond memories of growing up in Reading. My memories include: being eye level with cases full of Pennsylvania Dutch [...]

12 02, 2022

The 400 Block of Penn Street

2022-02-12T06:12:31-04:00February 12th, 2022|Businesses-Industry, Culture, Department Stores|Comments Off on The 400 Block of Penn Street

Everything could be bought in that 400 block, from food to a diamond, from tires to a clock. Below: 400 block of Penn Street. North Side. First there was Kins for fine ladies to shop, and Pep Boys and Charles Auto Took good [...]

9 02, 2022

Reading, PA, The Good Times and the Bad

2022-02-10T16:45:55-04:00February 9th, 2022|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Reading, PA, The Good Times and the Bad

I was fortunate enough to grow up in the city of Reading before it lost its small town feel to the outside world. I was born in 1968 so I was able to experience the good throughout the 70s and 80s before Reading [...]

28 01, 2022

Wincanton and its citizens fare badly in report

2023-05-25T06:26:32-04:00January 28th, 2022|Crime|Comments Off on Wincanton and its citizens fare badly in report

In 1967, "The Wincanton Report,” a federally funded study, was published about corruption and organized crime in a small city. Wincanton, a fictional name chosen to protect innocent people, was later disclosed to be Reading, Pa., a city that for 30 years was [...]

24 12, 2021

Christmas was Different here 100 years ago

2022-11-21T10:07:08-04:00December 24th, 2021|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Christmas was Different here 100 years ago

City fathers 100 years ago were screaming about the double parkers on Penn Street, and citing a city parking ordinance prohibiting the parking of a vehicle in front of any hotel, hospital, church or public building. In 1922, most of the shoppers came [...]

10 10, 2021

Changing Demographics and Revitalization

2021-10-10T12:09:40-04:00October 10th, 2021|Businesses-Industry, History|Comments Off on Changing Demographics and Revitalization

By 2045, the U.S. will be a majority minority nation. During that year, whites will comprise 49.7 percent of the population in contrast to 24.6 percent for Hispanics, 13.1 percent for blacks, 7.9 percent for Asians, and 3.8 percent for multiracial populations. This [...]

24 09, 2021

The Heritage of Reading: 1910-1940: New Annexations; the Automobile; the Suburbs; the Great Depression

2021-09-24T13:02:36-04:00September 24th, 2021|Heritage of Reading, History, Towns-Wards|Comments Off on The Heritage of Reading: 1910-1940: New Annexations; the Automobile; the Suburbs; the Great Depression

By 1910 it was clear to Reading’s leaders that the biggest progress was quickly moving beyond the City limits. A few new suburban industries were already finding their locations an asset. Lower land prices were attractive, there were fewer restrictions on developable land, [...]

24 09, 2021

The Heritage of Reading: 1874-1910: The Height of Progress, Trollies, and the First Suburbs

2021-09-24T08:53:41-04:00September 24th, 2021|Heritage of Reading, History, Towns-Wards|Comments Off on The Heritage of Reading: 1874-1910: The Height of Progress, Trollies, and the First Suburbs

Between the year in which Reading became a Third Class City and the year in which Reading’s prosperity is said to have reached its peak, the City underwent some major physical changes as it saw the years of its greatest progress. The underlying [...]

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