Category: Downtown
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The Astor Theatre
Read more: The Astor TheatreThe Astor Theatre was constructed at the cost of half a million dollars on the south side of the 700 block of Penn Street. It was built on the site of the Arcadia Theatre, which was Reading’s oldest theatre, and opened on October 3rd, 1928. The Astor’s stunning art deco interior finishes are emblematic of…
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Colonial Trust Company Building
Read more: Colonial Trust Company BuildingThe Colonial Trust Company was established in May 1900. It was formed by a handful of local capitalists including the likes of William McIlvain, John Barbey, Frank Lauer, E. W. Alexander, B. F. Owen, S.B. Keppel, Walter Rigg, and Howard Saylor. They opened for business officially in August 1900 and Louis F. Kraemer was the…
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The Berks County Trust Company
Read more: The Berks County Trust CompanyThe Berks County Trust Company was organized in October of 1900. The founding members accumulated a capitol stock of $125k. The company initially rented J.K. Grant’s new building at southeast corner of Sixth and Washington Streets to operate out of. The Berks County Trust Company was chartered on November 16th, 1900 and commenced operations in…
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Centennial 4th of July in the Reading Eagle
Read more: Centennial 4th of July in the Reading EagleThe July 4th, 1876 Reading Eagle ran a few interesting articles on its front page about Independence Day observations and celebrations. The first article was titled, “A Peep at Reading 100 Years Ago” which described the town at the time of our country’s founding. Reading was already nearly three decades old at the onset of…
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“Stoneman Willie”: A Search for the Truth
Read more: “Stoneman Willie”: A Search for the TruthHave you heard of the name Stoneman Willie? Have you lurked at the front entrance of Auman’s Funeral Home, working up the courage to ring the bell and ask for a peek? Are you a part of the exclusive club who have actually seen him? If you are or ever were local to Berks County,…
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The Grand Hotel Fire – On this Day 1953
Read more: The Grand Hotel Fire – On this Day 1953The Grand Hotel, on the northwest corner of Seventh and Franklin Streets, and the Weidner and Bucks magazine store on the right show no outward signs of a fire in which one man died, two others were sent to a hospital and $22,500 damage resulted early today. The fire was confined to the interior of…
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Pomeroy’s Proposed Expansion – On this Day 1957
Read more: Pomeroy’s Proposed Expansion – On this Day 1957An architect’s drawing of the proposed $1,500,000 expansion and modernization project at Pomeroy’s, Inc., is shown in the top photo, while below inside the outlined area, are the five buildings which will be razed and the diner, at 6th and Cherry streets, which will be moved to make way for the new construction. (Eagle Staff…
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Hurricane Agnes – Berks County’s Worst Natural Disaster
Read more: Hurricane Agnes – Berks County’s Worst Natural Disaster50 Years After Hurricane Agnes – Article originally published on June 22, 2017 Hurricane Agnes caused extreme damage to Berks County residences and businesses when it hit June, 22nd 1972. In Reading, the Schuylkill River crested to a record high of 31.3 feet. Hundreds of people were evacuated and over a hundred homes destroyed. By the…
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503 Penn Street
Read more: 503 Penn StreetThe building located at 503 Penn Street in its footprint dates back to the 1800s and has hosted numerous businesses over the proceeding centuries. In 2016 this building was purchased by Weidenhammer Systems Corp and redeveloped by Muhlenberg Greene Architects. In 1872 there was a fire which wiped out the entire north side 500 block…
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C.K. Whitner’s Department Store
Read more: C.K. Whitner’s Department StoreOn December 2nd 1980 management announced that the 103 year old C.K. Whitner’s Department store located on the 400 block of Penn Street would be shuttering permanently in January of 1981. Declining foot traffic downtown was cited as the reason why the business was no longer having success in that location. At this time Whitner’s…
