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EDIT: This was an April Fools joke – please do not take it seriously… Berkshire Mall owners have announced plans for the redevelopment of most of the mall into mixed use apartment living and a Migrant Welcoming Center. In the developers proposal, the apartments will…
The 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.…
This is another installment in the “Before Blue Marsh” series, where I explore the remains of various properties that were razed in the 1970s to make way for the Blue Marsh Lake Project. See more here. At the beginning of “Skinner’s Loop” trail which leads to…
This is another installment in the “Before Blue Marsh” series, where I explore the remains of various properties that were razed in the 1970s to make way for the Blue Marsh Lake Project. See more here. Lamm’s Mill was a three and a half story limestone…
It is Reading’s Saint Patrick’s Day tradition that dates back to a pact made between two men, Tom Hannahoe and Alvah Schaeffer, in 1893 at an Irish bar called The Stars and Stripes Saloon on South 11th Street. Nearly 130 years later this midnight tradition…
This is another installment in the “Before Blue Marsh” series, where I explore the remains of various properties that were razed in the 1970s to make way for the Blue Marsh Lake Project. See more here. At the end of Justa Road in Lower Heidelberg Township…
The game Bingo dates back to sixteenth century Italy, but only reached North America in 1929. By the mid-30s it had taken the country, particularly women, by storm. In the year 1936 the the word “bingo” appears more frequently in the Reading Times than all…
This is another installment in the “Before Blue Marsh” series, where I explore the remains of various properties that were razed in the 1970s to make way for the Blue Marsh Lake Project. See more here. My trekking has taken me to the remains of…
On Saturday, March 5th, 1932 John Philip Sousa was in Reading, Pennsylvania to guest-conduct the Ringgold Band in celebration of their 80th anniversary. The concert was scheduled for Sunday, March 6th at 3:30pm at the Park Theatre. On Saturday evening a dinner was held at…
Before Blue Marsh there was Fox Lake Before Blue Marsh Lake was even a thought, Fox Lake was a small man-made lake along the Spring Creek right before it merged with the Tulpehocken Creek in North Heidelberg Township. It was a popular summer destination in…