Category: architecture
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Mansion House Hotel – Penn Square
Read more: Mansion House Hotel – Penn SquareOn the southeast corner of 5th and Penn in Reading used to sit the Mansion House Hotel. Its foundation dated back to the late 1700s – the site of the first hotel ever constructed in the city. The Mansion House was once Reading’s largest and most well-known hotel. Many prominent leaders patronized the establishment, including…
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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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“Lizzie Lincoln” House – The Real Story
Read more: “Lizzie Lincoln” House – The Real StoryIf you ask anyone about the “Lizzie Lincoln House”, including the internet, you will get varying results; mostly the regurgitation of conjecture based on legends. I more than anyone love a good ghost story, but what is more important to me than all else is that there be truth behind it. I put in the…
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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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Metropolitan Edison Co. Signed Removed – On this day in 1953
Read more: Metropolitan Edison Co. Signed Removed – On this day in 1953This dismantling operation which eliminated a skymark in Reading attracted the attention of hundreds of pedestrians this morning. Workmen took down the 50 letters which spelled out Metropolitan Edison Co. in northerly and southerly directions for many years. This is the second time the letters were taken down. But this time it’s permanent. The letters…
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Mineral Springs Hotel
Read more: Mineral Springs HotelThe structure known as the Mineral Springs Hotel was built around 1815 as a “woolen factory” or a textile mill. That venture failed within the first three years. It was turned into a privately owned hotel, restaurant and resort in 1818 which it would remain for the better part of two centuries. The Reading Water…
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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 1700s 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…
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5th & Penn – 1962
Read more: 5th & Penn – 1962FLASHBACK FRIDAY: The traffic circle in the center of Reading as pictured in 1962; notice WEEU on the north side of the 400 block.