Category: Culture

Tenth day of Christmas – Pomeroy’s was a staple in downtown Reading for years, but nothing was quite as special as Pomeroy’s at Christmas time.

Ninth day of Christmas – December 7th, 1947. Santa Claus has a line of little children at Pomeroy’s Department store. Robert Deturk tells Santa what he wants…December 1947…Sixth Floor of Pomeroy’s. It’s likely that some who glance upon this page will experience a deja vu moment, as untold numbers of Reading-area youngsters once stood on…

Below is an aerial photograph taken over the City of Reading after a snow fall in the 1950s.  

Seventh day of Christmas – Pomeroy’s Department store lights up the Reading Skyline with decorations in almost every window.

Sixth Day of Christmas – Light snowfall on a decorated Penn Street in the 1940s. Pictured is both Whitner’s and Pomeroy’s Department stores.

Fifth Day of Christmas – Looking west down toward 4th and Penn Street in the 1950s. Happy shoppers walk around downtown looking for the perfect Christmas gift. The American House building is on the left in the distance.

Fourth Day of Christmas – Whitner’s Department Store, pictured in 1972 in typical Christmas decor. Did you do your christmas shopping at Whitner’s?

Third Day of Christmas – 5th and Penn Street Christmas tree circa 1970s in front of Farmer’s National Bank building and the Colonial Trust Company building.

Happy December 1st! Over the course of the next 25 days, we are going to take a trip back in time to old Penn Street Christmas scenes. Check back every day now through Christmas to see a new picture. Fifth and Penn, the town Christmas tree lit up the center circle in town circa 1950s.