Category: 1900s
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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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Centre Park Historic District
Read more: Centre Park Historic DistrictSpring has sprung, everything is coming back to life and in my opinion it is the most wonderful time of year. I went to visit Centre Park Historic District to capture some of what I find to be the most beautiful residential architecture within the city limits. Some of the most prominent mansions on Centre…
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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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Witch’s Hat & Neversink Mountain Hotel
Read more: Witch’s Hat & Neversink Mountain HotelLike Mt. Penn, Neversink had its own railroad loop that started at South 9th street and wrapped all the way around the mountain to Klapperthal Junction. The other resorts on Neversink mountain were Centennial Springs Hotel, Glen Hotel, and the Highland house; which famously had the vertical rail known as “Ganser’s Incline” going from 13th…
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Bertrand H. Farr and his Dream Garden
Read more: Bertrand H. Farr and his Dream GardenForeward Roughly a year ago I was contacted by a man named George Edmonds. He wanted to talk to me about books he wrote revolving around his home town of Wyomissing. George was kind enough to share photos with me as well as send me a copy of one of those books, “Dream Gardener –…
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George Field
Read more: George FieldReading High’s First Home Field George Field is located at 1801 North 5t Street. The land for this field was purchased by Reading High School’s Athletic Association on May 28th, 1909. The field was dedicated officially three days later on May 31st, 1909. At this time the Boys and Girls High Schools were separate entities,…
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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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A.T.V. Bakery
Read more: A.T.V. BakeryTheir beginnings can be traced back over a century ago when Paolo Alberti came to America from Palermo, Sicily and opened “Alberti’s Bakery” in the early 1900s. In the beginning Alberti’s competed with two other local Sicilian bakers; Tomasi and Vecchio. Paolo’s son, Joe, decided to join forces with the rival bakers and in 1941,…
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The Trexler Mansion / Reading Elks Lodge 115
Read more: The Trexler Mansion / Reading Elks Lodge 115The mansion that sits at 5th and Franklin streets was built in 1869 by a man named Horatio Trexler. He used the home as a private residence for his family until his death on March 19, 1900 at 87 years of age. After his passing his two surviving children, daughters Mary Ann Eckert and Emma…
