The earliest years of the Reading Fair were held at City Park and then a plot on North 11th street. During the early 1910s the Berks County Agricultural Society was tired of leasing the land at North 11th Street and wanted a more permanent location they could call their own.
On April 3rd, 1914 it was announced in the Reading Times that they had narrowed it down to three locations – West Wyomissing, Cumru Township and North 11th Street.… Read Full Article
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 – Pioneer Nurseryman Bertrand H. Farr” to review for Berks Nostalgia.… Read Full Article
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, and only the boys competed in sports at this location.… Read Full Article
The 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 of Penn Street. The fire originated in the Stichter’s Hardware Store building next door.… Read Full Article
On April 10, 1910 a meeting was held in the Borough Hall building at the corner on Penn Avenue and Wyomissing Boulevard. Various speakers spoke about the need for a public recreation area, and it was decided officials would be elected to form a a committee to organize a playground association.… Read Full Article