Reading’s Christmas Balloon Parade – On this day in 1953

On this day, November 21st, 1953, over 50,000 gathered to watch the first ever Christmas balloon parade make its way down Penn Street in Reading. Public transportation was swamped, and it was reported that adults and children walked from as far as Wyomissing to see the spectacle.

Reading's Christmas Balloon Parade
Reading's Christmas Balloon Parade

The upper photo shows what City Park looked like prior to the Christmas balloon parade this morning.Read Full Article

Warren Street Bypass | 1959 and Today

Before the Reading Motor Inn, or Berkshire Mall, there was sprawling farmland and a highway system that was still being integrated into the rural roads of Spring Township. On this day in 1959 the Warren Street Bypass reopened after the construction depicted below closed the roadway for an extended period.

Warren Street Bypass
As it appeared in 1959, photo Edward G. Schneider (Eagle Staff Photo)

The bridge branching off from the bypass at the left is the northern extension of the Reading Bypass at the point where it crosses the Tulpehocken Creek and joins the Warren Street Bypass.Read Full Article

Ronco’s Pharmacy

Ronco's Pharmacy
Penn Avenue location in West Lawn in 1975

Michael Ronco, RPh first opened his pharmacy in June of 1956. The original pharmacy was located at the corner of Dwight Street and Cleveland Avenue in West Lawn. In 1967, the pharmacy moved to 3311 Penn Avenue in West Lawn, where it remained for nearly half a century.

Michael retired from his pharmacy business in 2014, and passed away in 2015.… Read Full Article

A.T.V. Bakery

ATV Bakery
ATV Bakery pictured in 1956

Their 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, ATV Bakery was born.… Read Full Article

Berks Nostalgia