Category: Decades
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Penn Square Reading
Read more: Penn Square ReadingIf you hear someone refer to Penn Square in Reading, they are speaking of the 400 and 500 blocks of Penn Street with the center being 5th Street. It marks the center of downtown Reading, which used to be adorned with shops on both sides of the street. Below downtown Reading is pictured in the…
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Seafood Shanty
Read more: Seafood ShantyThe Seafood Shanty was a popular restaurant in Berks County for 23 years. It was technically a chain, with other locations being around the greater Philadelphia area and into New Jersey. The first location in Berks was opened in Exeter township on Perkiomen Avenue. The second location was opened on Penn Avenue in West Lawn.…
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Perkiomen Avenue – 1978
Read more: Perkiomen Avenue – 1978Flash back to Perkiomen Avenue in 1978. Apparently this was an area prone to accidents. Popular places of the past pictured are King Hamburgers, Fecera’s Furnture, Sweet William Restaurant and Pathmark. Drivers Beware – Uncontrolled intersection, confusing entrances and exits, and the lack of a median strip make this five-mile stretch of the Philadelphia Pike…
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Kmart – 45 Years in Berks
Read more: Kmart – 45 Years in BerksKmart has been a staple nationwide big box store since the 60s. The company, originally called S. S. Kresge Corporation, dates back to 1899. It wasn’t until 1974 when it broke into the Berks County market, opening a store at the 94,500-square-foot Cumru Township location in Shillington Plaza. According to the Reading Eagle, it featured…
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Embassy Theatre
Read more: Embassy TheatreBuilt on the site of the Empire Theatre. The Embassy Theatre in Reading, PA opened April 4, 1931, with the movie “Stolen Heaven” starring Nancy Carroll. It was owned by Wilmer and Vincent Corp. The Embassy Theatre was designed by Philadelphia architect William H. Lee with his associates Armand de Cortieux Carroll and Charles E.…
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Hugo’s Club
Read more: Hugo’s ClubHugo’s was a dance club and bar, incorporated on August 17th, 1972. It was located in Muhlenberg, specifically Laureldale, at the location of the current Alebrije Mexican Restaurant in Plaza 222. Hugo’s was owned by Leonard Kochen, who also owned Grammy’s Restaurant in Reading. It was originally called Disco Hugo’s, but eventually dropped the “Disco”…
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Route 222 Expansion
Read more: Route 222 ExpansionMany businesses along the Lancaster Pike were taken by eminent domain by the state in the early 2000s, when PennDot was making the final connection of 222 from 422 south toward Lancaster. Owners of businesses and homes that impeded the construction of the highway were offered compensation for their properties, though generally in situations like…
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4th of July Through the Decades
Read more: 4th of July Through the Decades1957 West Reading’s Fourth of July celebration yesterday was a double event. Besides celebrating the holiday the citizens and various organizations in the borough joined in a program in observation of the borough’s 50th anniversary. A spectacular feature of the day was the parade which was held in the morning. Shown above is one of…
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Sno-Kist
Read more: Sno-KistSno-Kist was a beloved summer ice-cream place that was located along route 222, just south of Shillington. It was directly across the street from an Adult Video store called the RT. 222 News Outlet and was just north of Simotas Dairy Bar. The building had been an ice cream stand since the 1950s, always called…
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Penn View Motel
Read more: Penn View MotelThe Penn View Motel was part of a chain of nine establishments called Host Ways Motels. It was built in 1965, and along with the other 8 locations boasted the mid-century modern pyramid. It was located on the block between 2nd and 3rd Streets on Penn Avenue in West Reading. The striking blue pyramid would become a landmark of…
