Category: Decades
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The Morgantown Hotel – a study in Preservation vs. Capitalism
Read more: The Morgantown Hotel – a study in Preservation vs. CapitalismOn May 7th I posted a “Then & Now” of the Morgantown Hotel to my facebook page. Unbeknownst to me it seems that even though its been 16 years since the Morgantown Hotel was razed to make way for a Rite Aid, the feelings of negativity that surrounded losing an integral piece of the town’s…
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D. S. & W. Hosiery Mill / The Great Factory Store
Read more: D. S. & W. Hosiery Mill / The Great Factory StoreD. S. & W. Hosiery Company filed a charter of incorporation in June of 1917. The three men who founded it – Daniel J. Driscoll, William W. Staudt, and George S. Weinerth, had extensive experience in the textile industry by the time they partnered together. In the charter the shares of the company were split;…
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Speicher’s Bridge and the Reroute of Church Road
Read more: Speicher’s Bridge and the Reroute of Church RoadThis is another installment in the “Before Blue Marsh” series, where I explore the remains of various properties that were razed in the 1970s to make way for the Blue Marsh Lake Project. See more here. Speicher’s Bridge was constructed in 1878, spanning the Tulpehocken Creek along Church Road connecting the townships of Penn and North…
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Astor Theatre – 732 Penn Street, Reading
Read more: Astor Theatre – 732 Penn Street, ReadingThe Astor Theatre was constructed at the cost of half a million dollars on the south side of the 700 block of Penn Street. It was built on the site of the Arcadia Theatre, which was Reading’s oldest theatre, and opened on October 3rd, 1928. The Astor’s stunning art deco interior finishes are emblematic of…
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Skinner Farm – Lamb’s Pasture
Read more: Skinner Farm – Lamb’s PastureThis is another installment in the “Before Blue Marsh” series, where I explore the remains of various properties that were razed in the 1970s to make way for the Blue Marsh Lake Project. See more here. At the beginning of “Skinner’s Loop” trail which leads to Fox Lake, you will find the remains of the Skinner…
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Lamm’s Mill & Farm
Read more: Lamm’s Mill & FarmThis is another installment in the “Before Blue Marsh” series, where I explore the remains of various properties that were razed in the 1970s to make way for the Blue Marsh Lake Project. See more here. Lamm’s Mill was a three and a half story limestone masonry grist and saw mill which was built in 1844…
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Staudt’s Justa Road Farm
Read more: Staudt’s Justa Road FarmThis is another installment in the “Before Blue Marsh” series, where I explore the remains of various properties that were razed in the 1970s to make way for the Blue Marsh Lake Project. See more here. At the end of Justa Road in Lower Heidelberg Township stood a farm that surprisingly stayed in one family for…
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The Berks Bingo Ban of 1938
Read more: The Berks Bingo Ban of 1938The game Bingo dates back to sixteenth century Italy, but only reached North America in 1929. By the mid-30s it had taken the country, particularly women, by storm. In the year 1936 the the word “bingo” appears more frequently in the Reading Times than all 79 years worth of editions published before it. Everyone was…
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Himmelberger Homestead to Tani Kennels
Read more: Himmelberger Homestead to Tani KennelsThis is another installment in the “Before Blue Marsh” series, where I explore the remains of various properties that were razed in the 1970s to make way for the Blue Marsh Lake Project. See more here. My trekking has taken me to the remains of a farm that once sat at the end of Tulpehocken…
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John Philip Sousa Dies at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel – On this day 1932
Read more: John Philip Sousa Dies at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel – On this day 1932On Saturday, March 5th, 1932 John Philip Sousa was in Reading, Pennsylvania to guest-conduct the Ringgold Band in celebration of their 80th anniversary. The concert was scheduled for Sunday, March 6th at 3:30pm at the Park Theatre. On Saturday evening a dinner was held at the Wyomissing Club in his honor, and it was noted…
