Category: Decades
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Blockbuster Video Berks
Read more: Blockbuster Video BerksThere were once four Blockbuster Video locations in Berks County, one being the above on Route 724/Lancaster Pike in Shillington. The others were at 4860 Penn Ave in Sinking Spring near Redner’s Market, 3262 N 5th Street Highway in Muhlenberg Shopping Plaza, and 3985 Perkiomen Avenue in Mt. Penn/Exeter. Blockbuster, was an American-based provider of home…
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Kurtz’s Drug Store – Penn Ave – Sinking Spring
Read more: Kurtz’s Drug Store – Penn Ave – Sinking SpringAlmost a year ago I did a then and now post on the Stitzer Apartments, located at the corner Penn Ave & Woodrow Ave. The building still exists and looks almost exactly the same, yet many stores have come and gone since the photo above was taken. Many seemed to remember Kurtz’s Drug Store/Pharmacy back…
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Queen of the Valley Diner
Read more: Queen of the Valley DinerThe Queen of the Valley Diner was opened in 1954 at 1730 Penn Avenue in Wyomissing Hills, and sat just down from the old Iron Bridge that crossed the railroad. It was opened and first operated by a man named Clyde F. Snyder. Later it was bought by Charles and Gloria Schwambach. The Schwambach’s later…
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KidSports
Read more: KidSportsThis one is near and dear to my own heart, as I grew up going to KidSports. It was located along Penn Avenue, connected to the old Boscov’s West Department Store building. Before Kid Sports, it was an Acme and/or IGA Grocery store for many decades. According to this Washington Post article, KidSports was the…
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Inside B. & J. Saylor Food, 401 Penn Street
Read more: Inside B. & J. Saylor Food, 401 Penn StreetA few weeks ago I posted about 4th & Penn before it was demolished to make way for the then new CNA building. There was a great shot of the old B. & J. Saylor Food Store, which was a hot spot to get fresh produce and other foods. Above you can see an old…
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Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium
Read more: Reading Municipal Memorial StadiumMunicipal Stadium hosted it’s first baseball game in 1951. On March 28, 1945, Reading City Council voted unanimously to purchase 27 acres of ground known as Cathedral Heights at a cost of $64,491 for the purpose of building a municipal stadium. In 1947 the grading of the land began and by 1949 the initial stages…
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Shillington Shopping Center
Read more: Shillington Shopping CenterThe Shillington Shopping Center has been around for many decades. It is located along Lancaster Avenue in Shillington. Pictured below is the Food Fair and W. T. Grant Co. stores from the 1950s. Did you ever shop here? The only thing that appears the remain the same in the past 60 years are the entrance…
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West Reading Then & Now
Read more: West Reading Then & NowBelow is an aerial photo of Penn Avenue and the surrounding streets in West Reading from 1932. A few notable structures are the then-brand new Buttonwood Street Bridge, West Reading Hotel, West Reading High School in it’s prime and many others.
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The Pagoda’s Outbuilding
Read more: The Pagoda’s OutbuildingCompleted in 1908 at a cost of $50,000, this pagoda was intended to be the hotel/restaurant centerpiece of a luxury resort. When plans for the rest of the resort were abandoned, the 7-story wooden building on 10 acres of land was donated to Reading in 1911. It is now part of the Mount Penn Reserve,…
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Inside Pomeroy’s in the 60s
Read more: Inside Pomeroy’s in the 60sThese photos were sent in by Ron Shurr, he worked in the Camera department at Pomeroy’s in the early 60s and had a passion for photography. Thanks for sharing these, Ron. A few memories from Ron: I worked in the camera department, my first job out of high school. Photography was a hobby and was…
