Category: Decades
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Sights of North Side Penn Street in the 1940s
Read more: Sights of North Side Penn Street in the 1940sPenn Street – North Side – 400 Block….1940s…Reading: We look to the Northeast corner to the landmark Saylor food business stand. In the foreground is car 809 as it appeared in 1947, end-of-the-line year for city trolleys. Looking to the background is an imposing grey-stone structure built as Reading Girls’ High School. At this juncture,…
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Franklin Street Station
Read more: Franklin Street StationThe Franklin Street Station served the railroad from 1930 until 1981 when SEPTA diesel service ceased operations. From 1981 until 2013, the building sat vacant until BARTA acquired and refurbished the building for bus services. The plan was to alleviate overcrowded services at the BARTA Transportation Center located about a block away. –Wikipedia Barta refurbished the building, but it…
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Before 5th Street – North Reading – 1930s
Read more: Before 5th Street – North Reading – 1930sIn the late 1920s, people were expanding outwards from the city, into what is now Muhlenberg Township. According to this article, The petition to create the borough of Laureldale was made Feb. 29, 1929. Leading that effort was Frederick W. Shipe, a housing developer frustrated by the lack of side streets in the area (only…
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Weiser Lake – The “Mine Hole”
Read more: Weiser Lake – The “Mine Hole”Below are aerial photos of Weiser Lake aka the Mine Hole near Wyomissing/West Reading. The first was taken in 1932, when the Reading Hospital Building was brand new. Pictured in the distant right is the Berkshire Knitting Mills. Before the Hospital expanded there was a small lake that sat where the current 7th Avenue garage…
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600 Block Penn Street, North Side 1941
Read more: 600 Block Penn Street, North Side 1941Penn Street….600 Block, north side…..READING: – Taken Around 1941, we see parts of 653 to 665 Penn. Faintly and partly visible on the extreme left is Lowe’s Theatre. Hardly visible next door is Robette Hats at 661- Followed by Sterns at 663 and Carlson Hats and Shoes at 665. Notice the railroad gate on the…
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Berks County Christmas – Day 25- 1969 Christmas Day Snowstorm
Read more: Berks County Christmas – Day 25- 1969 Christmas Day SnowstormMerry Christmas Berks County!!! In 1969 there was a “White Christmas” in Berks County! Do you remember? We had over a foot of snow! All images courtesy of the Reading Eagle. Who Said There Was a Downtown Traffic Problem? A traffic light continues to carry out its duties despite the lack of vehicles as one…
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Berks County Christmas – Day 22 – Railroad Travel
Read more: Berks County Christmas – Day 22 – Railroad TravelBefore planes were the main means of traveling during the holidays, many people took trains. If you traveled as a passenger on the Reading Railroad, it would have been in a car like the one pictured below: Did you ever use the railroads to travel for the holidays?
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Berks County Christmas – Day 20 – Christmas 1960
Read more: Berks County Christmas – Day 20 – Christmas 1960This is what Christmas looked like in the December 25th, 1960 Reading Eagle. For the residents of Muhlenberg Park, jolly Santa Claus this year added a new twist to his visit. He arrived three days ahead of schedule and, instead of going about his duties in his usual secret way, he enlisted the help of…
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Berks County Christmas – Day 19 – Christmas Snowstorm 2002
Read more: Berks County Christmas – Day 19 – Christmas Snowstorm 2002On Christmas Day in 2002 we had over a foot of snow. Downed trees and wires caused power outages all over the county, and many went without lights for most of the night. Some did not get power restored for quite a few days. Do you remember Christmas Day ’02?
