Category: History
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Reading News Building Facade
Read more: Reading News Building FacadeThe Reading News building and its facade were constructed in 1912 for a brand new print publication at 22-24 North Fifth Street. In April 1912 the property, described as a three-story dwelling house, was purchased by local developer Wiliam A. Sharp. It is likely that Sharp was in charge of developing the structure into one…
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Nolde and Horst Knitting Mill
Read more: Nolde and Horst Knitting MillTextile was Reading and greater Berks County’s largest industry by the turn of the 20th century. Nearly every small community had some sort of hosiery mill, and headquartered in Reading was Nolde and Horst, the largest of them all. Three German immigrants, Jacob Nolde, George and John Horst chartered “Nolde and Horst Company” with the…
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City Park Fallout Shelter
Read more: City Park Fallout ShelterReading’s City Park Fallout Shelter has long been the subject of mystery. The shelter’s entrance is located along Constitution Boulevard, directly next to the city’s greenhouse. The doors have been locked tight for the past few decades. A relic of an era when the ever present threat of nuclear annihilation swept our nation; perhaps you…
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George Horst & His Sheerlund Estate
Read more: George Horst & His Sheerlund EstateThis article was co-authored by Brian C. Engelhardt and originally appeared in the Fall 2021 edition of the Historical Review A Man Too Modest for Who’s Who It is ironic that the Reading Eagle’s most recent mention of the late George D. Horst was in connection with the March 30, 2014 auction of his collection…
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Reading Pagoda – History, Present & Future
Read more: Reading Pagoda – History, Present & FutureFor nearly 120 years the Pagoda has served as a beacon to generations of us who have called Reading and greater Berks County home. What is its story? How does such a unique Japanese structure end up on a mountain in Pennsylvania? What’s happening now? You have likely noticed the building has been closed and…
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Bushong’s Dam Set to be Razed
Read more: Bushong’s Dam Set to be RazedOn January 13th, 2025 it was announced by Reading’s City Council that the bid had been awarded to demolish Bushong’s Dam, which sits along the Tulpehocken Creek just before the confluence with the Schuylkill River. The removal project is nearly two decades in the making, and is one of many dam removal projects completed in…
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Birdsboro’s Brooke Mansion
Read more: Birdsboro’s Brooke MansionThe Brooke Mansion (aka Brookeholm) in Birdsboro was built in 1887 for Edward Brooke II as a present for his new wife and second cousin, Anne Louise Clingan. They were married in St. Michaels Episcopal Church in Birdsboro on October 12th, 1887. The Brooke family’s relevance in the area stems from Edward’s grandfather, Matthew Brooke…
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Happy New Year, 1925
Read more: Happy New Year, 1925I wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year in 2025, but I figured now was as good a time as any to turn back the pages a century to see what our ancestors were feeling when 1925 burst into the “now”. The January 1st, 1925 Reading Times has the headline: “Buy in Reading!”…
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Robesonia Train Station
Read more: Robesonia Train StationRobesonia’s passenger rail station was built in 1856 as a stop on the Lebanon Valley line on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, just west of the Wernersville Train Station and Sinking Spring’s passenger Station. It was located on the southern end of Robeson Street and the property was bounded on the north by Railroad Ave.…
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McGinty Motorcars
Read more: McGinty MotorcarsBack in October Pat McGinty of McGinty Motorcars was kind enough to give me a tour of his building at 1041-43 Washington Street in Reading. The structure sits on the east end of Washington near the foot of City Park. In 1882 the deed for this property was transfered to a George Schroeder, who died…
