Category: History
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Paper Mill Road Covered Bridge
Read more: Paper Mill Road Covered BridgeThe following images were taken in 1957 and I believe them to be depicting around the then-countryside of Wyomissing Borough. The first image has been identified, but the remaining two are up in the air. EDIT: The second image is now believed to be a covered bridge that sat in the area of the old…
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Wyomissing Borough Streets – 1890, 1935 and Today
Read more: Wyomissing Borough Streets – 1890, 1935 and TodayWyomissing Borough is a community that is rich with history and ties to industry in the late 1800s and turn of the 20th century. It was a community built by the founders and businessmen who ran the knitting mills; Henry Janssen and Ferdinand Thun. It became an opportunity to house their workers so they could…
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Sinking Spring Borough Hall
Read more: Sinking Spring Borough HallThe former Sinking Spring Borough Hall building held stores and a restaurant until the Sinking Spring Bank opened there in 1922, according to Borough of Sinking Spring 100th Anniversary by Paul and Kathy Miller. The borough then bought the building in 1963 from People’s Trust City Bank. The Sinking Spring Borough Hall was dedicated during…
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The Glockenspiel Restaurant
Read more: The Glockenspiel RestaurantThe Glockenspiel was a landmark Pennsylvania Dutch restaurant in northern Berks County. It originally dated back to 1751, built as a two-story farmhouse and later added on dining facilities and offices. It was located along Route 222 between Fleetwood and Kutztown. The restaurant specialized in Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine, and served a famed fruit & cheese…
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A 100 Year Review of Berks – Happy New Year 2020!
Read more: A 100 Year Review of Berks – Happy New Year 2020!Happy New Year Berks County! Not only is it a new year but also the beginning of a new decade. As we leave behind the 2010s, let’s look back on the beginning of the last 10 decades, and some of the events that we experienced together as a community during them. The past is important…
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Berks County Christmas – Whitners & Sears
Read more: Berks County Christmas – Whitners & SearsOn the 23rd Day of Berks County Christmas – Department Store Cheer 1940s Penn Street, Reading PA – Whitner’s Department Store & Sears decorated at Christmas
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On this Day – September 30th, 1974
Read more: On this Day – September 30th, 1974Above the fold in the Sept 30th, 1974 Reading Eagle: Wagons Moved from Original Gruber Works Grounds On the Way -Wagons produced near the turn of the century are moved out of the Gruber Wagon Works along the Bernville Road, Route 183, in Penn Township. The county moved the wagons and will store them until…
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Earl Building – 525 Penn St
Read more: Earl Building – 525 Penn StThe M. J. Earl Building pictured around the turn of the 20th century at 523/525 Penn Street in Reading. The Earl Building was built around 1880 on the site of famous Revolutionary War Doctor Bodo Otto’s home and practice. It appears there were a few offices inside. One was home to an office of Prudential…
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The Park Theatre – 1016 Penn St
Read more: The Park Theatre – 1016 Penn StThe Park Theater opened November 11, 1926, and it was closed by a fire on May 19, 1978. The theater was demolished the following year. James S. Maurer operated the theater as a X-rated movie and live burlesque house, and in 1964 he was arrested along with two strippers in a raid by the Reading…
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Wyomissing Swimming Pool – Happy Hollow
Read more: Wyomissing Swimming Pool – Happy HollowHappy Hollow Park still sits tucked away in Wyomissing, though the swimming pool is no longer in existence. Happy Hollow was built with community bonds sold, and the land was donated by Henry Janssen and Thun, prominent owners of the Wyomissing Industries in 1910. The land for the pool was also donated by Thun and…