Category: Nostalgia
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Berks County Christmas – Day 18 – Remnants of Toyland
Read more: Berks County Christmas – Day 18 – Remnants of ToylandThe 5’6″ Santa below stood in Pomeroy’s famous 6th floor “Toyland”.Do you remember this Santa from your visits to Toyland as a child? Apparently some Berks County resident inherited the Santa, and was curious on what it was worth, but needs proof that it indeed was from Pomeroy’s Toyland. You can read the dialog from…
-
Dutch Colony Motor Inn
Read more: Dutch Colony Motor InnThe Dutch Colony Motor Inn once sat on route 422 in Exeter Township. It began operations in 1964 by Erna and R. Harding “Breity” Breithaupt. Breity Breithaupt was an aviation pioneer and owned Reading Aviation Service at Reading Regional Airport. A few years after opening they added the Antique Airplane Restaurant, named fittingly due to a 1927…
-
Triangle Factory Outlets
Read more: Triangle Factory OutletsThis interestingly shaped building is located at 1010 N. 9th Street, right where 8th and 9th streets split on the north end of the city. At one point it apparently held outlet stores. This was likely due to the close two block-proximity to the Reading Outlet Center, which has long been abandoned, but is currently…
-
Berkshire Mall Clock
Read more: Berkshire Mall ClockThe Berkshire Mall was opened in 1970, and had an interesting clock “tower” located In front of what was then a Rite Aid in the south wing of the mall. It was removed at some point, however the same benches remain. Above you can see the “Listening Booth”, a popular record store. Below you can…
-
Doe Mountain Ski Area
Read more: Doe Mountain Ski AreaWinter is coming…which means the snow sports season is almost upon us. There is only one ski resort in Berks County, and it is currently known as Bear Creek. The resort opened in 1967 and it was known as the Doe Mountain until 1999, when it became Bear Creek. The name was changed from Doe Mountain…
-
On this Day: October 20th, 1973
Read more: On this Day: October 20th, 1973Reading’s 7th Street isn’t really a street, it’s railroad tracks. And these railroad tracks will cut through the purposed Penn Mall. Edward Sulzberger, the proposed mall developer, has said he would prefer the tracks not be there but can live with them. Meanwhile, other redevelopment officials feel the tracks may become an asset in the…
