Category: Roadways
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The Hitching Post
Read more: The Hitching PostThe Hitching Post was a very popular restaurant located in the Springmont section of West Lawn. Built in the 1930s, it was originally a Howard Johnson’s. It then became an establishment called the Imperial Club. Finally, it became the Hitching Post in the 1960s. Countless anniversaries, birthdays, organizational meetings and other celebrations were held here…
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Miracle Mart – 2101 Centre Ave
Read more: Miracle Mart – 2101 Centre AveMiracle Mart was a 50,000 square foot department store on Route 61/Centre Ave in North Reading. There is very little information online about Miracle Mart or its origins, besides that there was a more well-documented and unrelated Canadian department store chain by the same name. Looking at aerial photos of the area leads me to…
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On this day – Nov 24th, 1993 – Cumru Township Gas Explosion
Read more: On this day – Nov 24th, 1993 – Cumru Township Gas ExplosionA water pumping station along Old Lancaster Pike in Cumru Township owned by Citizens Utilities Water Co. was destroyed in an explosion Tuesday night, leveling the structure to concrete slabs. The force of the explosion, heard up to five miles away, blew the doors off the building through the containment fence. “Fearing that the blast…
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Seafood Shanty
Read more: Seafood ShantyThe Seafood Shanty was a popular restaurant in Berks County for 23 years. It was technically a chain, with other locations being around the greater Philadelphia area and into New Jersey. The first location in Berks was opened in Exeter township on Perkiomen Avenue. The second location was opened on Penn Avenue in West Lawn.…
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Perkiomen Avenue – 1978
Read more: Perkiomen Avenue – 1978Flash back to Perkiomen Avenue in 1978. Apparently this was an area prone to accidents. Popular places of the past pictured are King Hamburgers, Fecera’s Furnture, Sweet William Restaurant and Pathmark. Drivers Beware – Uncontrolled intersection, confusing entrances and exits, and the lack of a median strip make this five-mile stretch of the Philadelphia Pike…
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Kmart – 45 Years in Berks
Read more: Kmart – 45 Years in BerksKmart has been a staple nationwide big box store since the 60s. The company, originally called S. S. Kresge Corporation, dates back to 1899. It wasn’t until 1974 when it broke into the Berks County market, opening a store at the 94,500-square-foot Cumru Township location in Shillington Plaza. According to the Reading Eagle, it featured…
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Route 222 Expansion
Read more: Route 222 ExpansionMany businesses along the Lancaster Pike were taken by eminent domain by the state in the early 2000s, when PennDot was making the final connection of 222 from 422 south toward Lancaster. Owners of businesses and homes that impeded the construction of the highway were offered compensation for their properties, though generally in situations like…
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Sno-Kist
Read more: Sno-KistSno-Kist was a beloved summer ice-cream place that was located along route 222, just south of Shillington. It was directly across the street from an Adult Video store called the RT. 222 News Outlet and was just north of Simotas Dairy Bar. The building had been an ice cream stand since the 1950s, always called…
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Penn View Motel
Read more: Penn View MotelThe Penn View Motel was part of a chain of nine establishments called Host Ways Motels. It was built in 1965, and along with the other 8 locations boasted the mid-century modern pyramid. It was located on the block between 2nd and 3rd Streets on Penn Avenue in West Reading. The striking blue pyramid would become a landmark of…
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Train Derailment Wyomissing
Read more: Train Derailment WyomissingPhotos Courtesy of Jere Stamm On Sunday morning, December 4th, 1977, 26 cars of a Conrail freight train derailment occured in Wyomissing right near the intersection of Clayton and Penn Avenue. The train was bound for Bethlehem from Harrisburg, and was carrying coal. Workmen this morning were still clearing away the tangled metal and spilled…
