Category: Towns
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Spring Street Subway
Read more: Spring Street SubwayFor over a century the Spring Street Subway has stood as one of the city’s most controversial infrastructure landmarks. Built in 1909 to eliminate a deadly grade crossing where pedestrian traffic intersected with the bustling Reading Railroad yard; this landmark’s journey from concept to reality was defined by fierce public debate, scandal, lawsuits and a…
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Auditing Six Years of Reading’s HARB Resolutions
Read more: Auditing Six Years of Reading’s HARB ResolutionsThree months ago I reported the abrupt mass-resignation of Reading’s Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) following intense administrative friction, and the beginning of the shift to the City making unilateral decisions regarding historic district properties. Since that time I have analyzed 6 years worth of HARB documents via a “Right to Know” request, to better…
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The Dunkel Farm 416 Snyder Road
Read more: The Dunkel Farm 416 Snyder RoadThe land that makes up this historic Ontelaunee Township farm was purchased by Conrad Dunkel from Leonard Stein in 1790. Stein acquired this property directly from John Penn. Conrad then sold it to his brother Jacob in 1797. The home was constructed in three separate sections. The oldest, likely dating the 1790s, is a primitive…
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Christ Episcopal Church – 200 years
Read more: Christ Episcopal Church – 200 yearsFor over 160 years the brownstone Cathedral of Christ Episcopal Church has towered 180 feet above the heart of Reading. The body of this church dates to 1763, when enough settlers decided they wanted a church for the english-speaking citizens of the city, who were far outnumbered by Germans. Local attorney James Read petitioned the…
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Is Berks County going to abandon its iconic Courthouse?
Read more: Is Berks County going to abandon its iconic Courthouse?On May 5th the County of Berks released a press release announcing their intention to purchase 600 Penn Street in Reading, for the purpose of moving their services to the building. It also outlined their intent to move judicial operations over to the County’s current Services Center, which sits directly east of the 1931-built Courthouse…
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The Textile Inn, Birthplace of Wyomissing Borough
Read more: The Textile Inn, Birthplace of Wyomissing BoroughThere is more drama coming out of Wyomissing Borough this week, but this time it is not about the mall. On Tuesday May 12th, Wyomissing Borough Council voted 4-2 to approve a conditional use request for a development project at 915 Penn Avenue. Currently the property is a parking lot, but the owner wants to…
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Jacob Keim Homestead & the return of the Cherry Fair
Read more: Jacob Keim Homestead & the return of the Cherry FairA few weeks ago my friend Beth Glick took me on a tour of the Oley Valley, and we ended up stopping by the Keim Homestead near Lobachsville. It was our lucky day, because John Bixler of the Historic Preservation Trust of Berks County was there getting the property ready for the Cherry Fair on…
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Reading’s Historic Architecture Review Board Mass Resignations
Read more: Reading’s Historic Architecture Review Board Mass ResignationsIn early March the local circuit reported that all six members of Reading’s 9-seat Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) resigned en masse. This is particularly troubling because only when things are very bad internally do organizations vacate themselves in such a manner. While the local medias reported on the mass resignations, they did not expose…
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Mobil Station at the Berkshire Mall
Read more: Mobil Station at the Berkshire MallChances are you have noticed the long-abandoned garage at the corner of State Hill road and Woodland Avenue in front of the Berkshire Mall. You also may be wondering why a gas and service station couldn’t survive on such a prominent corner in Wyomissing. Spoiler alert; it wasn’t because they didn’t have business. The Mobil…
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5th and Penn Redevelopment
Read more: 5th and Penn RedevelopmentI have spent the better part of a year advocating for the long-awaited sale and redevelopment of the buildings on the northwest corner of 5th and Penn, that the City of Reading has sat on and let deteriorate for well over a decade. Finally, last month the city decided to sell the Farmers National Bank…
