The earliest years of the Reading Fair were held at City Park and then a plot on North 11th street. During the early 1910s the Berks County Agricultural Society was tired of leasing the land at North 11th Street and wanted a more permanent location they could call their own.
On April 3rd, 1914 it was announced in the Reading Times that they had narrowed it down to three locations – West Wyomissing, Cumru Township and North 11th Street.… Read Full Article
Miller’s is an establishment that has eluded me for the entirety of my six-year “career” chronicling beloved places of the past in Berks County. I came to know of the name through my Mother telling me of her own memories at the Miller’s Drive-In which was located in Sinking Spring at 4700 Penn Avenue. Today Hollywood Cleaners stands in its place, but boasts the same retro sign structure.… Read Full Article
Showbiz Pizza Place incorporated in 1980 and entered the Berks County market in 1982. Its location was in Muhlenberg Plaza on the northern Belleview Avenue side. Showbiz Pizza featured an entertaining cast of animatronic characters including Billy Bob Brockali, Looney Bird, Fatz Geronimo and Mitzi Mozzarella. This main stage animatronic show was called “The Rock-afire Explosion“. The restaurant also had an arcade and coin operated rides.… Read Full Article
On Saturday May 21st, 2022, a plaque commemorating the Reading Fairgrounds & Speedway was ceremonially dedicated to the drivers who lost their lives there.
The brainchild of Jeff Hartman, Saturday’s event has been over a decade in the making, with a few bumps along the way. He originally pursued the idea back in 2010, when he approached the PA Historical Marker Commission about placing a marker somewhere on the grounds of the Fairgrounds Square Mall.… Read Full Article
On November 14th 1969 the second crewed flight to the moon, known as Apollo 12, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It successfully made contact with the moon on this day, November 19th 1969. When it landed, so did small but significant pieces from Berks County.
A number of components on the lunar lander Intrepid were made from beryllium supplied by Kawecki-Berylco Industries, Inc.… Read Full Article