Category: Muhlenberg
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Dempsey’s Dutch Boy Stolen
Read more: Dempsey’s Dutch Boy StolenOn this day, April 7th 1990 the Dempsey’s Dutch Boy statue was stolen from it’s location on the 5th Street Highway in Muhlenberg. The 6-foot, 250-pound Dempsey’s Dutch boy statue outside the restaurant at Fifth Street Highway and Bellevue Avenue was lifted right out of its shoes about 3 a.m. Wednesday. The “victim”, however, apparently…
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5th Street – 1971 Then & Now
Read more: 5th Street – 1971 Then & NowBelow are Aerials shots from 1971, showing what Fifth street highway/Route 61/Kutztown Road looked like just north of the city. A few of the notable structures are the Reading Fairgrounds, Bellevue Diner, and Gethsemane Cemetery. The Warren Street Bypass was also noticeably not extended past 5th street at the time of this photo. Five years…
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Blockbuster Video Berks
Read more: Blockbuster Video BerksThere were once four Blockbuster Video locations in Berks County, one being the above on Route 724/Lancaster Pike in Shillington. The others were at 4860 Penn Ave in Sinking Spring near Redner’s Market, 3262 N 5th Street Highway in Muhlenberg Shopping Plaza, and 3985 Perkiomen Avenue in Mt. Penn/Exeter. Blockbuster, was an American-based provider of home…
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Reading Municipal Memorial Stadium
Read more: Reading Municipal Memorial StadiumMunicipal Stadium hosted it’s first baseball game in 1951. On March 28, 1945, Reading City Council voted unanimously to purchase 27 acres of ground known as Cathedral Heights at a cost of $64,491 for the purpose of building a municipal stadium. In 1947 the grading of the land began and by 1949 the initial stages…
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Berks County Christmas – Day 20 – Christmas 1960
Read more: Berks County Christmas – Day 20 – Christmas 1960This is what Christmas looked like in the December 25th, 1960 Reading Eagle. For the residents of Muhlenberg Park, jolly Santa Claus this year added a new twist to his visit. He arrived three days ahead of schedule and, instead of going about his duties in his usual secret way, he enlisted the help of…
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Fox North Theatre
Read more: Fox North TheatreOpened as the Fox Theatre on 21, Aug. 1964 and was located in the Muhlenberg Shopping Center on the 5th Street Highway (Rt.222), just north of Reading. The Fox Theatre was renamed the Fox North Theatre when Fox opened the Fox East Theatre on 3 May, 1971. It was equipped for 70mm film, had one…
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The Reading Fair
Read more: The Reading FairThe Reading Fair had it’s first fair in 1854 at Penn’s Commons, in what is now City Park. It wasn’t until 1915 that the Fair was held at it’s most remembered location in Muhlenberg Township. They built a Horse Race Track and grandstands which were opened to the public in 1916. The fair was hugely successful,…
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Schell’s Mini-Golf, Restaurant and Dairy Swirl
Read more: Schell’s Mini-Golf, Restaurant and Dairy SwirlNothing says summertime like a trip to Schell’s for some minigolf and ice cream at the Dairy Swirl. Schell’s has been a landmark on 5th Street Highway in Muhlenberg Township since 1952. Initially opened as just an ice cream shop by the Schell family, the 18 hole mini-golf course opened in May of 1953, and…
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The Bellevue Diner
Read more: The Bellevue DinerThe Bellevue Diner was located on route 222 and Bellevue Ave, in Muhlenberg, 3 miles north of Reading.
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Then & Now…Klein’s Motel
Read more: Then & Now…Klein’s MotelLocated on Route 222 in Temple, a large section burnt down in 2014.
