Category: Reading
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Muhlenberg Greene Architects – 100 Years
Read more: Muhlenberg Greene Architects – 100 YearsForwardMuhlenberg Greene Architects, Ltd. was founded in 1920 by Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg II. Since 1920 they have been responsible for designing some of the most well-known buildings in Berks County. Happy 100 years, MGA, this article is dedicated to your legacy. Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg II Frederick A. “Fred” Muhlenberg II was born in Reading on…
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Promise Unfulfilled: The Brief Life and Bizarre Death of Actor Robert Morris
Read more: Promise Unfulfilled: The Brief Life and Bizarre Death of Actor Robert MorrisA couple weeks ago an email popped up in my inbox from a Vernon Gravely. He had cited BerksNostalgia.com as a source in a book he had recently published that was a biography of a Reading-born man named Robert “Bobby” Morawczynski, later known under stage name “Robert Morris”. Robert lived a short but interesting life…
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6th & Penn Street Reading
Read more: 6th & Penn Street ReadingPictured above is 6th & Penn Streets in 1949. On the immediate right is Pomeroy’s Department Store. A block north in the background is the Berks County Court House. All of the buildings between the photographer and the Court house were razed in the 1970s as a part of downtown Reading’s revitalization efforts. Can you…
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Far East Chinese Restaurant
Read more: Far East Chinese RestaurantIn 1920, the very first Chinese cuisine restaurant opened in Berks County at 739 Penn Street in Reading by Chee Yuen Hong and his father Sik Que Hong. Back then it was called the Far East Tea Garden and was ran by various members of the Hong family through the following decades and moves. In…
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Holy Name High School
Read more: Holy Name High SchoolHoly Name High School’s history is directly entwined with the first catholic high school institution in Berks County; St. Peter’s Reading Catholic High. In the late 50s and early 60s enrollment at Reading Catholic High was declining, as it did not have the space or facilities it needed to attract new students. During this same…
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Central Catholic High School
Read more: Central Catholic High SchoolLuden’s mansion at 1400 Hill Road was purchased by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Philadelphia in October of 1939 for $45,000. Renovations were made to make the home into a school, and on January 2, 1940 Central Catholic High School of Reading opened its doors. It was the second catholic high school in the city…
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St. Peter’s Reading Catholic High School
Read more: St. Peter’s Reading Catholic High SchoolBefore Holy Name, or even Central Catholic, there was another Catholic High School in the city of Reading. St. Peter’s Reading Catholic High, or more well known as just “Reading Catholic High” was located at 225 South 5th Street in Reading. St. Peter’s Reading Catholic High was founded in 1911 and in 1914, the first…
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Reading Girl’s High School
Read more: Reading Girl’s High SchoolThe first school building at 4th and Court streets was originally built in 1839, and occupied by an all-boys private school called the Reading Academy until 1853, when the boys public school program began. In September of 1857, thirty-eight girls began attending classes in an upper room of the Boy’s Academy building. The boys and…
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5th and Penn – National Central Bank Signage – April 1977
Read more: 5th and Penn – National Central Bank Signage – April 1977National Central Bank has finalized arrangements to install a specially designed message center on its office building at the southwest corner of 5th and Penn Streets. Announcement of the anticipated early-April installation of the new computer controlled display sign at National Central’s Retail Loan Center was made by W. Sturgis Corbett, bank senior vice president…
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Sammy’s Steaks
Read more: Sammy’s SteaksSammy’s Steaks was a pretty popular sandwich joint that was founded in 1946. The “Original” shop was at 12th and Buttonwood Sts. While under family ownership they sliced their own meats from fresh formed ribeyes and NEVER used anything but; unlike the emulsified meat that most others use today. They also made their own sauce…
