National Cleaners was founded in 1945 by Theodore Roeberg, father of current owners Richard & Mickey Roeberg. He purchased a small wholesale dry cleaning plant in Reading and was quickly the first in the area to offer six-hour dry-cleaning. He expanded quickly opening six small stores and in 1955 began offering one-hour dry-cleaning and entered the shirt laundry business.… Read the rest
Sammy’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 from a recipe that the founder developed.… Read the rest
The 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 over the course of 4 decades.… Read the rest
The 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 Mount Penn on Perkiomen Avenue. The second location was opened on Penn Avenue in West Lawn. Both were opened in the early 1970s.… Read the rest
Take a look at how West Lawn and West Lawn Elementary School looked in 1932:
The school looks like it was fairly new at the date of this photo, but I could not find an exact date of build. It sat at Riegel Ave and Nobel Street, a block in from Penn Ave. It functioned as a school until the 70s when it was demolished.… Read the rest