Wyomissing Archives

Warren Street Bypass | 1959 and Today

October 23, 2021February 17, 2021

Before the Reading Motor Inn, or Berkshire Mall, there was sprawling farmland and a highway system that was still being integrated into the rural roads of Spring Township. On this day in 1959 the Warren Street Bypass reopened after the construction depicted below closed the roadway for an extended period.

Warren Street Bypass — As it appeared in 1959, photo Edward G. Schneider (Eagle Staff Photo)

The bridge branching off from the bypass at the left is the northern extension of the Reading Bypass at the point where it crosses the Tulpehocken Creek and joins the Warren Street Bypass.… Read Full Article

Happy Hollow Playground – Wyomissing

September 21, 2021September 21, 2021

Happy Hallow Playground — Happy Hollow Park with the famed double slide pictured in 1936

On April 10, 1910 a meeting was held in the Borough Hall building at the corner on Penn Avenue and Wyomissing Boulevard. Various speakers spoke about the need for a public recreation area, and it was decided officials would be elected to form a a committee to organize a playground association.… Read Full Article

Grand Blvd – Wyomissing’s Casualty of the Bypass

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021

I had previously written a post about the effect the construction of the bypass had on West Wyomissing. The stories about house-moving intrigued me due to the fact that my mother and her family lived on Girard Avenue at that time and got to witness the spectacle first hand in the early 70s. Yet there was a part of this story I was not aware of, and it’s name was Grand Blvd.… Read Full Article

Wyomissing Post Office Explodes – On this Day 1979

February 20, 2021February 20, 2021

At about 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday February 20th 1979 a gas leak caused the Wyomissing post office to explode. UGI workers were searching for the leak at the time, and luckily no workers were present in the building when the incident occurred. One witness said he had just dropped a letter in the mailbox out front of the building and was driving away as it exploded, which sent a brick of the building through his windshield.… Read Full Article

The Robbery of the Century | Wyomissing Bank Heist | Feb 4th 1921

February 4, 2021June 20, 2022

One hundred years ago today – February 4, 1921, six armed men stormed into the Peoples Trust Company of Wyomissing shortly before noon demanding everyone get on the ground. Three jumped the counter and forced clerks to open the vault by gunpoint. The audacious robbers didn’t even try to obscure their faces and were unmasked for the duration. It would end up being the largest bank heist of the 20th century in Berks.… Read Full Article