On this day, 1985 – Downtown Pomeroy’s Closes

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Pomeroy’s Department Store in downtown Reading closed in 1985 after 109 years in business on Penn Square. The business itself was sold to competitor BonTon who took over Pomeroy’s remaining location in the Berkshire Mall.

Pomeroy's Closes Reading
A crush of shopper prepares for the final charge into Pomeroy’s downtown store Saturday. The department store closed shortly after 5 p.m., ending 109 years of operations as one of the anchors of Penn Square. 
Downtown Pomeroy's Closes it's Doors for Good

 

Downtown Pomeroy's Closes it's Doors for Good

Pomeroy’s history in downtown Reading dates back to 1876, when Josiah Dives, an Englishman, John Stewart, a Scot, and George Strickland Pomeroy, a native of Hartford, Connecticut, established the Globe Store at 533 Penn Street.

In its heyday, Pomeroy’s seemed invincible as it hovered over much of the rest of the city. But as more and more buildings soared to new heights, dwarfing the Pomeroy’s buildings, its power as a retail center seemed to dwindle.

Pomeroy's Closes Reading

It is widely accepted that the rise of the indoor shopping malls killed town-center shopping locations like Pomeroy’s. Ironically four decades later we are currently watching the decline of the shopping malls in the same fashion.

Downtown Pomeroy's Closes it's Doors for Good

The future remained uncertain for the historical Pomeroy’s building for many years, with renovation plans falling through. It was finally demolished in 1995 to make way for Meridian Bank’s new headquarters.

June 16th 1995 Reading Eagle

Immediately after demolishing the beloved Pomeroy’s structure Meridian sold out in 1996. They let go of 15% of their workforce and merged with CoreStates Financial Corp; leaving many Berks Countians out of work. The new building has since been home to a variety of bank offices over the years; most recently the building was occupied by Wells Fargo until April 2021. Alan Shuman purchased the property in 2021 for redevelopment. The work is complete and he is currently still looking for more commercial tenants to fill the spaces.


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[…] tax income. Kmart enjoyed a 42 year reign in Berks, and now quietly joins the ranks of Two Guys, Pomeroy’s and other retail relics of the […]

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[…] apparel, was located on the south side of the 600 block of Penn Street, situated next door to Pomeroy’s Department Store.  The Croll & Keck store was designed by Mr. Frederick Muhlenberg in 1927. As you can see in […]


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