Classroom

The Pagoda is located atop Mount Penn overlooking the city of Reading, Pennsylvania. The land it sits on was originally a stone quarry and was purchased by William A. Witman Sr. for $50,000 in 1906. He finished building the Pagoda in 1908, but his dream to build a luxury resort was unfortunately never realized due to a bank foreclosure and his being denied a liquor license. In 1910, the Pagoda and surrounding 10 acres were deeded to a local business owner Jonathan Mould and wife. They ended up selling the Pagoda on April 21, 1911 to the City of Reading for $1. Before radio broadcasting was popularized, the Pagoda was used to share messages with the citizens of Reading via morse code.Now owned by the citizens of Reading, PA, the Pagoda is a popular destination for both locals and tourists. Visitors can have a meal at the Pagoda Cafe, visit its gift shop, or for a small donation, climb to the top of the building to enjoy the views. The Pagoda also holds special events during the holidays.

The Pagoda with the City of Reading behind it

City of Reading street with the Pagoda overlooking it from Mt. Penn

More Info

More information about the Pagoda and its history during WWI located here

The Reading Pagoda is one of the oldest and most beloved landmarks in the city. Located on top of Mt. Penn, it is a historical landmark more than 100 years old.  The pagoda was originally built to be a luxury resort, but due to financial mishaps, the hotel was never opened. Now, the building houses a cafe and is owned by the people of Reading. Visitors can climb to the top of the pagoda for a $1 donation, which goes toward the maintenance of the popular site.

The Pagoda in Reading, Pennsylvania 

Driving tour around Reading, Pennsylvania. On this tour you will visit beloved landmarks of the City of Reading and see the beautiful views of this city.

The largest of the mountainous hotels built in this region in the late 19th century, the&nbsp;Neversink Mountain Hotel took a little over a year to build and was completed at the cost of $127,000. The hotel was located on the east summit at about 800 feet above sea level. The hotel
overlooked the City of Reading and was built to resemble big summer lodges in Long Island and other resort areas. At&nbsp;five stories high, this timber hotel and its&nbsp;wide deck surrounding the entire building offered 166 bedrooms when it opened to the public in June of 1892.&nbsp;

In September of 1905, the Neversink Mountain
Hotel caught fire late at night. Within ten minutes of the fire being started in
the basement, the entire hotel was engulfed in flames. All of the guests are believed to survive and rumors about the appearance of three strange
people walking from the hotel into the woods after the fire led to&nbsp;speculation that the fire was caused by arson.&nbsp;The entire hotel burned to the ground leaving
nothing but a few brick and stone walls of the&nbsp;basement, the brick wall on the north side of the hotel, and the
brick chimney that’s stood in the center of the hotel.&nbsp;&nbsp;

All that remains of the hotel is a stone pavilion that was at the west end of the Neversink Mountain
Hotel. The pavilion was built to honor William
Mcllvain, a local resident known for hiking in the area and talking with area visitors and local residents. The pavilion is known today as the "Witches Hat" owing to the design of the cone-shaped roof. The pavilion is so beloved by area residents that area hikers have repaired it and removed graffiti on more than one occasion.&nbsp;

Constructed in 1891, the Neversink Mountain Hotel served many visitors to the Reading area until it was destroyed by a fire in 1905. The hotel sat on top of the beautiful Neversink Mountain and offered some of the most beautiful views of the city. The pavilion that sat at the end of the property, known to locals as the "Witches Hat," still stands today and holds a special place in the heart of local residents. 

Neversink Mountain Hotel (1891-1905) and Witches Hat Pavilion

The fire tower sits 120 feet on top of Mt. Penn in Reading,
Pennsylvania. It was originally built to serve as a post for the firemen but it is now a popular tourist attraction. From inside the top of the tower, you have a 60 mile,
breathtaking panoramic view. It’s been said that if a fire rose at Valley Forge
that you could actually see the smoke from the top of this tower. The tower was
built in 1939 as a fire observation tower and a landmark for tourists to visit
in Reading. The tower was built to “watch over” the city of Reading. &nbsp;It was made of fire resistant materials when
it was built but soon after being built, it started to deteriorate pretty fast
so they pour concrete and made a new structure. 

The interior of the fire tower has three small rooms that
hold the transmitters, restrooms, and an office building when needed. There is
a spiral stair case leading to the top of the tower where the observatory floor
is.&nbsp;The tower stopped being used for fire safety purposes in 1988 due to the fact that their was controversy going on about what county could actually use it and where on the county mapped it laid. Today the tower is owned and operated by the City Of Reading. Sadly the tower is slowly deteriorating and the city is doing everything it can to raise money to fix it and open it as a better tourist attraction.

The William Penn Memorial Fire Tower was built in 1939 as a tourist attraction for the City of Reading. The top stone structure on the fire tower stands taller than the Empire State Building and you can see as far as 60 miles each way.  The fire tower is one of Readings beloved and most historic landmarks. 

William Penn Memorial Fire Tower

William Henry Luden was born in 1859 in the city of Reading, Pennsylvania and&nbsp;was one of Berks County's great industrialists. He started his candy business in the back room of his father's jewelry store in his family's kitchen located at&nbsp;35-37 North 5th Street. He first started just mixing molasses and brown sugar which he would call a "moshie" which was a Pennsylvania Dutch candy. Luden then decided to collaborate with a pharmacist to create a cough drop. In 1881 he introduced Luden's honey-licorice menthol throat drops. They were sold 5-cents a package. Menthol cough drops replaced the vials of menthol that people would carry to relieve their cold symptoms.&nbsp;One thing Luden did very differently than other candy makers and his competitors was that he did not sell his candy door to door. Luden asked shopkeepers to display his candy/cough drops and sell them. He also tested out his cough drops to railroad workers which helped get the word out by mouth all over the country. This helped his business skyrocket. Luden quickly rose above his local rivals while producing a large range of hard candies, chocolates, cough drops, peanut candies, and holiday novelties.&nbsp; In the 1930s, Luden's products were being sold in 26 countries and he was making millions and millions of pounds of candy all in the Reading location. In 1981, Ludens celebrated its centennial, commemorating 100 years of uninterrupted success.&nbsp;20 years after starting his business, Luden's relocated twice. The final resting place of the plant is in the 200th block of 8th and Walnut and was that way for more than a century. This is where the factory doubled in size. If you go to the site today where the Luden's factory was, you will not see the factory. Unfortunately the factory was knocked down and is now a fenced in parking lot.&nbsp; In 1928, the Luden's company was obtained to Food Industries of Philadelphia which is a holding company owned by the Dietrich family. Since then the Luden's brand has transferred ownership several times. It now resides under Johnson &amp; Johnson.&nbsp; Luden's is in its third century of continuous production. This is a testament to its founders vision and the the local workforce that help the company get to that.&nbsp;

William H. Luden. Luden was one of Berks County's great industrialist who owned and operated the old Luden Candy Factory. He launched his  business in 1879 which was then acquired by Food Industries of Philadelphia in 1928. 

Ludens Candy Factory

In 1763, six men gathered at a tavern in Reading, Pennsylvania to discuss an English subscription only library available to those willing to pay for subscriptions. The Reading Public Library opened February 12th, 1763 just as that; &nbsp;a subscription only library. Subscriptions were $2 annually and the 5 cents a day for those who didn't have a subscription membership. The excitement over the library diminished and the library sadly closed 10 years later in 1774. All the books in the library were given out to subscribers for "safekeeping" in hopes one day the library would be re-opened. January 8th, 1898, the library was officially re-opened after several attempts over many years of re-opening the library. The City of Reading did not want to re=open the library due to the amount of money and upkeep it required. At this opening, the library was named a "free of use to the public" library. The Reading community hoped this time the library would be a success.&nbsp; Through years and years of the library opening, failing, closing, and then re-opening and closing, it had faced many setbacks, including structural. The building the library called home was very unsafe and needed a severe face lift. In May of 1910, Mr. Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy steel man from Pittsburgh,&nbsp;donated $100,000 to the renovation of the library's structure. It was suggested by board members of the library to as Carnegie and he decided to help. It took over a year to get everything done and accepted before the remodel, but the new home to the library began to be built in July of 1911. Two years later the remodel was complete and on May 15th, 1913, the library was dedicated to the City of Reading. Although the library wasn't continuously opened for 250 years, it is the sixth oldest library in the United States. The library did go through another &nbsp;renovation from 1990-1993 to upgrade the interior of the library and fix any broken structure. Thanks to Andrew Carnegie and his dedication to helping the library in 1910,The Reading Public Library still stands in the same spot today and still is as beautiful as it was then. ***Fun Fact: Taylor Swift, a Reading, Pennsylvania native, donated $68,0000 worth of children's books to The Reading Public Library in 2011.

The Reading Public Library is the main library in the City of Reading. The library first opened to its subscription holders in 1763. The Reading Public Library is the sixth oldest public library in the United States

Reading Public Library

History of the GoggleWorks Building The GoggleWorks building dates back to 1871, when Gile J. Willson and his son Dr. Thomas A. Willson founded and opened their optical lens and glasses factory, Thomas A. Wilson &amp; Co. Throughout the 20th century, the Willson family produced a variety of successful technology and safety products.&nbsp;The plant, under Dalloz, closed in 2002, and three years later, the concept of GoggleWorks came to fruition. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, &nbsp;In 2005, Albert Boscov's and Marlin Miller took over the building after Dalloz closed it . Along with help from over campaigners, they made the GoggleWorks successful and a working success and GoggleWorks re-opened its doors in 2008.&nbsp;The Goggle Works building houses several exhibition galleries, a 130-seat theater, cafe, and a gift store.Exhibits at the Center 
In addition to housing and supporting the arts scene, GoggleWorks has consistently hosted several exhibits from both emerging and established artists. In the past, some of these exhibits included “The Frank Scott Memorial Art Show: The Art of Jazz,” “A Retrospective: Illustrations, Woodworking, Guitars,” and “Telling Stories, GoggleWorks Juried Exhibition.”The various exhibits continually rotate, and they are displayed in the Schmidt, Green Wall, Cohen, and Cafe galleries. The Cohen Gallery is the largest in the Center, and it is able to host one major show or two separate exhibitions simultaneously. As a supporter of emerging artists, any artist or organization interested in exhibiting a show can simply fill out a proposal for GoggleWorks.2&nbsp;The Center also features an 130-seat theater capable of playing everything from Bluray to 35mm films.
Classes and Workshops
Throughout the year, prospective artists and art enthusiasts can partake in a myriad of art classes taught by renowned teachers. These classes cater to most artistic mediums, ranging from ceramics and glass blowing to wood working and writing. They have also recently added hot and warm glass making, metalsmithing, photography, 35 juried art studios, and dozens of dance and music classes.Week-long or weekend workshops generally feature master makers and instructors in their field, and within the six professionally equipped studios, emerging artists have the opportunity to learn from the best. Young artists, starting from 3-years-old to teenage artists, can also participate in the Center’s summer camps.4&nbsp;
Second Sunday Open House
Although the public is welcome to stroll through the museum during the week and explore the various exhibits on display,&nbsp;GoggleWorks hosts an open house event on the second Sunday of the month. This event&nbsp;allows&nbsp;community members and visitors to experience the dynamic creative atmosphere at GoggleWorks through&nbsp;walk-in workshops, make-and-take projects, and exploration of the 34 artist studios and galleries.5

Located in a former factory building downtown Reading, the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts carries the proud role of being the premier art museum and supporter of creative arts. In addition to a variety of art galleries and exhibits showcasing everything from the classics to locally-produced work, the 145,000-square-foot GoggleWorks Center for the Arts provides necessary studio space for budding artists as well as classrooms for educational courses as well as workshops. 

In fact, the facility is so large that it encompasses six different buildings, making GoggleWorks the “Entire City Block Where Art Happens.” Every 10 weeks, GoggleWorks hosts over 200 arts-based classes and 35 in-house artists. With free admission, GoggleWorks invites the public to come as long as they would like to explore art through dance, music, and five ever-changing galleries. 

GoggleWorks Center for the Arts

History of the Museum 
The museum’s conception and founding can actually be traced back to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair and the efforts of Dr. Levi W. Mengel. At the fair, Dr. Mengel acquired upwards of 2,000 items from China, Japan, India, and other places around the world. Three years later in 1907, Dr. Mengel and the community helped convert the third floor of the Reading School District administration building.&nbsp;The museum stayed in this building until 1925, when Ferdinand Thun and Irvin F. Impink donated the present site to the Reading School District. In 1929, the new building opened to the public and the collections continued to grow over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries.1
Collections and Exhibitions
Although the planetarium and the arboretum emphasize immersion and excitement, the vast collection truly offers a fulfilling museum experience. The collections at the museum fall within art, science, and civilization categories, though many of the galleries provide nuanced views into these fields.&nbsp;For example, the Natural Science galleries are packed with dinosaur fossils, insects, birds and more, while the North American Indian Gallery showcases the rich history of the Deleware Montagnais, and Inuit tribes. Rotating exhibitions change every so often, and include topics and themes such as “Maize: Mysteries of an Ancient Grain,” “Awkward Family Photos,” or “Italian Futurism.”2
Neag Planetarium and the Arboretum 
Next to the collections and exhibitions, thousands of visitors come to the Reading Public Museum every year to experience the Neag Planetarium and the 25-acre arboretum. With its digitally enhanced full-immersion technology, the planetarium showcases the universe in fantastic quality. Additionally, visitors can enjoy live 3D sky simulations, full-dome shows, and multimedia presentations.3&nbsp;The arboretum, on the other hand, invites the public to take leisurely walks through 25 landscaped areas. Constantly changing throughout the year depending on the season, no two experiences at the arboretum are the same. In fact, the&nbsp; Wyomissing Creek that flows through the arboretum stands as one of Berks County’s most visited places.4
Programs and Events 
Whenever planning a trip to the Reading Public Museum, always keep watch for any programs or events that may be happening. Throughout the year, the museum hosts everything from lecture series to bus trips that port participants to exciting locations.&nbsp;Every second Thursday of the month, the planetarium and the museum host “Jazz Under the Stars,” where local, regional, and national artists come to serenade large crowds. “Dogs and Brews” is another fun activity combining the love of pets, beer, and being social with the community.5&nbsp;

The Reading Public Museum allows visitors to travel extensively from art to science, culture to culture, and from this world to outer space, all within its massive multi-room facility. Housing many collections that focus on art, science, world civilizations, artifacts, natural history, and much more, this museum is certainly a one-stop-shop for an eclectic variety of tastes and interests. 

Hence, it comes as no surprise that the Reading Public Museum is dedicated to being a dynamic center of lifelong learning and discovery and to engage the public through the preservation and interpretation of its exhibits. After spending time browsing through the museum collections, museum-goers can experience a state-of-the-art, full-immersion SciDome video at the Neag Planetarium or stroll through the 25-acre arboretum. 

The Reading Public Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums.

Reading Public Museum

Reading, Pennsylvania, also know as Baseballtown, is home to the double-A division Reading Fightin Phils Minor League baseball team of the Eastern League. The Fightin Phils have gone through many, many different team names since their team was first made. This is one thing that makes the Baseballtown so important to the City of Reading. Not only have they been around for a long time, but they have really fought to keep this team.&nbsp; &nbsp;When the baseball team was originally started in 1858, they were called the Reading Athletic Club. &nbsp;They later joined the Interstate League in 1883 as the Reading Actives but that ended within a year. Changing their name year another time by 1897, they names themselves the Reading Coal Heavers and played six years in the Atlantic League. After the 1906 season, the Reading Coal Heavers changed their name to the Reading Pretzels. They played in two different leagues from 1907-1917 missing the 1915 season. From 1919 to 1930 the Fightin Phils played as the Reading Coal Barons.&nbsp;In 1933, the Eastern League finally came to Reading. Changing their name once again, but this time the team that had been placed in Reading was a minor league team from&nbsp;the Boston Red Sox.&nbsp; From 1939-1965 the team had changed its name twice and was owned by two separate Teams. From 1939-1941 they were the Reading Chicks and owned by the Brooklyn Dodgers&nbsp;and from 1963-1965 they were the Reading Indians owned by the Cleveland Indians. Finally in 1967, the team officially changed its name to the Reading Phillies. In the 1967 season, the team went 70-69 with manager Frank Lucchesi. They ended 6th in the Eastern League and 3rd in the Western Division. The Reading Phillies were fully purchased by the by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 after their National Championship win. This ended a 52 year long relationship between them and the Baltimore Orioles.&nbsp; The team kept this name until November of 2012. .November 4th, 2012, the Reading Phils announced they will be changing their name from Reading Phils to the Fightin Phils. Although it isn't a huge change other than just one word, this cause a huge up roar. Some people said taking the name "Reading" out of the team's name wasn't right but they did it anyways. November 17th, 2012 the team name was officially changed and hasn't been changed since. The Fightin Phillies are also the oldest team in the Eastern League still playing in their original stadium that they played at when the team first started. They have been there for 70 years. Some notable alumni from the Reading/ Fightin Phillies teams are: Mike Schmidt- third base (74 games for Reading in 1971) (Philadelphia Phillies 1972-1989) Pat Burrell- left field (117 games for Reading in 1999) (Philadelphia Phillies 2000-2008) Jimmy Rollins- shortstop (133 games for Reading in 1999) (Philadelphia Phillies 2000-2014 Carlos Ruiz- catcher (153 games for Reading in 2003-2004) (Philadelphia Phillies 2006-2016) Ryan Howard- first base (102 games for Reading in 2004) (Philadelphia Phillies 2004-present)

Constructed between 1949 and 1951, this classic minor league ballpark opened as Municipal Memorial Stadium and is the oldest park in the Eastern League. Known today as FirstEnergy Stadium, the park is home to the Fightin' Phillies, also known as the Reading Phillies. Originally formed in 1885, the team has had many name changes through the years, but the Phillies have been in Reading longer than any other team in the Eastern League. In 1967, the team moved to Reading and became the double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The ballpark dates back to a unanimous 1945 vote by the Reading City Council to purchase the land in Cathedral Park for the purpose of a municipal stadium. The first minor league team to play here was an affiliate of Cleveland called Reading home from 1952 to 1961. They were followed by an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox until 1965. 

FirstEnergy Stadium Reading

The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum was founded by Russ Strine and established in 1980. Since then, the museum has remained dedicated to collecting and preserving vintage aircraft. Its mission is to organize professional stewardship over these essential pieces of history. Professional stewardship also means maintaining a flying standard, and as the museum continues collecting more aircraft, it presents many of its most popular planes on airshow circuits.The heart of the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum comes from its diverse collection of vintage civilian and military aircraft. While exploring the planes, visitors can also uncover much of the culture surrounding aviation life, through the eyes of both military pilots and influential people in aviation history. The exhibits within the museum collection span eight decades of flight and showcase everything from pilot uniforms and items commonly found in WWII bombers to commercial travel memorabilia, such as dinner plates of old and vintage travel posters.It is important to note that if visitors want to see a specific aircraft, they should call ahead because several planes tour the country with various airshows, especially during the summer months. Otherwise, located within the museum hangar and along the Museum Ramp, visitors can explore some of the most famous aircraft in history. The award-winning planes include the Douglas R4D-6 of the Naval Air Transport Service, the anti-submarine patrol bomber P2V-7 “Neptune,” and the Eastern Airlines Martin 4-0-4 “Silver Falcon.” Although the museum features 1/2 scale reproductions, such as the 1903 Flyer by the Wright Brothers, visitors can discover real-life aircraft dating from 1928 to 2011.Perhaps the most popular event at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum is the annual World War II Weekend. Over 100,000 people come to the event, usually occurring around June 6th, and many consider it to be the largest and best WWII reenactment in the nation.

The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, located at Reading Regional Airport - Spaatz Field, is a living reminder of the golden age of flight, where the development of aviation technology and design was closely intertwined with national defense and growth. Visitors can discover dozens of military warplanes as well as classic airliners, including historic civilian aircraft. But as other air museums simply display their historic planes, the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum uses teams of volunteers to restore most of the planes to a fully functional capacity, which has allowed the Museum to offer ride-alongs in these historic planes. Virtual photo-tours are also available on the museum's website.



Historic Tour of Reading, Pennsylvania

The Pagoda in Reading, Pennsylvania

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information