Reading

Reading (Pennsylvania German: Reddin), is the county seat of Berks County and with a population of 87,879 is the fifth-largest city in Pennsylvania. Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, it is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area.

The city, approximately halfway between Philadelphia and the state capital at Harrisburg, is strategically situated along a major transportation route from Central to Eastern Pennsylvania, and lent its name to the now-defunct Reading Railroad, which transported anthracite coal from the Pennsylvania Coal Region to the eastern United States via the Port of Philadelphia. Reading Railroad is one of the four railroad properties in the classic United States version of the Monopoly board game.

Reading was one of the first localities where outlet shopping became a tourist industry. It has been known as "The Pretzel City", because of numerous local pretzel bakeries. Currently, Bachman, Dieffenbach, Tom Sturgis, and Unique Pretzel bakeries call the Reading area home.

According to the 2010 census, Reading has the highest share of citizens living in poverty in the nation.

In recent years, the Reading area has become a destination for cyclists. With more than 125 miles of trails in five major preserves, it is an International Mountain Bicycling Association Ride Center and it annually hosts the Reading 120 international road cycling race.

History

Lenni Lenape people, also known as "Delaware Indians", were the original inhabitants of the Reading area.

The Colony of Pennsylvania was a 1680 land grant from King Charles II of England to William Penn. Comprising more than 45,000 square miles (120,000 km2), it was named for his father, Sir William Penn.

In 1743, Richard and Thomas Penn (sons of William Penn) mapped out the town of Reading with Conrad Weiser. Taking its name from Reading, Berkshire, England, the town was established in 1748. Upon the creation of Berks County in 1752, Reading became the county seat. The region was settled by emigrants from southern and western Germany, who bought land from the Penns. The first Amish community in the New World was established in Greater Reading, Berks County. The Pennsylvanian German dialect was spoken in the area well into the 1950s and later.

During the French and Indian War, Reading was a military base for a chain of forts along the Blue Mountain.

By the time of the American Revolution, the area's iron industry had a total production which exceeded England's. That output that would help supply George Washington's troops with cannons, rifles, and ammunition in the Revolutionary War. During the early period of the conflict, Reading was again a depot for military supply. Hessian prisoners from the Battle of Trenton were also detained here.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the capital of the United States at the time of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. President Washington traveled to Reading, and considered making it the emergency national capital, but chose Germantown instead.

Susanna Cox was tried and convicted for infanticide in Reading in 1809. Her case attracted tremendous sympathy; 20,000 viewers came to view her hanging, swamping the 3,000 inhabitants.

Census data showed that, from 1810 to 1950, Reading was among the nation's top one hundred largest urban places.

The Schuylkill Canal, a north-south canal completed in 1825, paralleled the Schuylkill River and connected Reading with Philadelphia and the Delaware River. The Union Canal, an east-west canal completed in 1828, connected the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Rivers, and ran from Reading to Middletown, Pennsylvania, a few miles south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Railroads forced the abandonment of the canals by the 1880s.

The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (P&R) was incorporated in 1833. During the Long Depression following the Panic of 1873, a statewide railroad strike in 1877 over delayed wages led to a violent protest and clash with the National Guard in which six Reading men were killed. Following more than a century of prosperity, the Reading Company was forced to file for bankruptcy protection in 1971. The bankruptcy was a result of dwindling coal shipping revenues and strict government regulations that denied railroads the ability to set competitive prices, required high taxes, and forced the railroads to continue to operate money-losing passenger service lines. On April 1, 1976, the Reading Company sold its current railroad interests to the newly formed Consolidated Railroad Corporation (Conrail).

Early in the 20th century, the city participated in the burgeoning automobile and motorcycle industry as home to the pioneer "Brass Era" companies, Daniels Motor Company, Duryea Motor Wagon Company and Reading-Standard Company.

Reading experienced continuous growth until the 1930s, when its population reached nearly 120,000. From the 1940s to the 1970s, however, the city saw a sharp downturn in prosperity, largely owing to the decline of the heavy industry and railroads, on which Reading had been built, and a national trend of urban decline.

In 1972, Hurricane Agnes caused extensive flooding in the city, not the last time the lower precincts of Reading were inundated by the Schuylkill River. A similar, though not as devastating, flood occurred during June 2006.

The 2000 census showed that Reading's population decline had ceased. This was attributed to an influx of Hispanic residents from New York City, as well as from the extension of suburban sprawl from Philadelphia's northwest suburbs.

Reading has its share of obstacles to overcome, namely crime. However, new crime fighting strategies appear to have had an impact. In 2006, the city dropped in the rankings of dangerous cities, and again in 2007.

In December 2007, NBC's Today show featured Reading as one of the top four "Up and Coming Neighborhoods" in the United States as showing potential for a real estate boom. The interviewee, Barbara Corcoran, chose the city by looking for areas of big change, renovations, cleanups of parks, waterfronts, and warehouses. Corcoran also noted Reading's proximity to Philadelphia, New York, and other cities.

Geography

Reading is located at 40°20′30″N 75°55′35″W / 40.34167°N 75.92639°W / 40.34167; -75.92639 (40.341692, −75.926301) in southeastern Pennsylvania, roughly 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Philadelphia. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.1 square miles (26 km2). 9.8 square miles (25 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (2.39%) is water. The total area is 2.39% water. The city is largely bounded on the west by the Schuylkill River, on the east by Mount Penn, and on the south by Neversink Mountain. The Reading Prong, the mountain formation stretching north into New Jersey, has come to be associated with naturally-occurring radon gas; however, homes in Reading are not particularly affected. The surrounding county is home to a number of family-owned farms.

Transportation

Bus

Public transit in Reading and its surrounding communities has been provided since 1973 by BARTA, the Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority. BARTA operates a fleet of 57 buses serving 21 routes, mostly originating at the BARTA Transportation Center in Downtown Reading. BARTA also provides paratransit service in addition to fixed route service. In addition, Greyhound and Bieber Trailways bus routes are available from the InterCity Bus Terminal. The former Reading Railroad Franklin Street Station was refurbished and reopened to bus service on September 9, 2013 with buses running the express route back and forth to Lebanon Transit. This Lebanon Route was discontinued after a short period. Now the refurbished Station sits vacant.

Roadways

A number of federal and state highways allow entry to and egress from Reading. U.S. Route 222 Business is designated as Lancaster Avenue, Bingaman Street, South 4th Street, and 5th Street. U.S. Route 422 Business is designated as Penn Street, Washington Street (westbound), Franklin Street (eastbound), and Perkiomen Avenue. U.S. Route 422, the major east-west artery, circles the western edge of the city and is known locally as The West Shore Bypass. PA Route 12 is known as the Warren Street Bypass, as it bypasses the city to the north. PA Route 10 is known as Morgantown Road. From the 1960s to the late 1990s, the section of current U.S. Route 222 from Spring Blvd to 5th Street Highway was known locally as the 'Road to Nowhere'.

Airlines

Reading and the surrounding area is serviced by the Reading Regional Airport, a general aviation airfield. The three-letter airport code for Reading is RDG. Scheduled commercial airline service to Reading ended in 2004, when the last airline, USAir stopped flying into Reading.

Rail

Passenger trains ran between Pottsville, Reading, Pottstown and Philadelphia until July 27, 1981, when transit operator SEPTA curtailed commuter service to electrified lines. Since then, there have been repeated calls for the resumption of the services.

In the late 1990s and up to 2003, SEPTA, in cooperation with Reading-based BARTA funded a study called the Schuylkill Valley Metro which included plans to extend both sides of SEPTA's R6 passenger line to Pottstown, Reading, and Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. The project suffered a major setback when it was rejected by the Federal Transit Administration New Starts program, which cited doubts about the ridership projections and financing assumptions used by the study. With the recent surge in gasoline prices and ever-increasing traffic, the planning commissions of Montgomery County and Berks County have teamed to study the feasibility of a simple diesel shuttle train between the Norristown/Manayunk Line and Pottstown/Reading.

Neighborhoods

• Center City
• Callowhill
• Centre Park
• College Heights
• East Reading
• Eastside
• Glenside
• Hampden Heights
• Millmont
• North Riverside
• Northmont
• Northside
• Oakbrook/Wyomissing Park
• Outlet District
• Penn's Commons
• Prince Historic District
• Queen Anne Historic District
• Southside
• South of Penn

Fire department

The city of Reading is protected by the 135 firefighters and paramedics of the Reading Fire and EMS Department (RFD). The RFD operates out of seven fire stations throughout the city. The RFD operates a fire apparatus fleet of five Engine Companies, three Ladder Companies, one Rescue Company, two Brush Units, and three front-line Medic Ambulances. The Fire Department also operates a non-emergency transport BLS ambulance and three wheelchair units. In 2013, fire units responded to 8,626 incidents. EMS responses totaled 16,773 calls for service.

As of April 1, 2011, Engines 13 and 14 were disbanded due to budget cuts. Engine 13 was quartered with Engine 1 and Engine 14 was quartered with Engine 5. Also, Engine 7 was re-organized from Engine 11. Department staffing is 2 firefighters per apparatus.

Culture

The city's cultural institutions include the Reading Symphony Orchestra and its education project the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Reading Choral Society, Opus One: Berks Chamber Choir, the GoggleWorks Art Gallery, the Reading Public Museum and the Historical Society of Berks County.

Reading is the birthplace of graphic artist Jim Steranko, guitar virtuoso Richie Kotzen, George Baer Hiester, singer Taylor Swift, and most notably, novelist and poet John Updike and the world-renowned poet Wallace Stevens. Marching band composer and writer John Philip Sousa, the March King, died in Reading's Abraham Lincoln Hotel in 1932. Keith Haring, NFL quarterbacks Chad Henne, Kerry Collins, wide receiver Steve Kreider, are not from the City of Reading, but surrounding towns in Berks County.

Reading is home to the 14-time world-champion drum and bugle corps, the Reading Buccaneers.

In 1914, one the anchors of the Battleship Maine was delivered from the Washington Navy Yard to City Park, off of Perkiomen Avenue. The anchor was dedicated during a ceremony presided over by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was then assistant secretary of the navy.

Reading was home to several movie and theater palaces in the early 20th Century. The Astor, Embassy, Loew's Colonial, and Rajah Shrine Theater were grand monuments of architecture and entertainment. Today, after depression, recession, and urban renewal, the Rajah is the only one to remain. The Astor Theater was demolished in 1998 to make way for The Sovereign Center. Certain steps were taken to retain mementos of the Astor, including its ornate Art Deco chandelier and gates. These are on display and in use inside the arena corridors, allowing insight into the ambiance of the former movie house. In 2000, the Rajah was purchased from the Shriners. After a much needed restoration, it was renamed the Sovereign Performing Arts Center.

The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum is a membership-supported museum and restoration facility located at Carl A. Spaatz Field. The museum actively displays and restores historic and rare war aircraft and civilian airliners. Most notable to their collection is a Northrop P-61 Black Widow under active restoration since its recovery from Mount Cyclops, New Guinea in 1989. Beginning in 1990, the museum has hosted "World War II Weekend Air Show", scheduled to coincide with D-Day. On display are period wartime aircraft (many of which fly throughout the show) vehicles, and weapons.

The mechanical ice cream scoop was invented in Reading by William Clewell in 1878. The 5th Ave Bar and York Peppermint Patty were invented in Reading.

Attractions

In 1908, a Japanese-style pagoda was built on Mount Penn, where it overlooks the city and is visible from almost everywhere in town. Locally, it is referred to as the "The Pagoda". It is currently the home of a café and a gift shop. It remains a popular tourist attraction.

Another fixture in Reading's skyline is the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower, one mile from the Pagoda on Skyline Drive. Built in 1939 for fire department and forestry observation, the tower is 120 feet tall, and rises 950 feet above the intersection of fifth and Penn Streets. From the top of the tower is a 60-mile panoramic view.

The Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company founded in 1899, just outside Reading city limits, in West Reading and Wyomissing boroughs changed its name to Vanity Fair in 1911 and is now the major clothing manufacturer VF Corp. In the early 1970s, the original factories were developed to create the VF Outlet Village, the first outlet mall in the United States.

In media

The book and movie Rabbit, Run and the other three novels of the Rabbit series by John Updike were set in fictionalized versions of Reading and nearby Shillington, called Brewer and Olinger respectively. Updike was born in Reading and lived in nearby Shillington until he was thirteen. He also makes reference to the Brewer suburb of Mount Judge, equivalent to Mount Penn east of Reading.

Filmmakers Gary Adelstein, Costa Mantis, and Jerry Orr created Reading 1974: Portrait of a City; relying heavily on montage, the film is a cultural time capsule.

The play Sweat by Lynn Nottage is set in Reading.