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Cities Near Reading, PA
339 Locust St
Reading, PA (in city)
3 Bed, 1 Bath
Townhome
1049 sq.ft.
226 Oley St
Reading, PA (in city)
4 Bed, 2 Bath
Home
2100 sq.ft.
521 Oley St
Reading, PA (in city)
5 Bed, 2 Bath
Home
2708 sq.ft.
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Local city information for Reading, PA
Reading () is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Berks County, and the center of the Greater Reading Area. As of 2005, the city had a population of 83,463, making it the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and Erie, and the sixth largest municipality after Upper Darby Township.
Overlooking the city on Mount Penn is Reading's symbol, a Japanese-style pagoda visible from everywhere in town and referred to locally as "the Pagoda." It was built in 1908 as a hotel and restaurant, but was never used for that purpose. It remains a tourist attraction. In 2007, plans were announced to renovate the area surrounding the Pagoda. The vision is to include walking paths and, possibly, a new mountaintop restaurant.
Duryea Drive, which ascends Mount Penn in a series of sharp bends, was a testing place for early automobiles and was named for Charles Duryea.
The city lent its name to the now-defunct Reading Railroad, which brought anthracite coal from the Pennsylvania Coal Region to cities along the Schuylkill River. The railroad is one of the four railroad properties in the classic English-language version of the Monopoly board game.
During the general decline of heavy manufacturing, 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. It is also known as "Baseballtown," after the Reading Phillies trademarked this moniker to market Reading's rich baseball history. Legendary left-handed pitcher Ty Sofflet led Reading to several fast-pitch softball victories in the mid-1970s..
The city has been the residence of numerous professional athletes of national stature. Among the athletes native to the Reading are Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Carl Furillo, Baltimore Colts running back Lenny Moore, and Philadelphia 76ers forward Donyell Marshall.
The book and movie
Rabbit, Run and others of the
Rabbit series were set in Shillington and Reading. It was written by John Updike, who was born in Reading, but lived in nearby Shillington until he was thirteen. He called his fictional town "Brewer".
Six institutions of higher education serve the Reading area. The city's cultural institutions include the Reading Symphony Orchestra and its education project the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra, the GoggleWorks Art Gallery, the Reading Public Museum and the Historical Society of Berks County.
Reading is the birth place of artist Keith Haring (May 4, 1958), graphic artist Jim Steranko (November 5, 1938), and poet Wallace Stevens (October 2, 1879). John Philip Sousa, the March King, died there March 6, 1932.
Since the November 2006 relocation of St. Joseph's Medical Center, Reading no longer has any hospitals within its city limits. There are, however, two hospital satellites in downtown Reading: the Reading Hospital Health Dispensary on Penn Street, and St. Joseph's Medical Center Community Campus on 6th Street. The Reading Hospital is located in nearby West Reading, just outside the city limits.
The
genius loci, something more than a collection of rowhouses, factories, warehouses, and railroad tracks, was captured by watercolorist Matthew Daub from the mid-1990s. Filmmakers Gary Adelstein, Costa Mantis, and Jerry Orr's
Reading 1974: Portrait of a City, relying heavily on montage, is a cultural time capsule.
List your home on the MLS in Reading, Pennsylvania