Reading, PA

The story of Reading, Pennsylvania, is a study in American history. Sons of William Penn (founder of Pennsylvania) planned the town and named it after their home in England. Established in 1748, Reading soon became the county seat of Berks County and was gradually settled by German immigrants. With the incorporation of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in 1833, Reading's period of major growth began, continuing until the Great Depression. In the 1930s, the population reached almost 120,000-but with a nationwide decline in the industries and railroads that had driven Reading's prosperity, the city's fortunes declined sharply after World War II. As people left the cities for the suburbs in the 1960s, Reading's population shrank to 87,000.

Today, Reading (located in southeastern Pennsylvania, less than an hour's drive northwest of Philadelphia) has a diverse population of more than 80,000 and anchors a growing metro area known as Greater Reading. Small-business growth and a robust program of economic development have revitalized the city, which was featured on NBC's Today show in 2007 as one of the "Top Up and Coming Neighborhoods" in the United States.

EDUCATION

The Reading School District provides 14 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, and a central high school, as well as 3 Gateway Schools, which focus respectively on performing arts; communication and technology; and agriculture, science, and ecology.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

With the Schuylkill River on the west and Mount Penn to the east, Reading is an urban center located in a rural setting.

The ethnic composition of the city has shifted significantly in recent decades, and today Reading is about one-third Hispanic. Nearly half the population is classified as "non-Hispanic white," with a wide variety of ethnic groups making up the remainder.

Developments like RiverPlace (with dining, shopping, and theaters, along with miles of bike trails and recreational activities such as kayaking and fishing) are revitalizing Reading. This Old House magazine recently recognized Reading's Centre Park Historic District as "one of the Mid-Atlantic's most perfectly preserved historic neighborhoods"-and one of the eight best places in the nation to find a house for restoration. The Centre Park area has hundreds of vintage homes and retains many of the original brick sidewalks.

The state-run Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center, located in Reading, offers activity programs in a restored Tudor-style mansion, along with walking trails that wind through hundreds of acres of deciduous woodlands punctuated by streams and ponds. And the city of Reading is in the process of developing an environmental center at Evangelina Park.

The neighborhoods that comprise Reading include:

• Callowhill Historical District
• Center City (Downtown) neighborhood
• Centre Park (Centre Park Historic District) neighborhood
• College Heights neighborhood
• Glenside neighborhood
• Millmont neighborhood
• North Riverside neighborhood
• Oakbrook neighborhood
• Outlet District (Outlet Area) neighborhood
• Penn's Commons (Penn's Commons Historic District) neighborhood
• Prince Historic District (Prince) neighborhood
• Queen Anne Historic District (Queen Anne) neighborhood
• Southeast neighborhood
• Southside neighborhood

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

Unemployment in Reading is typically slightly lower than the Pennsylvania average, and 40 percent of residents both live and work in Reading, while about 13 percent commute to work outside the city. However, poverty levels in Reading are nearly three times higher than the Pennsylvania average.

Berks County is still home to family-owned farms, and has the third-highest revenue from agriculture among all Pennsylvania counties.

After converting the original factories of the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company into an outlet mall, Reading became one of the first areas to develop outlet shopping as a tourist attraction.

Tourism is the second-largest industry in Berks County, with more than nine million annual visitors to Greater Reading. The industry provides nearly 10,000 jobs in the area.

Some of Reading's largest employers are Reading Hospital & Medical Center, East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc., County of Berks and Reading School District.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Music thrives in Reading, which boasts:

• Reading Symphony Orchestra and Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra
• Two choral societies
• A chamber musical ensemble
• A civic opera company

Reading Public Museum is a popular cultural institution, featuring a planetarium and many science and art exhibits.

BEST BETS

Reading's Historical Society of Berks County (which has a collection of approximately 20,000 artifacts) works to ensure the preservation and documentation of Reading's rich past. The Society's museum offers three levels of exhibits, telling the story of the Reading from Conestoga wagons to the modern era.

Other historical sites and attractions abound, including:

• Port of Reading Heritage Trail
• William Penn Memorial Fire Tower
• Hopewell Furnace National Historical Site

In addition, there are opportunities to explore the work of contemporary glass artists on the PA Glass Trail and to taste the fruits of local wineries and breweries.

EVENTS

Reading's riverfront is the site of annual events such as the Cherry Blossom Festival in April and RiverFest in September. Events in surrounding communities include a jazz festival, chile pepper festival, mushroom festival, fiddle festival, and county fair.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Famous folks born in Reading include artist Keith Haring and poet Wallace Stevens.
• Reading was captured on film in Reading 1974: Portrait of a City and appears as the setting of John Updike's novel Rabbit, Run under the fictional name "Brewer."
• The most visible feature of Reading is a Japanese-style pagoda. The 1908 structure was built on Mount Penn to house a hotel that never opened, but it has since become a symbol of the city it overlooks. Renovations of the surrounding areas are planned for this popular tourist attraction.