Reading, Pennsylvania: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m →‎History: + space, minor fixing of links
Line 237: Line 237:
*[[Jim Steranko]], Silver Age comic book artist (b. November 5, 1938)
*[[Jim Steranko]], Silver Age comic book artist (b. November 5, 1938)
*[[John Updike]], Writer (b. March 18, 1932)
*[[John Updike]], Writer (b. March 18, 1932)
*[[Luana Goldstan]], elite society member, 86 pounds
*[[Charlie Wagner]], [[Boston Red Sox]] (b. December 3, 1912; d. August 30, 2006)
*[[Charlie Wagner]], [[Boston Red Sox]] (b. December 3, 1912; d. August 30, 2006)
*[[Delores Wells]], Actress, (b. October 17, 1937)
*[[Delores Wells]], Actress, (b. October 17, 1937)

Revision as of 02:23, 17 June 2008

Reading, Pennsylvania
View from Pagoda atop Mt. Penn
View from Pagoda atop Mt. Penn
Official seal of Reading, Pennsylvania
Seal
Berks County’s location in Pennsylvania
Berks County’s location in Pennsylvania
Reading’s location in Berks County
Reading’s location in Berks County
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
CountyBerks
Founded1748
Government
 • MayorThomas McMahon (D)
Area
 • City26.2 km2 (10.1 sq mi)
 • Land25.4 km2 (9.8 sq mi)
 • Water0.5 km2 (0.2 sq mi)
Elevation
93 m (305 ft)
Population
 (2000)
 • City81,207
 • Density3,193.1/km2 (8,270.2/sq mi)
 • Metro
740,395
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Websitehttp://www.readingpa.gov

Reading (Template:PronEng) is the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania 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.

Overview

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.

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.

The city is host to numerous professional athletes. Among the athletes native to the Reading are Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Carl Furillo, Baltimore Colts running back Lenny Moore, and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Donyell Marshall.

The book and movie "Rabbit, Run" took place in Reading. It was written by John Updike who was born in nearby Shillington. He fictionalized the name of Reading to "Brewer".

Six institutions of higher education serve the Reading area. The city's cultural institutions include a symphony orchestra and two museums, The GoggleWorks Art Gallery and the Reading Museum.

Poet Wallace Stevens was born in Reading on October 2, 1879, and 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.


History

In 1743, Richard and Thomas Penn (sons of William Penn the founder of Pennsylvania, and grandsons of Sir William Penn for whom Pennsylvania is named) planned the town of Reading. Taking its name from Reading in England in honor of their home, it was established in 1748. Upon the creation of Berks County in 1752 the town became the county seat.

During the French and Indian War, Reading was a military base for a chain of forts along the Blue Mountains. Meanwhile the region was being settled by emigrants from southern and western Germany.

By the time of the American Revolution, the area's iron industry had a total production which exceeded England's, an 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 a depot again for military supply. Hessian prisoners from the Battle of Trenton were also detained here.

The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (P&R) was incorporated in 1833. After over 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 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 industry, hosting the pioneer brass era company, Daniels.[1]

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 general flight to the suburbs.

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 as a similar, though not as devastating, flood occurred during June 2006.

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. The mall is so successful that it draws hundreds of thousands of tourists to Reading every year.

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

Like all metropolitan areas, Reading has its share of obstacles to overcome, namely crime.[2] However, new crime fighting strategies appear to be having an impact, as in 2006 the city dropped in the rankings of dangerous cities, and then again in 2007.

In December 2007, the NBC Today Show featured Reading as one of the "Top Up and Coming Neighborhoods" in the United States.[3] The researchers who conducted the study were looking for undiscovered areas that are 'Up and Coming.' In this comprehensive study, professionals were looking for areas of big change, renovations, cleanups of parks, waterfronts, and warehouses. The criteria for the study of these neighborhoods was hip factor, nightlife, creative types, new cars, and ladies sitting on park benches.

File:Pagoda reading pa.jpg
Reading's Pagoda seen from Skyline Drive
Pagoda at Sunset

Geography

Reading is located at 40°20'30" North, 75°55'35" West (40.341692, -75.926301).Template:GR Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, roughly 58 miles (93 km) northwest of Philadelphia, 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.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.1 square miles (26.1 km²)— 9.8 square miles (25.4 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it is water. The total area is 2.39% water.

While not of any political or cultural significance, Reading does have a number of traditional districts. As with most cities, boundaries can be ambiguous and are not always uniformly defined. These include:

  • Center City: Washington Street to Franklin Street, 2nd Street to 8th Street
  • Penn's Commons: Walnut Street to Chestnut Street, 8th Street to 13th Street
  • College Heights: Oak Lane to 11th Street, Marion Street to City Line Street
  • Callowhill: Chestnut Street to South Street, 2nd Street to 6th Street
  • Southside: Chestnut Street to South Street, 7th Street to 13th Street
  • Southeast: Mineral Spring Road to Fairview Street, 13th Street to 19th Street
  • Outlet District: Oley Street to Spring Street, 8th Street to 12th Street
  • Centre Park: Spring Street to Greenwich Street, Front Street to 6th Street
  • North Riverside: Spring Street to Walnut Street, Clinton Street to Front Street
  • Glenside: Mercer Street to Blair Avenue, Montgomery Street to the Schuylkill River
  • Millmont: Gregg Avenue to Orton Avenue, Angelica Street to Morgantown Road
  • Oakbrook: Funston Avenue to Hancock Boulevard, Museum Road to Lancaster Avenue

Transportation

Public transit in Reading and its surrounding communities has been provided since 1973 by BARTA, the Berks Area Reading Transit Authority. BARTA operates a fleet of 61 buses serving 21 routes, mostly originating at the BARTA Transportation Center in Downtown Reading.

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, Cherry Street, Franklin Street, 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.

The most congested intersection in Reading and all of Berks County is in the Millmont section of the city, where U.S. Route 222 Business, U.S. Route 422, and PA Route 10 all converge.

Reading and the surrounding area is serviced by the Reading Regional Airport, a general aviation airfield. Scheduled commercial airline service to Reading ended in 2004, though Reading is a short drive from Harrisburg International Airport, Lehigh Valley International Airport, and Philadelphia International Airport.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 81,207 people, 30,113 households, and 18,429 families residing in the city. The population density was 8,270.2 persons per square mile (3,192.9/km²). There were 34,314 housing units at an average density of 3,494.6 houses per square mile (1,349.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.18% White, 12.25% African American, 0.44% Native American, 1.60% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 22.32% from other races, and 4.18% from two or more races. 37.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 30,113 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were married couples living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,698, and the median income for a family was $31,067. Males had a median income of $28,114 versus $21,993 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,086. 26.1% of the population and 22.3% of families were below the poverty line. 36.5% of those under the age of 18 and 15.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Demographic change

In recent years, Reading, like many of its peers in the Northeastern United States, has seen an influx in Hispanic immigration and migration as gentrification has made traditional points of entry in the New York metropolitan area prohibitively expensive. In 2000, 23.46% of Reading residents were of Puerto Rican ancestry. There are also sizable numbers of Dominican Americans and Mexican Americans.

In 2000, the Reading metropolitan statistical area was the second most segregated place for Hispanics in the United States, behind only the Lawrence, Massachusetts area. Only 2.1% of the rest of Berks County is Hispanic or Latino, while this ethnic group is highly concentrated in certain city neighborhoods.[3]

Reading is also seeing some migration of college-educated individuals fleeing high housing costs in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, although this number is dwarfed by the number settling in the city's eastern suburbs such as Exeter Township, closer to the border with Montgomery County.

Education

Four institutions of higher learning are locate within Reading's city limits:

Three high schools serve the city:

The Reading School District provides elementary and middle schools for the city's children. Numerous Catholic parochial schools are also available.

Sports

Club League Venue Established Championships
Reading Phillies EL, Baseball FirstEnergy Stadium 1967 4
Reading Royals ECHL, Ice hockey Sovereign Center 2001 0
Reading Express AIFA, Indoor football Sovereign Center 2006 0
Reading Railers PBL, Basketball Sovereign Center 2006 0
Reading Rage USL, Soccer Don Thomas Stadium 1996 0

Notable residents

Recreation

The Reading Public Museum is an art, science, and history museum in Reading.

References

  1. ^ Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.158.
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ a b c Reichler, Joseph L., ed. (1979) [1969]. The Baseball Encyclopedia (4th edition ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 0-02-578970-8. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)

External links

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reading,_Pennsylvania&oldid=219837213"