Reading 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. Reading is located at 40° 20' 30" N, 075° 55' 35" W (40.341692, -75.926301). Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, roughly 58 miles 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. The surrounding county is home to a number of family-owned farms.
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-1970's.
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 Philadelphia 76ers 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 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 genius loci, something more than a collection of rowhouses, factories, warehouses, and railroad tracks, was captured by watercolorist Matthew Daub from the mid-1990's. Filmmakers Gary Adelstein, Costa Mantis, and Jerry Orr's Reading 1974: Portrait of a City, relying heavily on montage, is a cultural time capsule.
Reading's history begins 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 the town of 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. The Pennsylvanian German dialect was spoken in Reading well into the 1950's and later.
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. 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. 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.
In 1927, Reading elected J. Henry Stump as its first and only Socialist mayor. Stump was re-elected on two other occasions, and during his first term, the entire city government was Socialist. Many tangible improvements were made during his tenure.
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. 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. 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.