Reading (pronounced /ˈrɛdɪŋ/, RED-ing) is a city and the county seat of Berks County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the center of the Greater Reading Area. The population was 81,207 at the 2000 census; by 2008, it was estimated to have fallen to 80,560, making it the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and Erie, and the sixth largest municipality after Upper Darby Townsh...
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Reading (pronounced /ˈrɛdɪŋ/, RED-ing) is a city and the county seat of Berks County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the center of the Greater Reading Area. The population was 81,207 at the 2000 census; by 2008, it was estimated to have fallen to 80,560, 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...
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