Years ago I bought a tacky souvenir plate at a thrift store -it had a picture of an Oriental Pagoda with the words “Reading Pennsylvania” underneath which didn’t seem to go together at all, I thought it was a mistake. But I was wrong, there IS a Pagoda in Reading PA!
The Pagoda just celebrated its 100 year birthday and has reopened with some cleaning and improvements that don’t detract from the wonderful sight of this place atop Mount Penn. The Pagoda is a sight to see from all angles, with its red clay roof and curly cues contrasting against the green of the trees and blue of the sky.
To get to the Pagoda you drive up the winding Duryea Drive, named after the “inventor and builder of America’s first gasoline automobile”. Even though the inventing was done in Springfield MA (Go Mass!) it makes sense that this Reading road was named after him, as the autos were built here in the city between 1900-1911. Roadtripping old school!
The Pagoda was built in 1908 as a way to improve the look of the side of Mount Penn that had been made ugly by the stone quarrying that took place there. Hopes of making it into part of a luxury resort fell and within 3 years of opening the Pagoda became the property of the city of Reading. It has been a local landmark since then.
You can walk around it outside or pay a bargain one dollar to climb the 87 steps to the top for the best view. We took the stairs, stopping on each of the levels to read about the history and gaze at the reproductions of the postcards and memorabilia . There are also some rooms that can be rented out- what a cool place for a party!
As we ascended the final set of stairs we gazed upon a giant bell that came from a Buddhist Temple in Tokyo, and has been part of the Pagoda since it opened.
I was overjoyed to see my old friend the Coin Op Viewer and his mate standing in the corners of the very top of the Pagoda, almost like a stamp of Retro Roadmap Worthiness of the place.
You can see for miles and miles even without using the viewer, especially on a beautiful clear day like today. That’s Reading in the distance, and a bit further, who knows- Ohio?
There is a gift shop and snack bar in the first level, where you can get a Pagoda hot dog or perhaps your own tacky plate with the Pagoda on it. I opted for a charm for my charm bracelet and some postcards to send to the Retro Roadkids. You can even see some treasures from the recent filming of local boy M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘The Last Airbender’ movie which is scheduled to come out in 2010.
You never know what you’re gonna find when you’re on the Retro Roadmap!
The Reading Pagoda
98 Duryea Dr
Reading, PA 19601
(610) 375-6399
[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=205983026516839309869.00048746173181bd0dc2a&ll=40.460532,-75.890808&spn=0.362568,0.583649&z=10&iwloc=0004874880a7ccc40fd89&output=embed&w=425&h=350]
Helium Design
Wow, who would have thunk?!
Thank you for sharing all of these interesting blogs. I enjoy reading them, even though places that you blog about aren’t close to where I live. Maybe I’ll get to visit a few of them if I ever get down to that neck of the wood.
I bet there are some cool places near where you live- feel free to let me know about them and they could go on the map!
Nope, nothing as cool as this Pagoda!
Sure, we have up and coming wineries to the south of where I live. Then, there’s the biggest rock in North America that’s about 25 minutes west of here. Then, there are the Thousands Islands in the East.
Maybe the problem is that I think of what we have here are quite standard and ordinary. Perhaps I need to find out if they’re that common or not. One example I can think of is the Martello towers along the waterfront in Kingston, Ontario. Unique? Yes. Cool? Meh.
Oh, but I love this one. Now I’ll know what to do if I’m ever in Reading!
Lizzie – it is a treat, for sure. I love the incongruous building type- much like our little Spanish Hacienda, it doesn’t quite fit in here in Pennsylvania, but that is what makes it so cool!
Great pictures! I flew over the pagoda (in a WWII dive bomber) when I went to the MAAM WWII weekend this year, but we didn’t have time to go to the pagaoda or see the other sites of Reading. My mother kept urging us to go to a restaurant called The Castle, but we never made it.
LP – I haven’t heard of The Castle, I’ll do some digging and see what I can find out- thanks for the tip.
That must’ve been scary and fun at the same time to fly over it, but what a view! Thanks for stopping by!
The Restaurant is called Stokesay castle it’s beautiful and the food is great !
He’s talking about the Stokesay castle
I bet you’re right – since I’m not from the area I’ve never heard of the Stoksay Castle, but now I have! Hope the new owners do well!