Information
Landmark: Reading PagodaCity: Reading
Country: USA Pennsylvania
Continent: North America
Reading Pagoda, Reading, USA Pennsylvania, North America
Overview
The Reading Pagoda, perched on Mount Penn in Reading, Pennsylvania, began taking shape between 1906 and 1908, an idea first imagined by William A. Whitman, a quarry magnate, dreamed up a luxury resort high in the mountains, hoping it would breathe new life into his struggling stone business.Local engineer Charles C. designed it, sketching the first lines in pencil on a worn drafting table.Inspired by Japanese mountain temples, Muhlenberg rises in seven stacked tiers, each one smaller than the last, forming the familiar, tapering pagoda shape.Its 16-inch-thick brick walls, clad in warm terra-cotta tiles, enclose an interior framed with massive yellow-pine beams set deep into solid concrete.Building it cost about $50,000 back then-roughly $1.6 million in 2025, enough to buy a house with sun-warmed brick walls.The dream of a cliffside hotel faded fast after the city refused a liquor license, and investors walked away, leaving the site to wind and salt spray.In 1909, unable to keep up the property, Whitman sold the Pagoda and ten surrounding acres to the City of Reading for just one dollar, on the condition it would always stay open to the public.The building measures 50 feet long, 28 feet wide, and rises 72 feet high, its foundation set at 886 feet above sea level on Mount Penn’s sunny southern slope.Levels: a terrace with a stone face and an entry lobby that echoes underfoot.Once a cozy tea room, it’s now a bright little gift shop with shelves of colorful trinkets.The gallery features early photographs and tools from the quarry, their metal worn smooth with years of use.A cozy fireplace lounge features original Moravian tile hearths, their glazed patterns catching the light.The museum floor glows with Japanese lanterns, showcases gleaming swords, and features industrial memorabilia from Reading, like worn brass factory plaques.The bell chamber holds a 610‑pound bronze temple bell, cast in 1739 in Obata, Japan, its surface darkened with age; it rings only on New Year’s Eve and for rare civic occasions.A glass-walled observation deck lets you take in sweeping views-thirty miles out-of the winding Schuylkill River, the Blue Mountain ridge, and the rooftops of downtown Reading.The exterior boasts cedar-shake eaves that curl upward at the corners, copper finials gleaming in the sun, and fierce dragon gargoyles carved in dark stone.In 1926, a civic beautification project brought terraced gardens to life, with Japanese maples and stone lanterns casting soft shadows across the steps.A neon outline was added in 1960, with 224 glowing red tubes tracing each tier; in December, they flip to green and white, like frosted candy canes in the cold night air.In 1911, the city transformed the interior into a lively public café, adding gleaming mahogany staircases and cool mosaic tile underfoot.Adopted in 1949 as Reading’s official emblem, it shows up on police badges and even on the crisp white pages of municipal stationery.In 1969, workers replaced the sagging roof beams and installed lightning protection, the sharp scent of fresh-cut timber filling the air.In 2008, a $1.3 million restoration cleared out asbestos, fixed chipped terra-cotta tiles, and brought back the vivid murals by George “Blue” Kalymonos that portray scenes from Berks County’s past.In 2022, we installed energy‑saving LED lights and built an ADA‑compliant ramp, its smooth concrete surface catching the afternoon sun.From March through December, you can visit Friday to Sunday, noon to 6 p.m., while the grounds stay open every day from dawn until 11 at night, when the crickets start up.Admission’s by donation-$5 for adults, $3 for youth-and the parking lot and grassy grounds are free.Amenities include the Pagoda Café, where you can sip fresh coffee, bite into warm slate-roasted pretzels, and try crisp, Japanese-inspired snacks.The gift shop sells pagoda-themed trinkets and handmade local crafts, from painted fans to carved wooden boxes.The restrooms are up on the second floor, and in 2024 they added a baby-changing station with a fresh, white counter.The Mount Penn Preserve spans 1,000 acres of city-owned forest, linking Antietam Lake Park to Neversink Mountain, with trails winding through quiet pines and open ridge lines.Pagoda Road offers a 1.5-mile scenic drive from City Park, where the air smells faintly of pine.Witch’s Hat Trail is a 0.8‑mile loop that circles the Pagoda, with signs explaining the local rock formations and the wildflowers that bloom along the path.The Gravity Railroad Trail follows an old 19th-century railbed, now turned into a path where hikers and mountain bikers roll past weathered ties and sun-warmed stones.Each June, the town hosts a lantern-lighting ceremony to honor Reading’s sister city, Reutlingen, Germany, with warm lights flickering in the summer dusk.This summer, the Skyline Series brings regional jazz and folk musicians to the terrace, where you can catch a saxophone’s warm notes drifting into the evening air.Every October, the Pagoda Pacers 10K winds through the trails and ends at dusk, beneath eaves glowing with neon light.School groups can join docent-led architecture tours that showcase the sweep of Asian influence and the feel of rough, hand-cut local stone.On New Year’s Eve, join the midnight bell ringing, but come early for fire-spinning and steaming cups of hot chocolate.For more than a hundred years, the Pagoda has stood as Reading’s most famous landmark, its curved eaves and red-painted beams marrying Japanese design with Pennsylvania craftsmanship.It stands as a testament to the city’s resilience, transformed from a failed commercial dream into a beloved landmark where neighbors gather, tourists linger, and kids race their bikes past the fountain.
