Reading has long been known for its world famous Pagoda,
which offers a spectacular view of the City and its surrounding
communities from Skyline Drive. William Abbot Witman,
Sr., a local businessman commissioned Charles C. Matz
in 1906, to build the Pagoda after seeing a picture of
Nagoya Castle in Japan. The construction of the seven
story building lasted one year and was initially built
to cover a stone pit which had defaced the western slope
of the mountain as a result of the Witman quarry. The
Pagoda was intended to be a luxury resort but never opened.
In 1910, a Reading merchant, Jonathan Mould, purchased
the building and one year later presented it, along with
ten acres of land, to the City of Reading for one dollar.
Situated 886 feet above the City of Reading, the Pagoda
is one of only three in the United States. The Pagoda,
Reading's most prominent landmark, has become a symbol
of the City and is commemorated as a uniform shoulder
patch worn by the men and women of the Reading Police
Department.
|
