The Pagoda

My dad grew up in Reading, and on our visits there I would always ask to visit this amazing place. It is just one of the coolest places ever.

I like it – it’s quirky. There is almost nothing else Asian about Reading, besides the usual handful of restaurants and Asian residents that any city has. No particular Asian neighborhood, that I know of. But it reminds me of the days when Reading was still manufacturing city, and someone had money to build a silly little Pagoda and import a bell for it. Long before I was born, but the city has changed several times in it’s history and will change again… is changing now.

The city is doing more remodeling around the Pagoda. Adding a coffee shop, locating the offices of the city Event Planner there, etc. They cleared an area to landscape for outdoor events. It’ll be 100 years old in 2008. But if you have bad knees you are still gonna have trouble walking up 7 flights of stairs to get to the top! You can read more about it at pagodaskyline.org

If you’re in Reading you might as well go since it’s the only attraction.
You do get a really pretty view of the city…. I recommend going at night. Pretty lights. I’d sit there for hours on warm summer nights just staring.
But yeah… don’t stare tooo late… area isn’t that great. You could get raped/murdered.