Reading Pagoda
When one thinks of a pagoda, they normally picture the pagoda to be in a place like Japan or China. However, one of Reading, Pennsylvania's most famous landmarks is also a pagoda. Built on a hillside at the south end of Skyline Drive on scenic Mount Penn, the Pagoda offers a wonderful historic and scenic experience. Constructed in 1906 by William Witman, Sr. with a cost of $50,000 by William A. Witman, Sr., the Pagoda was completed in 1908. The pagoda was orginally built to be a luxury resort atop Mount Penn, but due to a bank foreclosure and the denial of a liquor license, Witman never opened the Pagoda. By 1910 the Pagoda and the surrounding property were sold to a local business owner. In 1911, the Pagoda was sold to the City of Reading for the grand sum of $1. The Pagoda stands 7 stories high, 28 feet wide, 50 feet long, situated 620 feet above Reading at 866 feet above sea level. There are 60 tons of tiles and terra cotta on the pagoda with a total of 87 steps fr