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The Pagoda is a novelty building, built atop the south end of Mount Penn overlooking
The Pagoda is wide, long, and tall. Perched on the edge of a cliff, above the city and above sea level, it offers a panoramic view of the city and the surrounding countryside.
Within the top story hangs a tocsin, a massive bell cast in Obata, The Pagoda
from Berks County Historical Society. It was added to the
The Reading PagodaPagoda Skyline, Inc.
Buildings and structures in Reading, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Reading, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures completed in 1908 Pagodas in the United States Novelty buildings in Pennsylvania 1908 establishments in Pennsylvania Towers in Pennsylvania
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...
, United States. It has been a symbol of the city for more than a century.
History
Completed in 1908 at a cost of $50,000, this pagoda was intended to be the hotel/restaurant centerpiece of a luxury resort. When plans for the rest of the resort were abandoned, the 7-story wooden building on of land was donated to Reading in 1911. It is now part of the Mount Penn Preserve, of municipally-owned land.
The Pagoda is wide, long, and tall. Perched on the edge of a cliff, above the city and above sea level, it offers a panoramic view of the city and the surrounding countryside.
Within the top story hangs a tocsin, a massive bell cast in Obata, Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...
, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, in 1739, and formerly installed in a Buddhist temple in either Ogose or Hannō
is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 79,123 in 35,440 households and a population density of 410 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Hannō is located on the southern ...
, Saitama Prefecture
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...
, just north of Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. Listed on the bell's sides in Japanese characters are the names of its 48 donors and a prophecy
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...
about the end of time. The temple was closed in 1881, and later destroyed.
Anti-Japanese sentiment was rampant during World War II, and there were calls to demolish the building. But it was restored in 1949, with the lower story and balconies rebuilt in stone. In 1960, neon lights were installed outlining its roofs. In the 1970s, the Japanese garden was restored, and Japanese cherry trees were planted around the building. LED
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
lights were installed in 2008-09. A webcam
A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...
on its third floor periodically records and publishes the weather atop Mount Penn.
The Pagoda is owned by the City of Reading but is managed and preserved by the Foundation for the Reading Pagoda. It houses a small café and a gift shop, and functions as an icon for the City of Reading. The Pagoda is also the home of Pagoda Skyline, Inc., a non-profit volunteer organization formed in 1969 to help with the restoration and preservation of the Pagoda, the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower and Skyline Drive.from Berks County Historical Society. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1972.
See also
*National Register of Historic Places listings in Berks County, Pennsylvania
__NOTOC__
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on National Register of Historic Places in Berks County, Pennsylv ...
References
{{Reading, PennsylvaniaExternal links
The Reading Pagoda
Buildings and structures in Reading, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Reading, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures completed in 1908 Pagodas in the United States Novelty buildings in Pennsylvania 1908 establishments in Pennsylvania Towers in Pennsylvania