Several years ago, I lived in Asia for 2.5 years teaching English and traveling around the continent. This experience gave me a great appreciation for Asian culture, and I’m always drawn to it in my travels around Pennsylvania. That’s why the Reading Pagoda has been high on my list of things to do in Reading, PA for a long time.
Why it took me so long to get to the area to visit this very unique building, I don’t know. However, I was very excited to finally have the chance to check it out during a recent visit to Berks County, Pennsylvania.
The Reading Pagoda sits high above downtown Reading atop Mount Penn, 620 feet above the city below. The pagoda is an imposing sight above the city and can be seen from many parts of both downtown Reading and West Reading.
The Pagoda was built between 1906 and 1908 by William A. Witman, Sr. Witman had recently traveled to Japan and brought back a photo of a pagoda there on which the structure was based. Witman’s pagoda was to be the centerpiece of a resort on Mount Penn and was built on a stone quarry that he owned.
For a variety of reasons, the resort never opened, and by 1910, Witman gave up on his dream, selling the property to another local businessman. It was then given to the City of Reading in 1912.
Today, the property has been fully restored and is maintained by both the city and non-profit partners.
It sits in the middle of the 1200-acre Mount Penn Preserve, which also includes the Reading Fire Tower. A single road winds its way up the mountainside to the pagoda. While the area around the pagoda is open at any time, the interior is only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm-4pm. (Note: The interior is currently closed. As I state below, the interior is interesting, but the main draw is the exterior area, so I wouldn’t skip it just because you can’t go inside.)
The Reading Pagoda has seven stories, with the second story being level with the parking lot and viewing area. Entrance to the pagoda is through the first-floor gift shop. Here, you can pick up a pagoda souvenir or get a light snack.
After paying a small donation, 87 narrow stairs and hallways lead to the top of the pagoda, roughly 40-50 feet above the parking lot below. At the top of the structure is a small viewing area, which features 360-degree windows for views in every direction. I was a bit disappointed that the windows didn’t open, but they are kept clean enough so as not to distract from the view.
The viewing area contains two coin-operated binoculars as well as a large metal bell. This bell was cast in Japan in 1739 in Obata, Mie Prefecture. It once hung in a Buddhist temple in either Ogose or Hannō, just north of Tokyo. After the temple was closed, the bell was purchased by Witman in 1906 and arrived in Reading in 1907. It has hung in the top of the Pagoda since it was built.
Before leaving the Reading Pagoda, make sure to check out the small museum on the sixth floor. The museum features a bit of history about the pagoda and artifacts from the early years, including many advertisements from decades past.
While the inside of the pagoda is certainly worth the $1 suggested donation, the true highlight of any visit to the area is the exterior of the pagoda itself and the view of downtown Reading.
A small parking area sits next to a viewing platform that offers fantastic views of the city over 600 feet below. On a clear day, you can see 30 miles from this vantage point.
Visitors can walk around the base of the pagoda as well, taking advantage of additional vantage points and unique views of the pagoda.
Given the Reading Pagoda’s limited operating hours and the quality of the view from outside the pagoda, I wouldn’t plan your entire trip around trying to visit when it is officially open. However, if you happen to visit on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, the low cost of admission and small, but interesting museum makse a visit to the top worthwhile.
I would, however, consider a visit to the top of Mount Penn to see the Reading Pagoda a must-visit attraction for anyone that loves quirky sites or great overlooks. It’s also one of the best Asian cultural sites in Pennsylvania, along with Shofuso in Philly and the Maridon Museum in western PA.
The view from the pagoda, especially at sunset or after dark is something that should definitely be on your list when visiting Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Looking for more places to visit nearby? Check out Nolde Forest, the Reading Railroad Heritage Museum, the covered bridges of Berks County, and the Reading Public Museum.
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As a bit of useless trivia, The Pagoda and the area around it was used for the movie The Last Airbender. It’s also worth noting as a tip that the inside other than the first floor where the gift shop/snack area is located at is not climate controlled which means that in the summer it gets very, very, very hot especially on the top floor where the bell is located.
This is a most wonderful land mark for the city of Reading, Pa.. A very special treat to visit and explore. Marnie
The single road that winds its way up the mountainside is also worth mentioning. It is Duryea drive, now home to 2 different hillclimbs every year, and originally used by Charles Duryea to test his Duryea cars that were made in Reading in the early 20th century.
I really enjoyed visiting this area.
I was there in February of 2020.
Now ……one concern:
I am very distressed by the amount of trash and broken glass in the parking lot.
Please do not do this …..if you are visiting this area.
They have trash cans right there to put trash in.
Do NOT throw it all around and break bottles.
I was taking photos and it just is not necessary for that to be there.
I saw on the way out….at the other overlooks …….that people just throw their MC Donald’s food out the window.
I am asking that those people doing this ……. to stop it.
Otherwise….it is definitely worth driving to this site and visiting.
Very Enjoyable.
At one time there was a restaurant on the 2nd floor. We ate a very special dinner there with the Daly’s. Happy to have had that experience. Sad that it is no longer there. I guess it was too expensive to keep up. Will visit again soon. My kids loved it when we visited there years ago
My Aunt lived in Reading. I remember visiting the Pagoda at least three times each summer.
I had an Aunt that lived on Hill Rd. below the pagoda and I remember watching hill climbs on the winding road leading to the pagoda. This would have been in the early 60’s. We also roamed the beautiful city park across from my aunt’s apartment. There was a band shell with a pond in front of it with large gold colored fish(koi?).
The hillclimbs still happen twice a year. Pagoda hillclimb, in June, has the finish line just below the Pagoda and the race cars stage to return in the parking lot there. The Duryea hillclimb, in August, has the finish line at the Fire Tower – a mile beyond the Pagoda.
Both are open to spectators in designated areas.
William Penn would be appalled to see a pagan temple erected in the State named after him…😞
William Penn started the colony to promote religious freedom, so while this site has nothing to do with religion, he would have been very happy to see it and would have fully supported it if it were a religious site. Either way, who cares what a guy who died over 300 years ago and owned slaves would think about modern society?
I have no written proof but my family told me that my grandfather Wesley Ford was the electrician who put the first light bulbs on the Pagoda. He had a business in Pleasantville NJ and traveled here for the job. I wish I knew the date it was done but all the family is gone. My Dad James Wesley Ford moved here as a young man and spent the remainder of his life here.