A 1947 topographic map of the Reading, Pennsylvania area. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It was a different Reading back in the day when Albert R. Boscov, then just a child, would go to work at his father’s store on North Ninth Street.
“When I was growing up, Penn Street was the most vital area you could go to. It had five movie theaters,” the Boscov’s Department Stores chairman recalled of the city in the first half of the twentieth century. “When I look at Reading today, it’s not what I would like to see.”
“It’s not the Reading I know,” Boscov told a crowd of about 100 at Alvernia University on Friday night. “And it’s not the Reading it has to be.”
Boscov came to Francis Hall on Friday for the kick-off of Leadership Berks’ “Leaders, Legends, and Visionaries” series. The discussion was moderated by David Myers, director of Alvernia’s O’Pake Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Public Service.
Roy's Rants - For Your Information 