{"id":203295,"date":"2026-05-27T09:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T09:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/203295\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T09:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T09:18:13","slug":"selfie-spot-new-sign-turning-heads-in-downtown-reading-berks-regional-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/203295\/","title":{"rendered":"Selfie spot: New sign turning heads in downtown Reading | Berks Regional News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>READING, Pa. \u2014A new sign in downtown Reading aims to instill a sense of pride in those who live in the city as well as those who visit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s wonderful,&#8221; said Adela Rodriguez, a Reading resident. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s very attractive. I think it&#8217;ll call the attention of the incoming traffic and the outcoming traffic and the people that live here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The sign features large red letters that spell out READING alongside a black and red cutout of the city&#8217;s most recognizable landmark, the Pagoda atop Mount Penn. It&#8217;s located in the courtyard in front of the Berks Community Health Center in the 800 block of Penn Street, topping off a turnaround for a section of the city some used to describe as &#8220;sketchy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our aim was to bring new life into this space, and I think we accomplished that,&#8221; said Reading Mayor Eddie Mor\u00e1n.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t a pretty sight before it was revitalized,&#8221; added Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. &#8220;When we look at the northern side and how roads were being paved and we look at the parks and how they are being fixed up, I think this is crucial for District Two so we can see the administration is really working around the city and not just in one area.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a nearly one-million-dollar revitalization project for that section of the city.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This outdoor courtyard, which is intended to serve as a space of neighborhood events like the annual Berks Community Health Fair, is a prime example of a dedication promoting a sense of community,&#8221; Mor\u00e1n said.<\/p>\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt=\"Chad Blimline selfie in front of new Reading sign\" class=\"img-responsive lazyload full blur\" width=\"1919\" height=\"1080\" data- data-\/><\/p>\n<p>             <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/65b91375e43d9.image.jpg\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"113\" width=\"200\"\/><\/p>\n<p>69 News photographer Chad Blimline shows how the new READING sign on Penn Street makes for a unique selfie spot. The Pagoda atop Mount Penn can be seen in the distance.<\/p>\n<p>                                    WFMZ-TV | Chad Blimline<\/p>\n<p>City officials and residents said they hope it&#8217;s a sign of things to come, as people could already be seen Monday morning snapping photos in front of the brand-new sign, making for a unique selfie spot.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It puts us to stop and appreciate the city of Reading, our community,&#8221; Adela said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"READING, Pa. \u2014A new sign in downtown Reading aims to instill a sense of pride in those who&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[57999,1305,128,130,129],"class_list":["post-203295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-community-health-center","tag-city-of-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}