William Penn Memorial Fire Tower has interesting history with paranormal twists

Oct. 18—The imposing stone tower that sits atop Mount Penn, just a mile down the road from the Pagoda, was constructed in 1939.

Construction of the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower, as well as the stone wall that runs along Skyline Drive, was done through the Work Projects Administration. Originally called the Works Progress Administration when it was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, the WPA put the unemployed back to work on infrastructure projects for the federal government. It was a way to combat the economic effects of the Great Depression.

"Consent to begin construction came Dec. 9, 1938," local historian George M. Meiser IX wrote in Volume 12 of his book series "The Passing Scene." "The highest paid workers on the project — engineers and iron workers — earned $1.37 an hour."

According to Meiser, the construction costs were $33,536.

While the 120-foot-tall tower stands in Lower Alsace Township, it is owned by the city of Reading.

It is made of stone taken from the mountain, concrete and steel — all fireproof materials —noted Corrie Crupi Zana, a local historian, chairwoman of the nonprofit Pagoda-Skyline Inc. and author of "Footprints on the Mountain — A History of the Pagoda, the Tower, the Gravity Railroad and Skyline Drive."

For 50 years she has been enamored with the Fire Tower and all things Skyline Drive.

"When I was 14, I lived in the middle of the city and I used to wander up into the mountain," she said. "My neighbors would say to me, 'where are you going every weekend? You've got a backpack,' and I said, 'Oh I'm going up in the mountains. I like to walk in the woods.' And they said: 'We used to go up there, it used to be really something up there.'"

Zana said she was incredulous as her neighbors described a resort wonderland atop Mount Penn.

Not long after, she was at the library on the corner of Spring and Mulberry streets and delved into a history book. Then she saw it: a picture of the old tower that was constructed by the Mount Penn Gravity Railroad Co. to be a tourist attraction at the summit.

"I was just thrown back," Zana said. "That was it. That was my mission in life — that old tower right there."

The predecessor

"Back in 1889 the Gravity Railroad Co. decided to create a scenic mountain ride and they developed what is known as the Gravity Railroad," Zana explained. "The Gravity Railroad took you on a ride through the mountains, the glen, through the crisp air of the woods and brought you to a spot on the mountain called the White Spot. The White Spot is the area right around the rock quarry. They decided they needed something at the summit as an attraction."

The tower was constructed in 1889 and opened in 1890. It provided a 30-mile view in all directions. Inside there were shuffle board games, a shooting gallery, billiards and a huge dance floor according to Zana's book. Outside, to the left, there was a two-lane bowling alley. To the right, souvenir and refreshment stands stood between the Gravity Railroad Tower and Schwartz's Summit House Hotel.

The hotel was built in 1891 and had 18 guest rooms and wraparound verandas that were 16 feet wide, Zana said. It was razed in 1959.

All that remains of the hotel today is the foundation and a white cement platform to the right of the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower.

On Monday, April 23, 1923, an arsonist burned down the Gravity Railroad Tower. Zana said the tower's watchman turned away an intoxicated person who wanted to access the tower after it had been closed for the afternoon. Later, the man was seen hurriedly leaving the area, she said.

The April 24, 1923, Reading Times reported it was likely a case of arson.

"Indications of incendiarism were discovered early this morning at the Tower, police said," the article stated. "They claim to have found a gallon can of kerosene and a large box of matches. The matches and kerosene were found lying on the Tower grounds, the police said, and relatively near each other. The matches indicated, police said, having recently been placed there. They said they were fresh and had not been in Sunday night's rain. The kerosene can was partly empty."

The Mount Penn Gravity Railroad Co. chose not to rebuild the tower. It was facing monetary difficulties from paying restitution to families and victims of a fatal trolley crash several years before.

A new tower

"They (the WPA) built the William Penn Tower in memory of the old tower and as a precaution and safety concern with the acreage of forest land the city and Berks County had," Zana said. "It was actively used by the DCNR (Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) right when it was opened for forestry and fire watch."

She said the Walker family served as forest fire wardens and longtime caretakers of the tower.

"Every day they would take the 168 stairs to the top," Zana said.

The DCNR stopped using the tower in 1988 due to its deterioration.

"They stopped using it because the steps collapsed and a guy was trapped up there," Zana said.

An extensive restoration was needed, but it would not come until 2000 when the nonprofit Pagoda-Skyline Inc. raised money for the fixes.

Restoration work

"Our quotes were coming in at $300,000, $600,000," Zana said, but the group had raised far less.

"I was in the elevator at City Hall with a man named Wilson Eshbach from Eshbach Brothers and he said to me, 'How much money you got kid?' and I told him $198,000. He said, 'Let me do it.'"

Zana explained that Eshbach Brothers masonry had a five-generation history of working on Skyline Drive.

"This was project close to his heart," Zana said. "He wanted to save that fire tower."

Eshbach Brothers tackled the decaying stonework and Bachman Iron Works was hired to rebuild the steel stairs, including two spiral staircases.

"Bachman Iron, they were the original people that put in the stairs in 1939," Zana said.

Tower today

Zana said Pagoda-Skyline partners with many groups to hold activities at and near the fire tower: Blue Mountain Region Sports Car Club of America, Baird Ornithological Society, DCNR, filmmakers, paranormal groups, schools, Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club and others.

"It's also popular for geocaching," Zana said.

Zana said she has experienced the presence of the paranormal in the tower. She said she has seen ghostly apparitions on the stairs, and those that haunt the place have spoken to her through a medium.

One of the ghosts is said to be a mother who jumped from a crashing trolley with her baby. She survived, but her son did not, Zana said.

"I think she chose this spot because it was the last place she was happy with her baby," Zana said.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the Fire Tower is currently closed to the public by the city. However, arrangements can be made through Pagoda-Skyline to hold future events there, Zana said. She suggests contacting Pagoda-Skyline through its website, pagodaskyline.org.

Fire tower trivia

Address: 2500 Skyline Drive, Reading, PA 19606 (Lower Alsace Township)

Height: 120 feet tall, 1,239 feet above sea level

Building material: stone and reinforced concrete. All stone used was from Mount Penn.

Steps: 168 (erroneous reports of 120 steps have been published in the past)

Built: 1939 on the foundation of the former Gravity Railroad Tower, which burned in 1923.

Architect: Grover Cleveland Freeman of Lower Alsace Township

Listed on the National Historic Lookout Register on Oct. 30, 1999.

Sources: Pagoda-Skyline Inc., "The Passing Scene" series of books by George M. Meiser IX and Gloria Jean Meiser, www.firetower.org and "Footprints on the Mountain" by Corrie Crupi.