Reading Works - 1962 - From Laureldale To Reading

From Laureldale To Reading

By the late 1950s, the increased demand for its products necessitated Western Electric building a larger facility, so plans were developed for a 200,000-square-foot (20,000 m2) building at the North 11th Street site. The Greater Berks Development Fund built the Reading plant at the end of 11th street for $2 million to lease to Bell Labs and Western Electric.

Ground breaking took place in November 1960, and on Jan. 2, 1962, Western Electric took possession of the new building, Building 30 (the manufacturing building).

In 1964, Western Electric bought the 290,000-square-foot (27,000 m2) building. By 1966 all facilities had moved from the Laureldale plant to the Muhlenberg Township, Pennsylvania, site. The new facility was called the Reading Works and the branch of Bell Labs was called the Reading Labs.

In 1967, when the Reading Works celebrated its 15th anniversary in Berks County, it employed about 2,600 employees. Various additions since the mid-1960s increased the manufacturing space to 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2). Construction on the 210,000-square-foot (20,000 m2) office building (Building 20) began in 1980, and the building was first occupied in 1982.