Reading, Massachusetts
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| Reading, Massachusetts | |
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Middlesex County |
| Settled | 1639 |
| Incorporated | 1644 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Representative town meeting |
| Area | |
| - Town | 9.9 sq mi (25.7 km²) |
| - Land | 9.9 sq mi (25.7 km²) |
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²) |
| Elevation | 129 ft (39 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Town | 23,708 |
| - Density | 2,388.3/sq mi (922.1/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 01867 |
| Area code(s) | 339 / 781 |
| Website: http://www.ci.reading.ma.us/ | |
Reading is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 23,708 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
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The building that housed the library from 1918 to 1984, located at 16 Lowell Street, was founded by Andrew Carnegie. The old building is now a part of Reading Town Hall, and the Reading Public Library is now located in a former school at 64 Middlesex Avenue.
[edit] 20th Century
Reading town officials raised a national controversy in the late 1970s when they refused an operating license to the Sambo's Restaurant chain on the ground that its name was based on racial stereotyping. A Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the chain, but the restaurant opened and failed. The chain subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection and liquidated its assets in the Eastern United States.
[edit] Geography
Reading is located at (42.52585, -71.109939).GR1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 25.7 km² (9.9 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 23,708 people, 8,688 households, and 6,437 families residing in the town. The population density was 921.8/km² (2,388.3/mi²). There were 8,823 housing units at an average density of 343.1/km² (888.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.47% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.06% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population.
There were 8,688 households out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.5% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $77,059, and the median income for a family was $89,076. Males had a median income of $61,117 versus $39,817 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,888. About 1.7% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Government
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Peter Hechenbleikner is the town manager. Reading town government was run by an Open Town Meeting until the 1940s, when the town voted to establish a Limited Town Meeting, with members elected from four precincts. The limited town meeting was joined by a long list of elected officials. The town elected every officer from selectmen and school committee to tree warden and town treasurer. For many years, several elected positions were held by the same, reliable people. Boyd H. Stewart and James Putnam each held multiple offices for many years. But as the town grew and state mandates became more extensive, the town grappled with structural issues.
The first major change in town government came in the late 1960s, when the town created the position of Executive Secretary/Town Accountant. For the first time, the three member board of selectmen had an administrative officer.
Reading for years relied on a volunteer government in which town issues were addressed discretely by a series of public-minded individuals who administered town affairs as a public calling, not as a political imperative. Moderators Charles Howard and Attorney Kenneth C. Latham served multiple one-year terms without opposition. Highly qualified members of the community served as selectmen. Volunteers with special qualifications filled positions ranging from the Board of Public Works to the Municipal Light Board.
As the complexities of town government grew, the town attempted minor adjustments. In the late 1960s, a town government study committee recommended some modifications to the way Reading's government operated, but operated with the assumption that the basic structure would remain unchanged.
Then in the early 1970s, outside influences came increasingly to play on Reading government. State mandates increased. Citizen demand for services increased. The town's limited land area, its closeness to Boston and its unique position of being bisected by both state Route128 and Interstate 93 increased the demands of developers for city services while simultaneously increasing the town's responsibilities for oversight of development.
Then, after continuing the tradition of electing the same individual to the offices of tax collector and town treaturer, the town found that the responsibilities of the position outweighed the ability of part time employees to get the job done. A cash "discrepency" was discovered on the treasurer's books. There were never allegations of wrong-doing, but the town's books did not balance. A national accounting firm was retained to resolve the issue, and to provide both an audit of the treasurer's accounts and a managerial audit of the town's business practices.
After considering the audits, the Town Meeting voted to create yet another Town Government Study Committee. But unlike prior committees, this panel took its responsibilities seriously.
[edit] Education
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Reading was an early and active participant in Boston's METCO program, which brought African-American and inner-city students from Boston to attend grades K-12.
[edit] Points of interest
- The Parker Tavern - The Town's oldest remaining 17th Century structure, built in 1694. This property, on Washington Street, is currently owned and operated by the non-profit Reading Antiquarian Society.
- The roof of the St. Athanasius Parish, on Haverhill St., was designed by Louis A. Scibelli and Daniel F. Tulley, and is one of the largest hyperbolic paraboloids in the Western Hemisphere
- Burbank Arena skating rink on Haverhill St. as well as private condos on Bear Hill St. both reside over the sites of decomissioned Army National Guard Nike Ajax missile silos.[1][2]
[edit] Notable residents
- Mark Erelli, folk musician
- JoAnne McGee, actress
- Moses Nichols, officer during the American Revolutionary War
- Eddie Peabody, banjo player
- Charles Stuart, murderer of his wife, Carol DiMaiti Stuart
- Brad Whitford, who replaced Ray Tabano (aka Crazy Raymond) as the second guitarist of Aerosmith
- African American Basketball player Bill Russell lived in Reading in the 1960s next to a gas station on Main Street, but later moved a more upperclass part of town. Due to his race, vandals broke into the basketball player's home and damaged his property. Russell left Reading after his playing and coaching career ended in 1969. Ownership of the Reading property was transferred to his former wife, Rose, in 1973. Mrs. Russell sold the property in 1974.
- Lennie Merullo, a professional baseball player who played for the Chicago Cubs starting in 1941.
- Thomas Junta
[edit] External links
- Town of Reading website
- Reading Public Library
- Reading Public School System
- Reading Neighborhood Website
- Reading Community Bulletin Board
- Reading Community Television
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Informed Residents Of Reading website
