Berkshire Mall (Pennsylvania) facts for kids
North entrance to Berkshire Mall
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| Location | Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| Coordinates | 40°20′29.45″N 75°58′13.03″W / 40.3415139°N 75.9702861°W |
| Address | 1665 State Hill Road |
| Opening date | February 10, 1970 |
| Developer | Goodman Company |
| Owner | Namdar Realty Group |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Total retail floor area | 910,000 square feet (85,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in former Sears and former Bon-Ton, 3 in Boscov's) |
| Parking | Parking lot |
| Public transit access |  BARTA bus: 15 |
The Berkshire Mall is a large indoor shopping mall located in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. This town is a suburb just west of Reading in Berks County. The mall is easy to reach from major roads like US 222 and US 422. Its main entrances are found along Woodland Road or State Hill Road. The Berkshire Mall first opened its doors in February 1970. Today, its main department store is Boscov's, with two other large spaces that used to be stores now empty.
Mall History
Plans for the Berkshire Mall started in the late 1960s. In November 1967, it was announced that Sears would be one of the first big stores. It would move from its older location in Shillington. Construction began in 1968. The mall officially opened in February 1970. It was the first enclosed shopping mall to open in eastern Pennsylvania outside of the Philadelphia area.
The mall's name comes from Berks County. The county itself is named after the English royal county of Berkshire. The mall once had a special fountain in its center. This fountain's water and lights were designed by a local Reading company. In December 1989, a new food court called The Terrace Cafe opened on an upper level. It replaced a smaller shopping area that looked like a Victorian street, called "Lamp Post Lane."
The first company to own and build the mall was the Goodman Company. They sold it in 1985. Later, in July 2002, Allied Properties bought the mall.
In January 2002, Boscov's bought the Strawbridge's store at the Berkshire Mall. This store had been a Wanamaker's until 1995 and then a Hecht's until 1996. The new Boscov's store opened in August 2002. It replaced an older Boscov's store nearby in Sinking Spring.
On November 2, 2009, a small fire started in a display window at the Victoria's Secret store. The mall's sprinkler system quickly put out the fire before firefighters arrived. Everyone was safely evacuated, and no one was hurt. On April 14, 2010, another fire happened inside the Boscov's store. Firefighters controlled it in about 30 minutes.
On May 22, 2014, a strong spring thunderstorm hit the mall. Large hail stones broke through the ceiling and skylights. This caused glass and water to fall inside. Cars in the parking lot also got dents and broken windshields.
The The Bon-Ton store, which had been a Lit Brothers and then a Pomeroy's, closed on August 28, 2018. This happened because the Bon-Ton company went out of business. On November 8, 2018, it was announced that the Sears store at Berkshire Mall would close in February 2019. This left Boscov's as the only large department store remaining.
In July 2020, Allied Properties sold the Berkshire Mall to Namdar Realty Group.
Berkshire Mall West
The Berkshire Mall West is a separate shopping area. It is located across Woodland Road from the main Berkshire Mall. This "mall west" is a strip plaza, which means it's a row of stores with outdoor entrances. It has the only Fine Wine & Good Spirits Premium Collection store in Berks County, along with One Stop Beverage, TJ Maxx, Outback Steakhouse, Bank of America, and Berkshire Bank.
There used to be a Circuit City store here until 2009, when the company closed down. For a while, that building became a Halloween Adventure store. Later, in 2010, it reopened as hhgregg, a store that sold electronics and home appliances. However, hhgregg also closed in 2017. The building is now empty, but it often becomes a Halloween Adventure store again around September each year. There was also an A.C. Moore craft store here until that company closed its business.
