Reading (Massachusetts)

Reading is a town of 26,000 people (2020) in Greater Boston. Reading played an active role in the American Revolutionary War. It was prominently involved in the engagements pursuing the retreating British Army after the battles of Lexington and Concord, and has a few sites associated with the Revolutionary Era.

By car
Interstate 93 and 95 runs along the border of Reading, you can take the exits off onto Route 129 or Route 28 to travel into town. Traffic on the highway does get quite heavy during rush hour.

By public transit
The MBTA Commuter Rail (Haverhill/Reading Line) goes through here with a station in the town center. The station is also the terminus of the MBTA's 136/137 bus route.



Get around


The town is very neatly condensed around its main street, so once you're in town, you're pretty close to everything. The streets are in good condition in some places, while other roads are riddled with potholes and other relatively minor problems. The local phone book (not the Yellow Pages) has a map of the town on its back cover. Ask about the phone book at the town hall by the Old South Church in the town square.

Bikers be warned: there isn't much room for cyclists who want to ride on the road, the terrain is hilly, and drivers generally aren't very considerate of cyclists on major roads such as Main Street.

Do
By all accounts, there is little to do in Reading but go elsewhere.

Joking aside, there is the plaza on Walkers Brook Drive; the Jordan's furniture store there has an IMAX theater.

Sleep
No lodging services have been listed. However, neighboring Wakefield and Woburn have a number of hotels.