Muhlenberg Brothers was one of the dominant architecture/engineering firms in Reading, Pennsylvania during the first half of the 20th century, founded by a member of the Muhlenberg political dynasty.
Muhlenberg Brothers was one of the dominant architecture/engineering firms in Reading, Pennsylvania during the first half of the 20th century, founded by a member of the Muhlenberg political dynasty.
It was established in 1892 by Charles Henry Muhlenberg IV (1870–1960), who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and apprenticed under the architect Frank Furness. [1] His brother, Frederick Hunter Muhlenberg II (1865–1933), attended both Lafayette College and MIT. The founder's son, Charles Henry Muhlenberg V (1899–1985), who attended the University of Wisconsin and MIT (and played a role in the spread of the Monopoly board game [2] ), joined the firm in 1923. Frederick Hunter Muhlenberg II left the firm in the mid-1920s to go into partnership with his nephew, Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg II, operating as Muhlenberg & Muhlenberg.
Its main offices were located at 113-A South Fourth Street in Reading. It established a branch office in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and one in St. Petersburg, Florida in the 1920s. [3] By 1937, Frederick H. Muhlenberg II had died, Charles H. Muhlenberg IV was listed as a consultant, G. Russell Steininger was no longer part of the firm, and Charles H. Muhlenberg V and Frederick R. Shenk were the principals. [4] The firm continued until about 1965, when Shenk formed Frederick R. Shenk & Lee V. Seibert. [5]
Muhlenberg Brothers designed both residential and commercial works, and large projects such as office buildings, churches and factories. Among the commissions were a vaudeville theater, a number of public school buildings, and much of the campus of Albright College. G. Russell Steininger, landscape architect, was a principal in the firm by 1929. A number of the firm's works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. [6]
The Historical Society of Berks County owns two portfolios of photographs of Muhlenberg Brothers buildings, from 1929 and 1937, along with hundreds of blueprints from the firm.
Berks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state.
Muhlenberg Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 21,915 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous township in Berks County after Spring Township and Exeter Township.
Shillington is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 5,273 at the time of the 2010 census the borough is nestled amongst other suburbs outside Reading. It is perhaps best known for being the location of the homestead to Pennsylvania's first governor, Thomas Mifflin, and as the childhood home of American author John Updike. Many of Updike's stories take place in the fictional town of Olinger, a lightly-disguised version of Shillington, and in its environs.
Shoemakersville is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,378 at the 2010 census, a decline from the figure of 2,124 tabulated in 2000.
West Reading is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,212 at the 2010 census. It contains a vibrant main street and the large Reading Hospital and Medical Center. It was also the site of the VF Outlet Village, one of the largest outlet malls in the United States. The VF Outlet Village was located in the buildings of the former Berkshire Knitting Mills, which was in operation from 1908 to 1975. The VF Outlet closed in 2020. In addition to its reputable outlet mall history, the borough is known for being the birthplace of Taylor Swift, 12-time Grammy Award winner.
Wyomissing is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to Reading. The borough was incorporated on July 2, 1906. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,114, compared to 10,461 at the 2010 census. The growth was significantly larger between 2000 and 2010 largely because of its merger in January 2002 with neighboring Wyomissing Hills. Wyomissing is the most populous borough in Berks County.
Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of the Schuylkill River, 52 miles (84 km) south of Wilkes-Barre. It is located in Pennsylvania's Coal Region.
The Muhlenberg family created a United States political, religious, and military dynasty that was primarily based in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but which had also expanded into the State of Ohio by the early nineteenth century.
Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg II was a leading architect, an American military and political leader who served as a US Congressman from Pennsylvania, and a member of the Muhlenberg political dynasty.
South Temple is a census-designated place in Muhlenberg Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located approximately four miles north of the city of Reading. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,424 residents.
Wilson High School is a public high school located in West Lawn, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the only high school in the Wilson School District.
Pennsylvania Route 12 (PA 12) is a 9.566-mile-long (15.395 km) state highway located in Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 222 (US 222) and US 422 in Wyomissing. Its eastern terminus is PA 662 in the community of Pricetown in Ruscombmanor Township. In the Reading area, PA 12 is a four-lane freeway called the Warren Street Bypass that heads northeast through urban areas, coming to interchanges with multiple roads including PA 183, PA 61, and US 222 Business (US 222 Bus.). In Alsace Township, the route becomes a two-lane undivided road with at-grade intersections called Pricetown Road and continues northeast through rural areas, intersecting PA 73 before ending at PA 662.
U.S. Route 222 Business is a 12.17-mile (19.59 km) business route of US 222 in Reading, Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at US 222 in Cumru Township. Its northern terminus is at US 222 in Ontelaunee Township. The route begins at the US 222 freeway and heads through the southwestern suburbs of Reading as Lancaster Avenue, intersecting Pennsylvania Route 724 in Shillington. US 222 Bus. continues into Reading on Lancaster Avenue and intersects the northern termini of PA 625 and PA 10 before reaching an interchange with the US 422 freeway.
Founded in 1869, the Historical Society of Berks County (HSBC) operates the Berks History Center as a museum and library located in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Society's mission, as described on its website, is "to focus attention on the unique local history, the vast material culture, and the diverse cultural heritage of Berks County by preserving, archiving, and promoting this material to instill in our citizens of all ages and ethnic groups an awareness of this growing treasure trove of information. This allows the HSBC to be a major cultural magnet, drawing people to our community."
Wilson Brothers & Company was a prominent Victorian-era architecture and engineering firm established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company was regarded for its structural expertise.
St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Parish House and Rectory is a group of architecturally-significant religious buildings located at 200-216 North Mill Street in Birdsboro, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
Malcomson and Higginbotham was an architectural firm started in the nineteenth century and based in Detroit, Michigan. A successor firm, Malcomson-Greimel and Associates, still exists in Rochester, Michigan as of 2010.
The Medical Arts Building in Reading, Pennsylvania is located at 230 North Fifth Street and was designed by Frederick A. Muhlenberg founder of Muhlenberg Greene Architects.
Muhlenberg Greene Architects, Ltd. is a full-service architecture firm, in continuous operation since 1920, and was one of the predominant architecture/engineering firms in Reading, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century.
The Edward Brooke II Mansion (1887–88), also known as "Brookeholm," is a Queen Anne country house at 301 Washington Street in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. Designed by architect Frank Furness and completed in 1888, it was Edward Brooke II's wedding present to his bride, Anne Louise Clingan.