Thomas A. Willson & Company (1946), Reading, Pennsylvania. Now GoggleWorks Center for the Arts.

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.

History

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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]

Work

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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.

Selected works

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Houses

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Churches

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Schools and cultural institutions

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Other buildings

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Notes

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  1. ^ Charles H. Muhlenberg obituary from The Reading Eagle, December 12, 1960.
  2. ^ "The Landlord's Game: Lizzie Magie and Monopoly's Anti-Capitalist Origins (1903)". The Public Domain Review. Retrieved 26 Dec 2023.
  3. ^ "Muhlenberg Bros. Registered Architects," The Palm Beach Post, December 4, 1925, p. B-4.
  4. ^ Selections from the Work of Muhlenberg Brothers, Registered Architects (New York, Architectural Catalog Co., 1937).
  5. ^ "Frederick R. Shenk & Lee V. Seibert". The American Institute of Architects. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 Jul 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  7. ^ Kline house from The Architectural Review.
  8. ^ "To Erect a Handsome Home on Centre Avenue". Reading Eagle. 17 Mar 1907.
  9. ^ George E. Thomas, et al., Frank Furness: The Complete Works (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, revised edition 1996), p. 258.
  10. ^ Frame House from Centre Park Historic District.
  11. ^ St. Paul's R. C. Church from GoReadingBerks.
  12. ^ Holy Spirit Lutheran Church
  13. ^ First United Methodist Presbyterian Church Archived 2013-07-04 at archive.today
  14. ^ Immanuel History Timeline Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine from Immanuel United Church of Christ.
  15. ^ Reading YWCA from eBay.
  16. ^ McAdoo High School
  17. ^ Tyson-Schoener School[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ About Berks County Historical Society. Archived 2011-03-02 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ 13th & Union Elementary School[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ Blue Mountain Elementary School Cressona
  21. ^ Wyomissing Public Library History. Archived 2013-07-05 at archive.today
  22. ^ History from Jeanes Library.
  23. ^ About Us from Jeanes Library.
  24. ^ St. Clair High School from Saint Clair Then and Now.
  25. ^ Muhlenberg School District History. Archived 2013-07-04 at archive.today
  26. ^ Teel Hall from Historic College Architecture Project.
  27. ^ Hall of Science from Historic College Architecture.
  28. ^ Albright College Chapel from Historic College Architecture Project.
  29. ^ Reading Hippodrome from Cinema Treasures.
  30. ^ Sweet's Catalogue of Buildings Construction (1913), p. 459.
  31. ^ Whitner's from GoReadingBerks.
  32. ^ Carpenter Steel Mill from Google.
  33. ^ Pottsville Masonic Building from Seth Gaines via Flickr.
  34. ^ "Pottsville Masons to erect 5-story temple, Reading men the architects," The Reading Eagle, March 22, 1925.[1]
  35. ^ Shelby Weaver Splain & Doug Scott, Thomas A. Willson & Company, NRHP Registration Form (2006), p. 5: https://gis.penndot.gov/CRGISAttachments/SiteResource/H080622_01H.pdf

References

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