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 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.Charles H. Muhlenberg obituary from The Reading Eagle, December 12, 1960. 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), 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."Muhlenberg Bros. Registered Architects," The Palm Beach Post, December 4, 1925, p. B-4. 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.Selections from the Work of Muhlenberg Brothers, Registered Architects (New York, Architectural Catalog Co., 1937). The firm continued until about 1965, when Shenk formed Frederick R. Shenk & Lee V. Seibert.
Work 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.
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
Houses W. W. Kline House (1905–07), 200 Wilson Street, West Lawn, Pennsylvania. Featured in The Architectural Review, Volume 14 (1907), pp. 84–85.Kline house from The Architectural Review. Frederick H. Muhlenberg II House (1907), 1020 Centre Avenue, Reading, Pennsylvania. The architect's own house. Alterations to Harbster House (c. 1910), 742 Centre Avenue, Reading, Pennsylvania. Frank Furness designed the house (c. 1886).George E. Thomas, et al., Frank Furness: The Complete Works (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, revised edition 1996), p. 258. Charles H. Muhlenberg IV may have worked on the original house while in Furness's office. Charles H. Muhlenberg IV House (1926), 1221 Garfield Avenue, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. The architect's own house. John M. Frame House (1927), 901 N. Third Street, Reading, Pennsylvania.Frame House from Centre Park Historic District. Designed by Frederick H. Muhlenberg II.
Churches Rectory (1893) and Parish Hall (), St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, 151 N. Ninth Street, Reading, Pennsylvania. from GoReadingBerks. Holy Spirit Lutheran Church (1922), Fourth & Windsor Streets, Reading, Pennsylvania.Holy Spirit Lutheran Church First Church of Christ Scientist (1925), Centre Avenue & Greenwich Street, Reading, Pennsylvania. First Presbyterian Church (), 200 North Ninth Street, Ashland, Pennsylvania. Now First United Methodist Presbyterian Church.First United Methodist Presbyterian Church Immanuel United Church of Christ (1955–59), 99 S. Waverly Street, Shillington, Pennsylvania.Immanuel History Timeline from Immanuel United Church of Christ.
Schools and cultural institutions Young Women's Christian Association (1921–22, demolished), 215 North Sixth Street, Reading, Pennsylvania.Reading YWCA from eBay. McAdoo High School (1927–28, demolished), Sherman Street, McAdoo, Pennsylvania.McAdoo High School Tyson-Schoener Elementary School (1928), 315 S. Fifth Street, Reading, Pennsylvania.Tyson-Schoener School Charles H. Muhlenberg V designed the building. His sister, Virginia Muhlenberg Steininger, created the decorative tiles. Historical Society of Berks County (1928–29), 940 Centre Avenue, Reading, Pennsylvania.About Berks County Historical Society. 13th & Union Elementary School (1929), 13th & Union Streets, Reading, Pennsylvania.13th & Union Elementary School In 1936, Muhlenberg Brothers added the north wing and gymnasium. Cressona High School (1929), 45 Wilder Street, Cressona, Pennsylvania.Blue Mountain Elementary School Cressona Now Blue Mountain Elementary School Cressona. Wyomissing Public Library (1930–31), 9 Reading Boulevard, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.Wyomissing Public Library History. William Jeanes Memorial Library (1935), Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.History from Jeanes Library. Built on the grounds of the Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse. A new Jeanes Library was built in Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania in 1971.About Us from Jeanes Library. St. Clair High School (1937–38), South Mill & Nichols Streets, St. Clair, Pennsylvania.St. Clair High School from Saint Clair Then and Now. Now St. Clair Area Elementary School. Wyomissing High School (1937–40), 630 Evans Avenue, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. Visitor center and library (1940–41), Landis Valley Museum, 2451 Kissel Hill Road, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Expansion of Muhlenberg High School (1949–51), 400 Sharp Avenue, Laureldale, Pennsylvania.Muhlenberg School District History. Albright College, Reading, Pennsylvania: Breyfogel Theological Building (1928–29).Teel Hall from Historic College Architecture Project. Now Teel Hall. Women's dormitory. Merner-Pfeiffer Hall of Science (1929–30).Hall of Science from Historic College Architecture. Library. Merner-Pfeiffer-Klein Memorial Chapel (1958–60).Albright College Chapel from Historic College Architecture Project.
Other buildings Daniel F. Ancona Building (c. 1899), 604 North Fifth Street, Reading, Pennsylvania. Red Men Hall (1900), 831-33 Walnut Street, Reading, Pennsylvania. NRHP-listed. Farmers National Bank (1909), Penn Street, Reading, Pennsylvania. Hippodrome Theatre (1910, demolished 1970s), 751-57 Penn Street, Reading, Pennsylvania.Reading Hippodrome from Cinema Treasures. Built as a vaudeville house, it was later expanded into a 1,228-seat movie theater. Reading Armory Drill Hall (1910–11), Rose & Walnut Streets, Reading, Pennsylvania. Alterations to Reading Hospital (1910–13), Front & Spring Streets, Reading, Pennsylvania.Sweet's Catalogue of Buildings Construction (1913), p. 459. C. K. Whitner Department Store (1911), 438-44 Penn Street, Reading, Pennsylvania.Whitner's from GoReadingBerks. Carpenter Steel Company, Annealing Building (1915), River Road & Exeter Street, Reading, Pennsylvania.Carpenter Steel Mill from Google. Bank of Hamburg Savings & Trust Co. (1923), 52-54 South Fourth Street, Hamburg, Pennsylvania. Part of Hamburg Historic District. Masonic Building (1925), 4 South Second Street, Pottsville, Pennsylvania.Pottsville Masonic Building from Seth Gaines via Flickr."Pottsville Masons to erect 5-story temple, Reading men the architects," The Reading Eagle, March 22, 1925. City Bank and Trust Company (1937–40, demolished), 538 Penn Street, Reading, Pennsylvania. Thomas A. Willson & Company, Building 2 (1946), 201 Washington Street, Reading, Pennsylvania.Shelby Weaver Splain & Doug Scott, Thomas A. Willson & Company, NRHP Registration Form (2006), p. 5: NRHP-listed. Now GoggleWorks Center for the Arts.
Notes
References "Reading's Architects," The Reading Eagle, December 8, 1895, p. 4. Selections from the Work of Muhlenberg Brothers, Registered Architects, Landscaping (New York: Architectural Catalog Co., 1929). Selections from the Work of Muhlenberg Brothers, Registered Architects (New York, Architectural Catalog Co., 1937). Architecture & Design Magazine, 5 (August 1941): entire issue devoted to the work of Muhlenberg Brothers.
External links Muhlenberg Brothers from Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. Frederick Hunter Muhlenberg II papers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.