Queen Anne Historic District

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

The Queen Anne Historic District is a historic district in Reading, Berks County, roughly bounded by Robeson Street, North Third Street, the railroad tracks and Clinton Street. It was listed in the National Register in 2004. Its buildings mostly date from 1880 to 1925, in styles including Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Late Victorian, Colonial Revival, Art Deco and Modern.

Why it's listed

The district was listed under criterion C, with local significance in architecture. Its period of significance runs from 1880 to 1925, the years when most of its buildings went up and its physical development was largely complete by 1925.

Physical character

Foundations are stone and walls are brick or wood, and roofs include slate, stone, iron and stucco. Some have aluminum siding, and some show mansard roofs, polygonal towers or brick sidewalks. The district covers about 160 acres and includes 2,405 contributing buildings and 178 that do not contribute.

Historical context

Congregations built several churches in the district, including Emmanuel Baptist in 1885, Hope Lutheran in 1887, St. Mary's Episcopal in 1904 and Bethel AME around 1920. Heavy industry lined the Lebanon Valley Railroad tracks by 1881, and district industrial buildings include the Meining Glove complex, the Meining Factory and the Keystone Furnace, later the Reading Iron Co. The city's first neighborhood theater opened in 1911 and closed in 1928, after which the building served as a market house and tabernacle.