{"nrhp_refnum":"72001093","name":"Pagoda","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Mount Penn, at jct. of Duryea Dr. and Skyline Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.336054958000034,"lon":-75.90567280699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Other","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-level Japanese-style tower on the summit of Mt. Penn east of Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, built 1905-1908 as a summer resort building. The form describes it as a reproduction of the main tower of a Japanese battle castle.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the tower is significant as a reproduction of Oriental architecture brought to rural Pennsylvania in the early twentieth century, and as one of the few examples of Oriental architecture in the state. It also cites its use as a hotel and the authentic 1739 Japanese gong that hangs at the top.","narrative":"Built on the summit of Mt. Penn east of Reading between 1905 and 1908, the Pagoda is a seven-level tower modeled on the main keep of a Japanese battle castle rather than a true pagoda. It was commissioned by local politician William Abott Witman, Sr., who intended it as a summer resort and as a cover for a quarry scar on the hillside. It cost about $50,000 to build. Its five tiers of Oriental roofs are covered with clay tiles, and the observation level holds a gong cast in 1739 in Obama, Japan, which was brought to America in 1908 specifically for the Pagoda. The tower is regarded as one of the few examples of Oriental architecture in Pennsylvania and as an early twentieth-century adaptation of a foreign model for use as a hotel. Its surrounding resort was largely destroyed by fire in 1923, and only the Pagoda and two other buildings survived.","period_of_significance":"1908","architect_builder":"Charles E. Matz and James Matz (designers); William Stout (construction supervisor)","architectural_style":"Japanese Castle Tower","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The form describes the building as in good condition and says it was damaged by fire in 1958 and has had partial replacement; the resort it served was largely destroyed by fire in 1923.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:31.032285-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001093.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001093/b69f33058f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001093/b69f33058f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pagoda_Reading_PA_USA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pagoda_Reading_PA_USA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997948","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagoda_(Reading,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7124394"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/pagoda-72001093/"}