{"nrhp_refnum":"76001603","name":"Trinity Lutheran Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6th and Washington Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.33715473400008,"lon":-75.92605609899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-06-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Lutheran church in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, built of red brick in 1792-1794, with a square bell tower at the west end and an adjoining cemetery. The church is the oldest Lutheran church in Reading.","why_significant":"The nomination describes the church as the first and leading Lutheran church in the Reading area and the oldest congregation of any denomination in the city, founded in 1751. It is cited as a good example of Georgian architecture and as the site of a political convention in 1838 that nominated Joseph Ritner for governor. The cemetery contains graves of Revolutionary War soldiers, including Dr. Bodo Otto.","narrative":"Built of red brick in Flemish bond between 1792 and 1794, Trinity Lutheran Church in Reading has five bays along its length, two stories in height, and arched multipaned windows with keystones. Its two symmetrical entrances have fanlights, fluted pilasters and gables, and a square bell tower stands at the west end. The congregation was founded in 1751, and the church is the oldest Lutheran church in the city. Frederick A. Muhlenberg, twice speaker of the Continental Congress, and his son Henry A. Muhlenberg, later U.S. Ambassador to Austria, served as pastors here. In 1838 the church hosted an Anti-Masonic party convention that nominated Joseph Ritner for governor. The adjoining cemetery holds graves of Revolutionary War soldiers, including Dr. Bodo Otto, chief physician at Valley Forge. The building is regarded as a good example of Georgian architecture.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":null,"vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.604885-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/76001603.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001603/eaf9512fef-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001603/eaf9512fef-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trinity_Lutheran_Reading_PA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trinity_Lutheran_Reading_PA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997950","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Lutheran_Church_(Reading,_Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7842881"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/trinity-lutheran-church-76001603/"}