{"nrhp_refnum":"79002170","name":"Reading Hardware Company Butt Works","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"537 Willow St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.324816826000074,"lon":-75.92545187699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-11-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story and three-story factory loft building at the corner of Willow and Pearl Streets in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, with an attached boiler house and courtyard. It was constructed in 1875 for manufacturing and used originally by the Reading Hardware Company as its butt works.","why_significant":"The nomination describes the building as an especially fine example of nineteenth century factory loft construction and one of very few similar buildings of its type in Reading. It is also presented as one of the last remnants of Reading's iron industry and the Reading Hardware Company complex, whose hardware was widely known for design and reached international fame at the Centennial and Paris Expositions.","narrative":"Built in 1875 for manufacturing at the corner of Willow and Pearl Streets in Reading, this factory loft building was the butt works of the Reading Hardware Company. It is made of three-wythe common bond brick, with four stories along Willow Street and three along Pearl Street, and it has heavy timber trusses, large double and triple hung wood sash, and open floors with columns set at ten-foot spacing. Its roof-level cast iron stars and a central lantern-lit boiler house add distinctive character. The Reading Hardware Company was known for its bronze and iron locks, latches and butts, supplied hotels and offices in several cities, and won first prize at the Centennial and Paris Expositions. The building is regarded as an especially fine example of nineteenth century factory loft construction and one of very few of its type remaining in Reading. It is among the last surviving parts of the city's iron industry complex.","period_of_significance":"1875","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The entire structure is described as in extremely good condition apart from minor deterioration of some masonry walls.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.86579-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002170.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002170/ab5367b47e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002170/ab5367b47e-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reading_Hardware_Butt_Works.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:Reading_Hardware_Butt_Works.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997960","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Hardware_Company_Butt_Works","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7300515"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/reading-hardware-company-butt-works-79002170/"}