{"nrhp_refnum":"79002171","name":"Lerch Tavern","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"182-184 W. Penn Ave","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wernersville","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.32992720400006,"lon":-76.08382275999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story limestone tavern on a one-acre corner lot at South Elm Street and West Penn Avenue in the Borough of Wernersville, Berks County, Pennsylvania, built in 1797 by John Yost Lerch.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the tavern is an early, well-preserved example of local limestone building and a forerunner of the later town of Wernersville. It also cites its interior woodwork, including an unusual three-mantel fireplace and finely worked corner cupboards, as a resource for the study of local craftsmanship.","narrative":"Built in 1797 by John Yost Lerch, a shoemaker, the limestone tavern stands on a corner lot in what became the Borough of Wernersville, Berks County. It was sited along the Tulpehocken Turnpike, the main link between Reading and Philadelphia, where stage travellers needed lodging. The building originally had a gable roof, but a mansard roof was added between about 1865 and 1870, and a one-story kitchen addition came later. It operated as a tavern into the 1850s under David Lerch, then served as the Lerch family home until the 1950s. It is valued as an early, well-preserved example of local limestone construction and as a forerunner of the town that developed around it. Its first-floor interior retains much original woodwork, an unusual three-mantel fireplace, and fine built-in corner cupboards, which make it useful for studying local craftsmanship. The owners have proposed restoration.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Yost Lerch (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Restoration of the structure is proposed by its current owners.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.507887-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002171.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002171/c6cf4ac8d7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002171/c6cf4ac8d7-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lerch_Tavern_1797.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:Lerch_Tavern_1797.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998622","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lerch_Tavern","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6528755"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/lerch-tavern-79002171/"}