{"nrhp_refnum":"82003761","name":"Hampden Firehouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1101 Greenwich St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.344355724000025,"lon":-75.91555710099993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Other","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Hampden Firehouse is a two-story brick firehouse at the northeast corner of Eleventh and Greenwich Streets on the western slope of Mount Penn in northeast Reading, Pennsylvania. It was completed in 1887 and has an attached two-story brick horse stable.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the firehouse is one of the few surviving Reading buildings designed by Philadelphia architect Edwin F. Durang, and one of only four remaining old firehouses in the city worthy of preservation. It also cites the long role of the Hampden Fire Company in protecting Northeast Reading and in the social and civic life of the city.","narrative":"Built in 1887 at the northeast corner of Eleventh and Greenwich Streets in Reading, the Hampden Firehouse combines Renaissance Revival detailing with Greek Revival pediment roofs on an L-shaped plan. Architect Edwin F. Durang designed it, and Levi Focht completed the construction. The brick walls have stone rustication at the base, molded brick arches over the openings, and a wooden cornice with brackets. The Hampden Fire Company, organized in 1867, occupied the building to protect Northeast Reading and the forested slopes of Mount Penn. The company formed the city's first lifesaving corps after an 1899 fire at the nearby Nolde-Horst Knitting Mills killed over fifty people. The firehouse also served as a meeting hall and gathering place for many local organizations. Its architecture and its continuing civic role are the reasons for its listing.","period_of_significance":"1887","architect_builder":"Levi Focht (builder); Edwin F. Durang (architect)","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival with Greek Revival influence in the roof design","criteria":[],"status_note":"Altered: the engine doorway replaced a pair of round-arched engine doors, the arched window heads were blocked in, a wooden bay was added and the porch removed.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.584439-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/82003761.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003761/4a55c2b9e5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003761/4a55c2b9e5-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hampden_Firehouse.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:Hampden_Firehouse.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997930","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampden_Firehouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5645987"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/hampden-firehouse-82003761/"}