{"nrhp_refnum":"85001963","name":"Deisher, H. K., Knitting Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"56 Noble St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Kutztown","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.51619005800006,"lon":-75.77623212399999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-09-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story, L-shaped brick knitting mill at 56 Noble Street in Kutztown, Berks County, Pennsylvania, built in several phases beginning in 1881. It was originally constructed as a dairy and cheese manufacturing plant.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the mill is significant for its largely intact nineteenth-century industrial architecture and for its role in Kutztown's economic development. It is described as one of the most important remaining nineteenth-century industrial buildings in the borough, and its knitting operations, begun by J.L. Eck and continued by H.K. Deisher, reflect the growth of textile manufacturing in the community.","narrative":"Built in 1881 as a dairy and cheese plant by a group of forty-one farmers, this three-story, L-shaped common brick building at 56 Noble Street in Kutztown was later converted to hosiery knitting. Deisher gained sole control of the business in 1892 and moved it into the building, where he installed more than thirty knitting machines. The mill was raised three feet and a third story was added around 1900, and annexes were built at the rear in 1903 and 1907. Its features include a corbelled brick cornice along Noble Street, segmental soldier-course arches over most openings, four-over-four sash windows, and a cupola with a weathervane dated 1881. Knitting ended in 1956, and the building is now vacant. It is important for its largely intact industrial architecture and for its role in the borough's textile industry.","period_of_significance":"1881-1956","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Knitting operations stopped in 1956; the building was later used as a warehouse and is now vacant.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:32.997811-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/85001963.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001963/d2a8759d97-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001963/d2a8759d97-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"PattiParker","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:H._K._Deisher_Knitting_Mill.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">PattiParker</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:H._K._Deisher_Knitting_Mill.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996048","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._K._Deisher_Knitting_Mill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5627960"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/deisher-h-k-knitting-mill-85001963/"}