{"nrhp_refnum":"87001950","name":"Wanner, Peter, Mansion","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1401 Walnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reading","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.33856529500008,"lon":-75.90723700499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-11-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large two-and-one-half story limestone mansion at 1401 Walnut Street in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, built in 1889 on a terrace at the foot of Mount Penn for industrialist Peter D. Wanner and designed by architect Edward K. Mull.","why_significant":"The house was the principal residence of Peter D. Wanner, a leading Reading industrialist, and is an intact, well-preserved example of a Victorian mansion by local architect Edward K. Mull. It is notable for its unusual white limestone walls, red arches and rare blue pointing, and for its hillside site overlooking the city and the factories Wanner operated.","narrative":"Overlooking Reading from a terrace at the foot of Mount Penn, this stone mansion at 1401 Walnut Street was built in 1889 for Peter D. Wanner, a lawyer turned foundry owner who became one of the city's leading industrialists. Architect Edward K. Mull, a former carpenter and builder, gave it a T-shaped plan, jerkinhead gables, a broad porch and a tall central tower with a pyramidal roof. The walls are squared white limestone quarried from Mount Penn, trimmed with red sandstone arches and an uncommon blue mortar pointing, unusual in a city that favored brick. Inside, the oak stair, cypress millwork and original chandelier survive with their natural finishes, never painted. The house held fourteen rooms when built and was later divided into apartments, yet its plan and materials remain largely untouched. It was listed for its association with Wanner, its architecture, and its exceptional state of preservation as the work of an important local architect.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Edward K. Mull, architect","architectural_style":"Victorian with Queen Anne detail","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied; converted to apartments around the 1930s or 1940s, condition listed as excellent, with original plan and woodwork largely intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:59:06.721143-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/87001950.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001950/7574fa0bbd-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001950/7574fa0bbd-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wanner_Mansion.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:Wanner_Mansion.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997940","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Wanner_Mansion","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7177587"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/wanner-peter-mansion-87001950/"}