Merit Underwear Company
Why it's listed
A two-story brick factory on a corner lot in Shoemakersville, built in 1916 for underwear production by the Merit Underwear Company. Two additions followed, in 1921 and 1928, the first replacing an earlier stable and workshop. The original block is forty feet wide and one hundred feet long, with brick pilasters, arched rowlock lintels and wooden beams carried on wooden columns. Its open floors held knitting and sewing machines, and a freight elevator and loading docks served the finishing and shipping areas. The rear addition housed a boiler room and coal storage for a stoker heating system. The company grew from about 20 employees in the mid-1910s to 114 by 1927. It later made the Verna line of fine-gauge ladies underwear, which was widely marketed. The building is significant for its industrial character and its link to the town's textile trade. It was vacant after 1994.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the building is significant for its industrial architecture, built and expanded specifically for garment manufacturing, and for its association with the Merit Underwear Company, which produced an internationally known line of ladies underwear called the Verna. The building is presented as representative of 20th century textile manufacturing in eastern Pennsylvania.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 96000711, listed June 28, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 43 E. Noble Ave., Shoemakersville |
|---|---|
| County | Berks County |
| Listed | June 28, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000711 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1916-1946 |
| Architectural style | No Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Health/Medicine |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant since 1994; in good condition apart from normal wear, with some broken or missing glazing. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.50172, -75.96809 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 96000711.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6819531
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.