Reading Passenger Station

When people learned of the railroad coming to Pottstown in the 1830's, the two rival hotel keepers, John Boyer and Joshua B. Missimer, vied for their business by building hotels on either side of the railroad tracks. Both lost out. In 1939 [sic - 1839], the railroad built a small depot just west of Missimer's Hotel. After a short time the depot became too small, so the railroad bought Missimer's Hotel for $10,000 and turned the small depot into a baggage and express office. This hotel, the first building on the site, served as Pottstown's passenger station for almost a century with but a few alterations. In 1925, the Reading Railroad started buying properties on the south side of the tracks and in 1928, began demolishing the hotel to make way for the present edifice. The building was dedicated on November 6, 1929. Attending the ceremonies were Charles W. Ewing of Philadelphia, Vice President of the Reading Railroad, and several other company officials who joined borough dignitaries in a parade from The Station where the Shop Band played, down High Street to Washington Street. They then counter-marched to Pomeroy's Tea Room for a luncheon. The building is of Seasholtzville granite of a pink hue, laid in a broken range ashlar with level beds and vertical joints. The base is of New England granite, while the trim and cornice are of ornamental terra cotta. The former passenger station and freight office were connected by a corridor. The total cost of the structure was $250,000. David R. Kerns