It was six years ago that Ed and Marianna Burns decided to move their growing business, Burns Logistics Solutions, out of their rural Tilden Township home.
The business required the hiring of new staff. The Burns wanted to stay close to home.
As they mulled their move, they noticed a newly posted “for sale” sign at a familiar building just a five-minute drive away. It wasn’t long before that sign was removed and the property was theirs.
And what a storied property it is. Though it had prior to 2016 been a private residence for some years, it was, for most of its existence, a hub of activity in its northern Berks borough. The two-story, 1,800-plus-square-foot, circa 1900 structure was designed to be the Shoemakersville train station. It was a stop on the Pennsylvania Railroad when passenger service between Philadelphia and Pottsville and beyond was a primary means of transportation into the first half of the 20th century.
That service terminated in 1981 and the property was ultimately converted to a single-family, at times two-family, residence.
Marianna and “Big Ed,” as he is best known, immediately saw the property’s potential. They also had a long-seated respect for its history.
And, there’s a bit of irony or historic symmetry: Burns Logistics focuses transportation, specifically the effective shipment of goods.
“We build relationships with carriers and shippers so that we know who to bring together and when,” says Ed. “We connect the right carrier with the right shipper at the right time.”
Taking on History
Moving into the old train station building and renovating it into a first-floor business space and second-floor apartment occupied the couple and their family and friends for more than four months.
Located at the apex of Main and Fourth streets and Pennsylvania Avenue, the striking Craftsman-era building sits on a one-third acre lot.
“We always thought this was an iconic building,” says Marianna. “We wanted to make the community proud of it again.”
The couple took on much of the renovation themselves, although they did work with a contractor who shared their vision and were happy to accept some help from family when needed.
“Our first house had needed a lot of cosmetic work, so we sort of cut our teeth on that,” she says. “When it came to family, I sort of took the Tom Sawyer approach of: ‘Do you want to paint the fence?’”
There was the need to make the renovation ADA compliant, and there were some surprises along the way.
They found an old hand-dug well under some floor boards. It was likely the source of drinking water for passengers when the train station was new. That, of course, needed to be permanently sealed.
The old gutter system running along the roofline had seen its best days and needed to be replaced entirely. Interestingly, that gutter system is clearly visible on an early photo of the building that Marianna found on the Internet and purchased from a seller in Australia.
Working Together
Marianna says she served as the project manager more or less and praises the efficiency and cooperation of Shoemakersville officials when it came to dealing with permits and zoning matters.
“Everything just went so smoothly,” she recalls. “We renovated up and down and in and out.”
Replacing or rehabbing the architectural details was a must.
“There was some molding missing, a stained-glass window had been removed, and the oak floors needed to be restored,” she says.
A visit to the Centre Park Artifacts Bank in Reading solved some of the problems – one in particular was the acquisition of an unusually tall door.
The couple also found a stained-glass window to replace the missing one; however, the window frame had to be retrofitted to accommodate it.
There was one artifact disappointment: the Burns learned a missing ticket window was being stored in a farmer’s barn. The hopes of re-acquiring that piece were dashed when they learned the barn had burned down.
Marianna redid all the original woodwork herself, stripping and staining it for a uniform appearance, especially on the first-floor business space.
Mechanicals also needed updating, including the installation of central air.
New Paint, Design Tributes
Painting – interior and exterior – was key to the renovation. A buttery-hued cream dominated the interior walls calling to attention, along with some reddish-brown accents, the high ceilings of the first floor.
The exterior color trio of golden rod, sage green trim and cranberry-red accents all complement the handsome brown-shingled roofline and pay homage to the Pennsylvania Railroad heritage.
“We had to get it painted,” says Marianna. “We got some astronomical quotes, but we were lucky to be referred to Bob Barrasso. He has an artistic eye, and that really shows.”
A small sign bearing the Pennsylvania Railroad logo is situated on the front of the building. While it looks official, Marianna says it was actually found in a catalog and affixed by the prior owner.
Big Ed and Marianna created a more-or-less open concept work space but designed it with specific areas for staffers.
They retained the prior owner’s kitchen area separated from the workspace by a short natural-wood beadboard wall to maintain the open feeling.
The furnishings and lighting serve as homages to the building’s heritage: there are large ornate wood desks and bookcases, leather chairs and sofas and school-house pendant lights. Comingling with these period tributes are a large-flat screen television, printers and computers that are the requisite components of a modern, high-tech business.
“We really wanted our workplace not to be sterile or ‘officey’,” says Marianna. “We wanted it to be very comfortable inside with a seating area and that kitchen area so that we can all interact.”
A Place to CallHome
Bright and airy courtesy of windows on all sides, the apartment boasts a large living area and two bedrooms with restored hardwood floors. Some natural woodwork carries over the first floor along with narrow strips of exposed brick wall. There is a large kitchen with room for a good-sized table. The bathroom features a free-standing tub with ornate brass-and-ball clawfoot legs, a pedestal sink, tiled floor and original restored knotty pine paneled walls. In all the rooms, sloped and angled ceilings provide testimony to the gables comprising the roof.
Marianna credits the prior owner, a gardener, for establishing some beautiful plantings, including peonies and ornamental grasses. The Burns continued the landscaping all around the building, including the railroad track side that faces Pennsylvania Avenue and one of the largest private homes in the borough. That attractive residence is believed to have been built and occupied by one of the family members of Wolfe Dye & Bleach Works, which was founded in the borough.
They created a small garden seating area with annuals adding colorful notes to the perennials facing the confluence of Main, Fourth, Pennsylvania and the railroad tracks. While the tracks are used sparingly by the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, it is still a real treat to see the train passing by the historic old train station, Marianna says.
At that point of the property, the couple have plans to place a clock, a design-sensitive reproduction of one that long stood there. They consider themselves lucky that some vintage lamp posts on the site have survived and continue to illuminate the building and re-paved parking area.
Marianna’s advice for those taking on a restoration job as extensive as theirs is to have a project plan, to work hard and efficiently to make it a reality, and to work cooperatively with the community when the building has historic and personal meaning. Indeed, when the renovation work was completed in the early autumn of 2016, the couple threw open the doors to the community for a “harvest party.”
“I’d say cooperation is always the best thing,” she says. “The people in Shoemakersville love this building and were very excited about the changes brought about, especially with the paint job. Our business is all about relationships; being a good caretaker of this building along these railroad tracks, being a good neighbor – it all matters.”
