Summer in the City

June 27, 2013

1:46 PM

It’s a beautiful day here in Centre Park. A beautiful day for its neighbors. Would you live here (it’s comfy, historic and friendly)? Could you live here (walk to pubs, coffee shops and churches)? Won’t you be their neighbor?

It’s a bit like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood with an older generation teaching a new and growing eclectic generation how to create its own kind of music. Far from being in the land of make believe—although back in the day it did have a horse-drawn trolley line—neighbors here grow old together and have been known to rock for hours on front porch swings after all the yard work is done. And it’s good for everybody when the days are longer and warmer and the sun is shining.

Get Real

Celebrating its 31st anniversary this year, Centre Park Historic District (CPHD) makes a memorable visual impact in the City of Reading—with large Victorians and early 20th century mansions—along Centre Avenue, North Fourth and North Fifth streets.

Newcomers to the area sometimes meet their neighbors by accident at nearby bistros only to discover that they share the same taste in music and craft beers. Oftentimes, they sit outside together on their front porches and kick back with a bottle of wine or homemade iced tea. Sometimes they get together for a fire-pit party on a Sunday night.

Before long, they find themselves in support of the district’s education and local preservation efforts with other Centre Park residents who have already laid the groundwork for them.

And that’s how it goes. One day you’re taking your dog for a walk in the park, and the next day you’re serving on the CPHD Garden Tour Committee.

Friends and Neighbors

Eric Pettersson, formerly of Bernville, lived in the Germantown section of Philadelphia before graduating from college and moving into an apartment at the edge of Hampden Heights in Reading. A year later, Eric and his wife, Stephanie, were ready for their next move—to Centre Park. “It seemed like a place full of artists and young people just like us,” Eric says. “We knew we would fit in and be able to connect with people who are as passionate as we are about helping the City of Reading grow into the future.” The two live on a semi-busy street in a restored 1875 home—converted into six apartments. They share a large backyard with a lawn, shade trees and a brick fire pit with the house next door.

They have friends in their building and in the buildings on either side of them. “It’s a lot of fun running into people on our way in and out,” Eric says, “and it’s nice to say hello to someone you know and like—it almost feels like our college days when all of our friends were within walking distance or living right next door.”

Fellow neighbor, Beth S. Ireland, who came across Eric’s blog titled “Explore Reading” on the Web, encouraged him to join the Centre Park Historic District Inc. board of directors. That introduction put Eric and his wife into the hands of more seasoned residents who work to preserve and maintain the area. “I just moved here and am obviously younger than those folks, so that means I’m the second generation when it comes to making this historic district a great place to live,” says Eric, who is 24.

In the summer, Eric and Stephanie unwind with walks around the block, cooking out and checking out nearby fun events in the park.

Walking Their Dogs

Beth and her husband, Ben Ireland, made friends by walking their dogs: Stella, a 6-year-old pit bull, and Jackson, a 3-year-old dachshund, after moving to the area in 2009. They had lived in two other neighborhoods, one local and the other in a nearby county, but moved not long after unpacking their bags, due to a real lack of community involvement, says Beth, a marketing coordinator and graphic designer at RE/MAX of Reading.

The couple’s 2,200-square-foot Centre Park house on Douglass Street— with two full baths, five bedrooms, a fenced yard, and natural woodwork and hardwood floors—was priced just right. “We were not going to find this kind of house in our price range anywhere else,” says Beth, now president of CPHD, who originally came back two times with her husband before making realtor O. Christopher Miller, CPHD resident, an offer. “We parked a few blocks away and walked to the house and people were outside chatting with each other and walking their dogs. I think that’s what really sold my husband on the neighborhood,” says Beth, who is fond of the area’s lush manicured lawns. “It’s gorgeous, especially in June when everything is in full bloom,” she says about the colorful container gardens, hanging baskets and mature trees in her neighborhood.

The two say that they could probably find a 100-year-old Victorian home with original woodwork in another neighborhood, but they couldn’t find one with the feeling of belonging and the great friends that have come along with the purchase of this one.

They also believe that Reading is going to experience a renaissance because there are people who really care and who want better things for themselves and their children.

Porch Parties

Born in a stone farmhouse in rural Bucks County, O. Christopher Miller has made several moves in his lifetime, from Lehigh Valley to Jim Thorpe to Berks County, before purchasing a property in Centre Park. His first impression, he says, about the area was its 19th century feel and that all of the homes—mostly made either of stone or masonry—showed quality construction. “The variety of the Victorian and early 20th century architecture is incredible,” says Chris, who has lived here since the early 80s. Back then, many of his neighbors were widowers whose husbands had worked for the Reading Railroad (the rail yard entrance was just a block away on North Sixth Street), he says. He would listen to stories that filled his imagination with the significance of days long gone, a way of life that he wanted to embrace. In a different way, the physical evidence of some of that history came to Chris, an avid gardener, the day he was digging a “sunken” garden in the backyard of his home. In the dirt were marbles, bottles, pottery and even an old brass button from a Reading Police uniform.

For Chris, a real estate investor and realtor at RE/MAX of Reading, summer is best spent gardening and spending quality time with William Bender, his companion of 21 years. The two can be found most warm days sitting outside on their front porch or walking their dog, Max.

Community Days

Companions Darren Curry and Ed Hughes have lived in a dozen different neighborhoods before moving into their historic mansion across from the park (on the south side of Douglass Street between Centre Avenue and North Fourth Street). The two made friends the first day they moved in when a neighbor from Third Street brought over a cold six pack of beer as they unloaded their moving van. In the summer, their favorite spot is sitting on their front porch swing—inviting curiosity seekers and their neighbors to sit for awhile.

Taking their cues from Maryann Stubbs, a long-time CPHD resident, Darren and Ed stay social and active in community activism, meetings, parties and dinners several times a year. Of all the neighborhoods they’ve lived in, “This one has been the most friendly and integrated,” they say.

Having lived on Douglass Street for 30 years, Maryann is still charmed by memories of her neighbor Mrs. Elmer, who taught piano lessons in her home. “You would hear music coming from the house,” says Maryann, who lives with her husband, Nelson, in a semi-detached house with original woodwork, pocket doors, hardwood floors and stained glass. “It has all the turn-of-the-century beauty with a comfortable modern look,” she says. The couple enjoys sitting on their front porch and engaging with neighbors or watching them stroll with their dogs. “Our neighbors are friendly, helpful and interesting—but not intrusive,” Maryann says.

It was Beth who said best how the younger generation feels about living in Centre Park: “We need the founders to show us the way, and they need us to carry on the traditions, the community and the spirit that they built.”

Centre Park Historic District  705-707 N. Fifth St., Reading | 610.375.7860 | centrepark.org  

The Hendel House  746 Centre Ave., Reading | 610.413.8520 | hendelhouse.org

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