616 Mahantongo St

Pottsville, PA 17901

This property is being sold AS-IS-theres much work to be done on this property but there are many exceptional features in the property that take you back to the Victorian style of 1870. Its a 4 unit property-1 unit is an efficiency and 3 units are 2 bedroom. Only one unit has a tenant so this allows you the time to rehab before placing your new tenants. Below is a brief history of the home and some of the past residents-it is a great historical property:Lewis C. Thompson was the owner of Pottsvilles major hardware store which he founded in 1855 and which took up the block at the corner of Market and Centre streets. He ran this business for about half a century and was a driving force in the construction that took place during Pottsvilles coal boom days.In 1864 Lewis C. Thompson purchased 616 Mahantongo Street, which the deed at that time listed as having a two story building.. Whether he tore that structure down or built onto it, by the 1870s it was the 3 story building that exists today. He lived here for a few years while he was building his mansion two blocks away and sold this one in 1876 to Civil War Colonel Henry Royer. Because of his connections in the building supply business, it is not surprising that 616 Mahantongo has an ornate interior evocative of the Victorian age, with fluted mahogany doors, high ceilings, wood floors, an impressive staircase, decorative fireplaces and stained glass with the house number over the entry way.Just three blocks down the street, the United Presbyterian Church featured a Tiffany window dedicated to Heber S. Thompson, the brother of Lewis C. Thompson. That window was recently sold to the Allentown Art Museum.The decorative fireplace in the 1st floor front living room of 616 Mahantongo Street features a painting on porcelain depicting musketeers in front of a castle. It is signed by Henri Desprez, who may have had a connection to Sevres.The next owner, Henry Royer, was also prominent in Pottsville society. He owned a dry goods store until 1898, and during the 1890s he was instrumental in bringing to Pottsville the sculptor August Zeller to create the Civil War statues which stand in Pottsvilles Garfield Square. August Zeller had been a student of Rodin.Just a few blocks down the street from this property is the Yuengling Brewery, the oldest privately owned brewery in the United States. It is the biggest tourist draw in the area and brings thousands of visitors each year for its tours and other events.On the same block, at 606 Mahantongo Street, is the onetime home of John OHara, author of works such as Appointment in Samarra, Butterfield 8, Ten North Frederick.