The Livingood House/Stryker Hospital (417-419 Walnut St.) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Portions of the content on this web page were adapted from a copy of the original nomination document. [1]
Description
Located at 417-19 Walnut Street, approximately two blocks, from downtown Reading's principal intersection, the Livingood House/Stryker Hospital is a substantial brick Italianate style dwelling erected in 1866-1871 and enlarged to the west about thirteen years after its conversion into a private hospital in 1908. Typical of its urban neighborhood, the house occupies most of its narrow lot with no set back from the Walnut Street sidewalk and only small yards on the east along Madison Avenue (a misleadingly named alley) and to the rear. The mid-20th century garage in the rear yard is a non-contributing resource. The hospital addition, which replaced a side porch and exhibits simple Colonial Revival detailing, completely fills what once was a narrow yard to the west, visually turning the originally detached town house into the end unit of an urban row. The adjacent blocks of Walnut Street contain similar, brick 19th-century buildings, mostly attached dwellings which were subsequently converted into offices and apartments, often with first-story shop fronts. The neighborhood borders the locally designated Callow Hill Historic District. Retaining much of its 19th and early 20th-century physical character, the Livingood House/Stryker Hospital possesses the requisite integrity for National Register designation.
The Livingood House/Stryker Hospital consists of three major units: a five-bay, three-story main block with double-pile center-hall plan, low-pitched gable roof, and paired gable-end chimneys which dates to 1866-71; a ten-bay, three-story, shed-roofed rear ell which apparently is contemporary with the main block but was subsequently enlarged, most likely in conjunction with the hospital conversion and expansion; and a long, narrow, one-bay, four-story addition to the west of the main block built c.1921. The ceiling heights of the addition are several feet lower than those of the main block; consequently the roof of the former protrudes less than one-half story above the roof of the latter. A small, flat-roofed, 3-story, brick appendage at the rear of the main block is evidently of early 20th-century provenance (historic maps suggest it replaced a frame porch or addition and postdates 1913), probably contemporary with the hospital addition. A smaller, shed-roofed, 3-story, appendage at the north end of the main block's rear ell may be earlier in part, at least its first story.
The main block's rubble stone foundation is faced with brown sandstone ashlar on the front and east elevations and articulated with a water table, the individual blocks bush hammered with chiseled borders creating a stippled surface. The brick work of the front wall is laid in a running stretcher bond and the gauged arches above the windows and entries are also composed of stretcher bricks. On the east wall the common bond was employed, and gable masonry is carried up into a parapet between the two chimney stacks.
The front of the main block exhibits a symmetrical fenestration pattern composed of slightly recessed windows (round-arched on the first story; segmentally arched above) with narrow ogee-molder) trim and tin-faced sills. The 1/1 sashes are 20th-century replacements; c.1909 and 1926 photographs (Meiser, Vol. 7, page 159 and Vol. 9, page 62) reveal that the front windows originally had 2-light sashes with a "tracery" treatment at the head of each upper sash. Like other Italianate houses in Reading, these windows originally may have had decorative wooden cornices. The small 2-light windows below the water table are covered with heavy iron grills. The two round-arched east gable windows retain 2/2 sashes and feature brick drip moldings with projecting brick "keystones." The other windows on the three-bay east elevation are flat-headed with 1/1 sash replacements. The end-bay windows have flat arches composed of stretchers set at an angle. The inner bay of window openings, which occupies with the rear chimney alignment, lack distinctive lintels and apparently were inserted in the early 20th century.
The main block's round-arched, central front, entry has a narrow, slightly recessed surround with roll and bead molded face, heavily molded transom bar, and a leaded-glass, lunette transom bearing the house number "419." The c.1909 photograph indicates that the entry originally had a double-leaf panel door. The existing double-leaf glass door apparently is contemporary with the west addition. It matches the double-leaf door of the secondary entry in the main block's west end bay which was created from a window to provide the addition with an entry. In this work the window's gauged arch was carefully rebuilt at a slightly lower level for the new entry whose treatment (narrow molded surround and lunette transom) resembles that of the main entry. Both entries have cast stone steps with iron railings.
On its front the main block features a bracketed box cornice at the roof eaves. Large scroll brackets support the heavy box cornice which is articulated with a corona molding. Arched frieze panels between the brackets create an arcaded effect. The east gable eaves are flush with a small molded rake board.
The front elevation of the west addition differs markedly from that of the main block. While the water tables are configured alike, the brick of the addition is dark, purple-brown in contrast to the red brick of the original dwelling. On the first story, the addition features a tripartite window with central 1/1 sashes flanked by smaller multi-pane sashes. Above the first story, a three-story, semi-hexagonal oriel window dominates the front. Capped by a plain entablature, it has three sash windows (multi-pane upper sashes and single light lower sashes) on each level with molded string courses at their heads and sills, plain trim, and, on the lowest level, sheet-metal clad spandrels (the upper spandrels have been covered with plywood). At the roof eaves the brick work is carried up into a parapeted cornice with dentil and saw tooth courses and corbelled end brackets.
The brick walls of the main block's rear ell also are constructed in the common bond on a rubble stone foundation, and the jog in the east wall on the first story level delineates the southern third of the ell from its shallower northern section, a massing break altered on the upper stories by the addition of overhanging galleries. The east side of the rear ell appears to retain its original fenestration on the first story and the rear portion of the second story: 6/6 sash windows with timber lintels and sills, narrow beaded frames, and shutter hinges and dogs. The rear section of the ell has four, first-story entries detailed with plain trim and panel or glass and panel doors, brownstone sills and in one case a transom. Three of the entries open onto a flat-roofed porch extending along most of the east side of the ell's rear section. Evidently a 19th-century feature, the porch has chamfer-cornered square posts articulated with base and shoulder moldings and attenuated brackets. Projecting from the southern end of the second story and extending over the southern end of the porch roof is a wooden gallery with shed roof, a band of 1/1 sash windows and clapboarded spandrels. Apparently built in two parts judging from the break in its roof line, it undoubtedly is a 20th century addition.
On the third story of the rear ell's east elevation, changes in the brickwork between the fourth and fifth window bays from the south and the corresponding change in the roof eaves treatment above, both of which align with the wall jog at the first story level, indicate two phases of construction. The four-bay section to the south has 2/2 sash windows with plain trim and a modillion bracketed cornice, features suggestive of a 19th or early 20th-century provenance. The six window bays to the north constitute a shed-roofed, brick-walled gallery which, supported by riveted steel beams and posts, probably was constructed in conjunction with the conversion of the dwelling into a hospital. In contrast to the four hays to the south, its 2/2 sash window have timber lintels, and the eaves are overhanging with exposed rafter ends.
The post-1913 appendage at the junction of the main block and rear ell exhibits a utilitarian treatment devoid of any decorative detailing. Its common bond brick walls terminate in a plain parapet with wooden drip cap and fascia. There are two small 4/4 sash windows with brick sills on each story, one on each elevation. The 6/6 sash windows on the first and third stories on the north side resemble those of the rear ell and may represent recycled fabric. The appendage on the north end of the rear ell appears to have begun as a 1-story, shed-roofed structure, probably of 19th-century provenance, and, to have been subsequently raised up two stories. The upper stories, sheathed with sheet metal (probably a mid-20th-century application), have 1/1 sash second-story and 2/2 sash third-story windows; the overhanging eaves with exposed rafter ends resemble those of the adjoining third-story gallery. A shed-roofed 1-story storage shed attached to the east end of the rear appendage extension storage has sheet metal sheathing and probably dates to the mid-20th century.
The west side of the rear ell exhibits an irregular fenestration pattern consisting of mostly 6/6 sash windows resembling those of the east side. A very narrow areaway separates the ell from the west addition. Both the east and west elevations of the addition also have an irregular fenestration consisting of 6/1 sash windows with plain trim. A metal, 3-story fire escape, located at the north end of the areaway apparently was installed upon the conversion of the building to apartments in 1933. It provides access to fire exits on the upper stories of both the rear ell and the west addition.
The narrow side yard between the rear ell and Madison Avenue is enclosed with a low concrete retaining wall topped by a low wrought-iron fence whose posts have acorn finials. The small back yard is paved in concrete as a parking area and features a frame, two-bay, shed-roofed garage with bead-board sheathing and modern overhead garage doors. It probably dates to the late 1930s or 1940s, and is a non-contributing feature. The back yard also houses a trash container.
While subject to more alterations than the exterior, the interior of 419 Walnut Street preserves much of its original character. Features that have survived early 20th-century changes include plaster walls and ceilings, molded four-panel doors, bollection and architrave molded door and window trim, baseboards, and, most notably, the main staircase. The most notable loss is of original fabric is fireplace/mantel treatments, although two marble mantelpiece appears to have been recycled in the 1921 addition. Some partitions were removed and new partitions inserted in secondary spaces throughout the structure for functional reasons as a result of its conversion first to hospital use and later to apartments. Fabric related to these changes include plain woodwork and simple two and four-panel doors.
The basement of 419 Walnut Street has brick a tamped earth floor. Four large, brick barrel vaults help support the floors above, and a large, brick furnace with an iron door which reads "J. Reynolds and Son, 13th and Filbert, Streets, Philadelphia, PA" also remains. On the first story above, the front entry opens into a small vestibule which features an early plaster cornice and decorative tile floor which probably was installed in the early 20th century. Along the east wall of the central hall (Room 102) is the open staircase which rises a full three stories and features a walnut railing with heavy octagonal newel post, turned balusters, and molded handrail. The hall was originally flanked on both sides by two rooms, but the partitions separating them were removed probably in conjunction with the hospital renovations creating one large room to the east (Room 103) and to the west a passageway leading to the 1921 addition. The rear ell contains several service rooms (Rooms 104 & 105) which retain simple early finishes.
The plan of the upper stories of 419 Walnut similarly consisted of a hall with flanking rooms, and this arrangement despite some partition modification remains intact. Although the rooms in the rear ell open into each other or from narrow hallways. There is no evidence of large hospital wards; the hospital arrangement appears to have been bedroom suites, which made the building's conversion into apartments relatively simple.
The interior of the 1921 addition at 417 Walnut Street features plaster walls and ceilings, plain, mostly two-panel doors, a simple door and window trim, several fireplaces a narrow dog leg-turned staircase, pressed tin wainscotting in the stairway and some hallways. On the first story entrance is by means of a foyer and narrow hallway taken from the west end of the 419 Walnut main block. The floor plan on each story of the addition consists of one large front room with bay window, a small stair hall, and behind the hall several smaller rooms and baths are arrayed "shot gun" fashion along narrow corridors. Relatively few changes appear to have been made in addition during the apartment conversion.
The small entry vestibule has a tile floor and pressed tin wainscot; glass double doors lead from it into the hall which features a bracketed archway and communicates with the original house, as well as the addition stair hall. There is no connection between the original house and the addition on the upper stories. The front rooms on the upper stories and the room directly behind the staircase on the first story each has a fireplace, evidently originally fitted for gas or electric. While the second-story front room and first-story rear room both have marble mantels presumably recycled from the original house, the fireplaces on the third and fourth stories in a typical 1920s treatment are tiled with decorative central plaques and heavy wooden shelves. The narrow, tightly turned staircase which rises all four stories has square newel posts and spindles and a molded handrail. A dumb waiter evidently allowed supplies and equipment to be transported between floors.
In summary, the Livingood House/Stryker Hospital retains a considerable amount of 19th-century fabric, and despite its conversion into apartments in 1933 preserves much of its character from the period when Dr. Stryker conducted his hospital and office there.
Significance
The Livingood House/Stryker Hospital, a substantial Reading town house which was erected in 1866-71, converted into a private hospital in 1908 and enlarged in 1921 to accommodate a medical office. Operated for about twenty-five years by Dr. H. Denton Stryker, a prominent Reading physician and surgeon, the facility is significant in the area of health/medicine. It exemplifies the small private hospitals which were established in the late 19th/early 20th-century period as an alternative to the large, open ward "charity" hospitals for people with the means to pay. The building also has architectural significance. The original house is representative of Reading's Italianate style residential architecture and a rare local example of the five-bay, center-hall-plan town house, a house type only occasionally adopted for the most substantial dwellings erected during Reading's 19th-century building boom.
As Reading changed from a market town and county seat to an urban manufacturing and transportation center during the middle decades of the 19th century, residential construction greatly increased to satisfy the demands of the rapidly growing population which doubled from 15,743 in 1850 to 33,900 in 1870. Between 1848 and 1872 more than 6,300 buildings were erected in Reading with a record of 509 in 1868. Brick became the preferred building material, and the row house predominated in residential construction for both workers and wealthy citizens. The developing portions of Reading during this period, and throughout the remainder of the 19th century, commonly were built up with two and three-story brick dwellings which often, but not always, were attached in block-long rows or smaller groups exhibiting similar if not identical detailing derived from a variety of architectural styles. Most of these houses were two or three-bays wide with or without entry/stair halls to one side of the front and back rooms.[1] Dwellings with five-bay, center-hall plans appear to have been much less common judging from the fact that only five example have been identified of which only three including 419 Walnut Street survive today.[2]
The Italianate style was one of the architectural modes popular in post-Civil War Reading, particularly with affluent citizens. According to the 1980 municipal historic sites survey, Italianate style town houses in Reading are typically three-story brick structures with dressed stone water tables and flat or low-pitched gable roofs. The symmetrical facades commonly feature scrolled wooden bracket-supporting heavy carved wooden cornices; handsome arched doorways with richly carved wooden doors; windows decorated with carved wooden or stone lintels; [and] ornate cast iron basement [window] grills.[3]
Despite alterations such as the replacement of the original front doors, the Livingood House remains expressive of the local Italianate style.
Construction of the house at 419 Walnut Street evidently occurred sometime between 1866 and 1871. The property on which it stands was acquired by Francis B. Shalters, a prosperous Reading dry goods merchant, in 1865 and 1866 by two deed conveyances whose language indicates that the site was vacant.[4] That was house was extant by 1871 is clear from Shalters' will which included "the three-storied brick house number 419 Walnut Street" among the twenty-three properties in downtown Reading which he divided among his four children, bequeathing each a life interest in the real estate with title thereafter to vest in their children.[5] The house at 419 Walnut Street was allotted to his daughter Lucy Jane, the wife of Jacob S. Livingood, a prominent Reading lawyer, and the property passed to her upon the death of her father in 1873. The 1873/74 Reading city directory gives 419 Walnut Street as the residence of Francis B. Shalters' widow Hannah. While Hannah and Francis Shalters may have occupied the house before 1873, neither is listed in the city directories of 1869 through 1871. Francis B. Shalters does appear in the 1867 and 1868 directories as residing at 423 Penn Street. Since Jacob S. Livingood was living at 147 North 6th Street in 1871, it must be presumed that he and his wife moved to 419 Walnut Street sometime between then and 1879, the first year for which a directory lists the Walnut Street address as his residence. The directories indicate that the Livingood family occupied the premises throughout the remainder of the century.[6] Lucy Jane Livingood died in 1904, followed two years later by her husband, and on November 11, 1907 their surviving children sold the property to H. Denton Stryker for $13,500.[7]
Harry Denton Stryker (1870-1936), who converted the Livingood house into a private hospital within a few months of purchasing the property, was a young, New Jersey-born physician practicing in Reading since his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania medical school in 1893. He came to Reading to serve an internship at Saint Joseph's Hospital, one of three private "charity" hospitals established in Reading during the late 19th century.[8]
Charity hospitals, either incorporated and managed as private philanthropic institutions or church affiliated organizations, were founded to provide medical care for those unable to afford the services of private doctors or otherwise socially disadvantaged. In cities with growing immigrant populations many patients were likely to be foreign born, and a majority of births in northeastern urban hospitals offering maternity services were illegitimate. Such dependant patients often fostered paternalistic, authoritarian hospital environments. Patients, with few exceptions, were housed in large open wards, as promoted by mid-19th-century health care reformer Florence Nightingale for management efficiency, and expected to comply with regulations necessitated by group living. Those who could afford to were expected to contribute towards their board and care. While staff doctors were employed by charity hospitals, private physicians commonly donated their services and typically were prohibited by the hospitals from charging professional fees to hospital patients.[9]
Reading's 19th-century hospitals conformed to this pattern, The oldest of these institutions was the Reading Hospital which began as the Reading Dispensary in 1868 occupying rented quarters. A hospital building, funded by a state appropriation and local donations, was erected in 1884 and opened two years later. The original building contained three wards with five to twelve beds and three apartments for paying patients. An addition was constructed in 1890, followed by a nurses training school in 1896. By 1909 it had a medical staff of thirteen, including one resident physician, and sixty-five beds.[10] St. Joseph's Hospital was organized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1873 and housed in a small dwelling until 1885 when it was replaced by large brick building providing three wards with twenty-five beds and fourteen private rooms. It was enlarged in 1895 and again in 1904. Reading physicians provided medical attendance. While supported by the Catholic church, it was nonsectarian and most of those whom it served were charity patients.[11]
Perceived by the general public as welfare institutions catering to the dependant, socially marginal and poor, hospitals were eschewed by those who could afford the care of private physicians in their own homes until the late 19th century. Around that time medical and social forces began to lead to the acceptance of hospitals by middle classes, The so-called "bachelor movement" noted by contemporary observers described the increasing number of young, unmarried, middle class adults living alone away from their families and consequently without family support when sick. Concurrently, more people were living longer, often without families and suitable home environments in which to receive care while ill.[12] Advances in medical practice, particularly the concepts of antisepsis and asepsis, which allowed the eradication of hospital infection, were perhaps the most important factors in making the hospital a viable alternative for the middle class.[13] The provision of a high number of single rooms for paying patients at Saint Joseph's Hospital relative to the number of ward beds may be a response to these developments. The expansion of the Reading's local charity hospitals during the period must certainly reflect increased local demand for hospital services.
After thirteen months as a resident physician at St. Joseph's Hospital, Dr. Stryker opened an office at 31 North Third Street in Reading, at the same time maintaining local hospital affiliations and engaging in public medical service. While retaining his ties to St. Joseph's, he served on the Reading Hospital staff between 1895-1900 and was associated with the City Ward Service during the same period and the Reading Dispensary Service in 1896-98. Dr. Stryker apparently soon developed a successful private practice, becoming well known as a surgeon, and by 1906 had moved his office and residence to 132 North Fifth Street.[14]
What prompted him to establish his own hospital is unknown. At the very least, he must have felt that it presented a potentially remunerative business opportunity by answering a local demand for private hospital care. A small facility like his, opened in a substantial, well appointed house which lent itself to the provision of private accommodations, catered to those who desired (and could afford) a quiet, homelike environment when requiring hospital care. Such desires were bolstered by the widely held belief, expressed by a physician writing about hospitals in 1876, that "the nearer a hospital resembles what, we understand by the word the better it is."[15] While Dr. Stryker's is the only private hospital known to have existed in Reading, such facilities were established in other Pennsylvania cities. In Easton, for example, Dr. James A. Betts opened a small private in a house on Washington Street around 1923 which survived at least until after the Second World War.[16]
Reading city directories document that Dr. Stryker conducted his private hospital at 419 Walnut Street from 1908 until 1920 while maintaining his office and home on North 5th Street. A c.1909 photograph of the hospital reveals that it retained its exterior residential character, and a comparison of the 1913 Reading atlas with the 1884 atlas suggests that no major alterations had yet occurred.[17] In 1921 he moved his residence to 1501 Hill Road, and by the following year he had transferred his offices to 417 Walnut Street, the addition presumably erected by him on the west side of #419 at that time. This arrangement lasted until 1933, when he closed the hospital and converted the building into apartments except apparently for his office which the directories continued to list at 417 Walnut until 1936, the year of his death.[18] Around the time of the apartment conversion, however, Dr. Stryker appears to have encountered financial difficulties, and in 1934 the Walnut and North 5th Street properties were sold at a court-order auction and conveyed to Sarah L. Mohn to satisfy a judgement against him.[19] If Dr. Stryker maintained his office at the Walnut Street address after that time he must have rented the premises from the new owner.
Unfortunately, almost nothing else is known about Dr. Stryker's Hospital and medical practice. Relevant records have not survived, and no information about the facility and its staffing has come to light. The construction of the west addition in 1921 presumes that it was a successful operation at that time, and its closure and his financial difficulties may well have been caused, to some degree, by the economic dislocation of the Depression. His estate records included many outstanding patient accounts. Private hospitals were particularly hard hit by Depression, and as medical technology improved and became increasingly expensive small private facilities like the Stryker Hospital were at a competitive disadvantage with large, public and nonprofit hospitals.[20]
The property at 417-19 Walnut Street remained in the possession of the Mohn family and its trustees until 1962. Thereafter it changed hand several times before 1991 when it was acquired by its present owner ADAPPT, Inc. Under ADAPPT's ownership, the building has become a residential treatment facility for prison inmates with alcohol and/or drug dependencies prior to their release.[21]
Endnotes
[1]Reading Planning Commission, Historic Preservation Reading, Pennsylvania, Reading Planning Commission, September, 1980 pages 33 & 41.
[2]Michelle Lynch interview. The other two surviving examples of the type are located at 39 S. 9th St. and 141 S. 4th St. Two other examples were recently destroyed for a new construction project in the vicinity of Reading City Hall.
[3]Reading Planning Commission, Historic Preservation Reading, Pennsylvania, Reading Planning Commission, September, 1980 page 68.
[4]Berks County Deeds, Book 89, page 409 and Book 112, page 53.
[5]Berks County Wills, Book 12, page 14.
[6]Directories, Reading, Pennsylvania. Reading: W. H. Boyd Co., various years 1867-1900.
[7]Berks County Deeds, Book 346, page 46.
[8]Directories, Reading. Pennsylvania. Reading: W. H. Boyd Co., 1908; Biographical Sketches Leading Citizens of Berks County, Pa. Buffalo, NY: Biographical Publishing Company, 1898, pp.696-697.
[9]Susan Reverby and David Rosner (eds.), Health Care in America — Essays in Social History, Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1979, article by Morris J. Vogel, The Transformation of the American Hospital, 1850-1920, pp. 105-114; Charles E. Rosenberg (ed.), Medical Care in the United.States — The Debate Before 1940. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1989, pp. 4-7; John D. Thompson and Grace Goldin, The Hospital: A Social and Architectural History. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1975, pp. 201-208
[10]Morton L. Montgomery, History of Berks County in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia: Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886, pp. 763-764; Morton L. Montgomery, Historical & Biographical Annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania, Chicago: A. N. Beers & Co., 1909, pp. 212-213.
[11]Montgomery, 1886, pp. 765-766; Montgomery, 1909, Page 2.
[12]Reverby and Rosner, pp. 110-111; Rosenberg, pp. 27-29.
[13]Reverby and Rosner, pp. 111-113; Rosenberg, page 24.
[14]Biographical Sketches, pp. 696-698; Reading Directories 1906; History of The Reading Hospital 1861 -1942. The Board of Managers, December 9, 1942, pp. 221-222; "Local Surgeon Passes Away," Reading Eagle, November 17, 1936, page 1.
[15]Rosenberg, page 25.
[16]West's Easton, Pa. and Phillipsburg, Directories, Easton: R. L. Polk Company, 1920-1945.
[17]Reading Directories, 1908-1920; George M. and Gloria Jean Meiser, The Passing Scene — Stories of Old-time Reading and Berks, Reading, PA: Historical Society of Berks County, 1991 (Vol. I), page 159; Forsey Breau, C. E., Property Insurance Atlas of the City of Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia: Forsey Breau & Co., 1884, plate 19;. Elvino V. Smith, C. E., Atlas of the City of Reading, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia: Elvino V. Smith, C. E., 1913, page 13.
[18]Reading Directories, 1921-1936; Insurance Map of Reading, Pennsylvania, Vol. I. New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1933, (corrected 1961), sheet 12; "Local Surgeon Passes Away," Reading Eagle, November 17, 1936, page 1. Dr. Stryker died of a heart attack at his home at Hill Road after a short illness, leaving a widow and one son. The city directories indicate that the property owned by Dr. Stryker at 132 N. 5th Street was converted into apartments in 1932, and a store may have replaced his office there in the 1920s.
[19]Berks County Deeds, Book 766, page 288.
[20]Dr. Henry E. Siegerist, American Medicine, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1934, pp. 208-210; Thompson and Goldin, page 216.
[21]Berks County Deeds, Book 773, page 593, Book 1402, page 233, Book 1704, page 510; Berks County Wills, Book 60, page 134.
References
Books and Reports
Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Berks County, Pa. Buffalo, NY: Biographical Publishing Company, 1898.
Cowen, David L. Medicine & Health in New Jersey: & History. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1964.
Directories, Reading, Pennsylvania. Reading: W. H. Boyd Co., 1864-1937.
"Dr. Stryker's Private Hospital." Pennsylvania Historical Resources Survey Form — Data Sheet. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau for Historic Preservation, (no date).
History of The Reading Hospital 1867-1942. The Board of Managers, December 9, 1942.
Meiser, George M. and Gloria Jean Meiser. The Passing Scene — Stories of Old-time Reading and Berks. Reading, PA: Historical Society of Berks County, 1991 (Vol. 7) and 1994 (vol. 9).
Montgomery, Morton L. History of Berks County in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886.
Montgomery, Morton L. Historical & Biographical Annals of Berks County, Pennsylvania. Chicago: A. N. Beers & Co., 1909.
Reading Planning Commission. Historic Preservation Reading, Pennsylvania. Reading Planning Commission, September, 1980.
Reverby, Susan and David Rosner (eds.). Health Care in America — Essays in Social History. Philadelphia: Temple University. Press, 1979.
Rosenberg, Charles E. (ed.). Medical Care in the United States — The Debate Before 1940. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1989.
Siegerist, Dr. Henry E. American Medicine. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1934.
Thompson, John D. and Grace Goldin. The Hospital: A Social and Architectural History. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1975.
West's Easton, Pa. and Phillipsburg, N.J. Directories. Easton: R. L. Polk Company, 1920-1951.
Interviews
Michelle Lynch, Reading Historic Preservation Coordinator, December 12, 1995 with Dennis Bertland, no transcript.
Maps and Atlases
Breau, Forsey, C, E. Property & Insurance Atlas of the City of Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Forsey Breau & Go., 1884.
Insurance Map of Reading, Pennsylvania. Vol. I. New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1933 (corrected 1961).
Smith, Elvino V., C. E. Atlas of the City of Reading, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Elvino V. Smith, C. E., 1913.
Periodicals
Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania.
Public Records
Berks County Court House, Reading, NJ.
Berks County Deeds
Berks County Wills
Berks County Estate Inventories
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
Walnut Street