READING, Pa. – One of Reading’s oldest mansions is getting a makeover. A development group took on the project at the Trexler Mansion about three years ago, and they’re now less than a year away from completion.
Up the steps and through the grand doors, echoes of the past mix the with hum of power tools.
“We’re in the Trexler mansion, also known as the Elks Club, in downtown Reading,” said Alan Shuman, president of Shuman Development Group.
One of the last great mansions in the city, the home was built for the Trexler family in 1869.
“The Trexler family owned the Reading Iron Works, which made the iron rails for the Reading Railroad back in the late 1800s,” Shuman said.
In 1907, the family sold the house.
“It was then the finest Elks Club in the state of Pennsylvania,” Shuman says.
Sometime in the ’70s, it changed roles, from classrooms to a nightclub, then sat vacant for over 50 years.
“About three years ago, we took on the project, and we are well underway.” Shuman says.
Breathing new life into these walls is more than just a renovation, its revival. All about creating a space for people today to dance and dine like they used to over a century ago.
“The end goal is to restore it back to the mansion it originally was.” Shuman said.
The group aims to finish the 27,000-foot structure by the end of the year.
“It’s a massive structure, and it needed a lot of work,” Shuman said.
It also needed about $8 million to complete.
“New sewer lines, water lines, every piece of electric line had to be taken out and redone.” Shuman says. “Roofs had to be opened up, new decking put on.”
But as the wall plaster goes up, the mansion awakens.
“Now we get to kind of the fun part, which is the final approvals from the National Park Service for the interior, colors, historic wallpapers, ornamental plaster — all of those things.” Shuman said.
Hoping to serve as an event space for years to come.
“There’s enough rooms that you can see we could easily have four, five, six different parties and banquets and corporate events, weddings, all at the same time,” Shuman said.
With a bed and breakfast next door and other new special touches, an old mansion gets a new life.
“We will be able to say we brought back this magnificent building,” Shuman said.