Bahr Arcade
Historic Pottstown Walking Tour
The original structure on this site was a mansion built in the early 1840's by Jacob S. Yost, a Congressman and Federal Marshall [sic]. It was the birthplace of Jacob's nephew George Yost Coffin, a famous political cartoonist, whose work appeared regularly in the Washington newspapers. In 1901, George L. Gerhard purchased the property for $11,450. He and his partner Wilson R. Brown razed the mansion and began construction of the market house on the rear portion of the lot. They then purchased additional land on the east side of S. Charlotte St. for stables to accommodate 150 horses and carriages. Work on the High St. frontage halted due to a cash flow problem was resumed in October 1902. Construction was complete in 1904. The original auditorium building was white sandstone with red sandstone trimmings. The corner tower rose 106 feet into the air.
The stables were leased to a number of different tenants over the next two decades. Robert Feroe bought the property in 1922 for $145,000 and then sold the stables to Daniel Freeze, who turned them into an auto garage. In November 1922, the auditorium building became the Feroe Arcade Building with an arcade entrance on High St. and stores on both sides. Some of the first stores were H.F. Smith & Sons Stationery and McCarraher's Appliances. In 1924, Feroe sold the building to Harry J. Bahr and in May 1925, it became the Bahr Arcade. The Bahr Arcade was town down in 1973 for a new municipal parking lot.
-David R. Kerns
Marker is at the intersection of High Street (Pennsylvania Route 663) and Charlotte Street, on the right when traveling east on High Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
