Village Architecture & Preservation

06/08/2026

Fun - VA&P's very first home office was the William Isinger House, stop #5 on the 1995 Town Tour & History Walks with the Chester County Planning Commission. Miss our old neighborhood!
- with Uwchlan Township Historical Commission & Lionville Historic District

06/08/2026

It was a privilege and joy to attend the Phoenix Wheel ribbon cutting this weekend, and hear from Thomas L Zeigler, PE and The Schuylkill River Heritage Center supporters about the history and process of bringing a stunning piece of history back to Phoenixville. Congratulations to all!

The Phoenix Wheel was reassembled with its original steel components, including baskets and structural supports.

06/08/2026

Yesterday was - Berks County's very own Daniel Boone Homestead is a treasure trove of beautiful historic buildings and landscapes. VA&P's Jessica Zeigler-Cihlar, a former Board member of the Homestead, encourages you to visit for a picnic, nature hike, festival, reenactment event, or workshop on early colonial life and homesteading. Enjoy!

06/04/2026

In honor of the upcoming Phoenixville Ferris Wheel ribbon cutting, we’d like to share some lesser-known Wheel restoration backstory. 🎡
In 1893, Phoenix Steel manufactured 4 Ferris Wheels. One was delivered to Asbury Park, where it delighted amusement enthusiasts for 93 years. After brief relocation to Mississippi, the Wheel returned to the Phoenixville area in battered pieces. In 2008, The Schuylkill River Heritage Center acquired the Wheel, which now is considered the oldest in the world.
In 2012, Thomas L Zeigler, PE, Structural Engineer, was contracted to catalog and evaluate every piece of the Wheel. It took a weeks-long process to sort, move, and measure piles of twisted steel that were stacked in a field and Quonset hut. It took approximately 1 year to prepare working drawings, reverse engineer, and digitally assemble every piece like a jig-saw puzzle into a complete Ferris Wheel model. After many planning setbacks, the Wheel was once again moved, inventoried, and remeasured for final verification of the pieces. To the team’s dismay, some pieces were discovered missing and some were simply damaged beyond repair. Without TLZ’s careful documentation of the Wheel components, the restoration would have been even more challenging, if not impossible.
Following extensive restoration and fabrication work by , the Wheel was at last erected and will be dedicated on June 6, 2026 as a monument to Phoenixville’s historic iron and steel industry. The Phoenix Wheel is 78 ft tall, with a diameter of 68 ft, and has 16 8-ft tall seated baskets. Its home is next to Phoenixville Borough Hall, for all to visit and admire. Due to modern-day safety and fundraising limitations, the Wheel has been assembled as a stationary sculpture, with the hope that one day it can be fully restored to a working wheel.
Read more about this exciting project here: https://www.phoenixvillefoundry.org/phoenix-wheel-restoration/ and here: https://phoenixville.com/phoenix-wheel-ribbon-cutting/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSOn5dleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFSVjlxeVlMNVdoZjdtV1JLc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHtTUbFgWoHLGw6gHrM-Nbrc6ctJIUURi3ZSkl4js0hd9lNUtRNoszZAXmva__aem_tjeCu4p3ISZLz541CmvKaA

06/03/2026

Very exciting to see masonry restoration repairs happening for an old friend...VA&P's Jessica Zeigler-Cihlar assisted with the design documents for the Christ Episcopal Church of Reading new entry vestibule addition, back when she was a wee Associate Architect at John Milner Associates. Beautiful building deserving of thoughtful preservation care.👏

The interior restoration work Christ Episcopal Church of Reading is nothing short of amazing! The work was carefully executed & highlighted the use of traditional historic materials and methods. Check out the photos! ⬇️

06/03/2026

PSA: Summer weather is here and Friday will be a beautiful night for music under the stars. 🌌🪕🎻🥧
The “Music at Joanna Furnace” event returns to Historic Joanna Furnace Iron Works this Friday, June 5th from 4 to 9 pm. Join us for an evening of music, craft vendors, and lawn games. Festival foods and drinks will be available for purchase from the Joanna Kitchen, and Detwiler’s Green Hills brewery will be serving their ale. 🍻 Bonus: Order forms will be available for next week's Strawberry Pie sale! 🍓

If you want to really immerse yourself in the Joanna experience, join our volunteer corps! We still have openings for the following roles:
• Volunteers to oversee the lawn games area
• Volunteers to help staff historic building tours
• Volunteers to assist in Joanna Kitchen
• Volunteers to help direct parking
Contact Mark Zerr with questions about how you can get involved.
Hay Creek Valley Historical Association looks forward to seeing you Friday and thanks you for your support!

Mark your calendar now for our FREE concert!

🎵 Friday, June 5th - Kick off the summer with Music at the Furnace!
4PM - 5:30PM - Music by DJ G. Yoder
6PM - 9PM - Music by The Get Reels
Enjoy reels, jigs, ballads, and good times!

Free Admission • Food and Beverages • Detwiler's Ales

This is a rain-or-shine event.

Pop-up tents, blankets & lawn chairs welcome. Lawn games, Corn hold, craft vendors, and more!

🎵Join us for Good Music, Good Friends, Good Times!

06/02/2026

VA&P has had an incredibly busy spring - which you may have noticed since the socials have been rather quiet. In the next week, we'll be updating you on all of the exciting work we've been up to. Starting with this - VA&P's spotlight article in this month's Route 422 Business Advisor:
https://www.422bizmag.com/publications/2026-06/
Read all about it on page 13 and then enjoy learning about other successful businesses in your "village."

06/01/2026

Appreciate the shout-out, TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce! Thankful for all you do for local businesses. 👏

Member Renewals and Voluntary Contributors!

Thank you to the following Members who recently renewed their commitment to the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce:

**Colebrookdale Railroad - The Secret Valley Line
**D.G. March and Associates/Enviromat Company, Inc.
Eagle Microsystems, Inc.
**Graber Letterin' Sign Co. & Alpine Tees
**Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties
**Hampton Inn & Suites Kutztown
**Manatawny Athletic Club LLC
**Moyer's Catering
NAMI Montgomery County, PA
Scott Nye Nye Pro LLC
PA Chamber Insurance
Patriot Environmental Management LLC
**Physicians Care Surgical Hospital
**Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities
**Pottstown Regional Public Library
Sanatoga Water Conditioning
Serenity Dental Spa
Sher Properties, Inc.
Spotts Insurance Group
**Spring Hollow Golf Club
**Staples, Inc. #0329
Stoney Creek Rentals
**Body-Borneman Insurance
**The Hill School
The Strive Initiative
Tornetta's Pizzeria
TLI
Twin Ponds Golf Club
Village Architecture & Preservation

**Voluntary contributors pay an additional 10% over their dues amount towards the TCACC Foundation to promote community and workforce development in the tri-county area

06/01/2026

Let's let Pride Month be a reminder to all of us that marginalized communities - our own neighbors, family members, and colleagues - need ally support 12 months a year. Not just for the month of June. To the LGBTQI+ people in my life: I see you. I hear you. I will keep trying to do better.