Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg

Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg II, FAIA (1887–1980) was a leading architect, an American military and political leader, and a member of the Muhlenberg political dynasty.

Early life
Muhlenberg was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in Berks County on September 25, 1887. He was the son of Dr. William Frederick and Henrietta Augusta (Muhlenberg) Muhlenberg. He was the great-great-grandson of Rev. John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, and the grandson of Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg.

A 1904 graduate of Reading Boys' High School, Muhlenberg attended Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1908. In 1912, Muhlenberg earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, followed by his Master of Science from Gettysburg College in 1915. He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1942 from Muhlenberg College of Allentown.

Military service
During World War I, he was a captain in the 314th Infantry Regiment serving from September 1917 to March 1919. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Purple Heart, the Verdun Medal, the Légion d’Honneur and the Croix de guerre with Palm for his actions in World War I.

Lieutenant Colonel Frederick A. Muhlenberg served continuously in the regular army reserves for more than 20 years, before reentering the United States Army in 1940, where he served in World War II as a Lieutenant colonel and then Colonel in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, as an aide to Gen. Brehon Summervell and as district engineer in Cincinnati.

Architecture
As an architect, Muhlenberg apprenticed with Charles Barton Keen, Magaziner & Potter, and John T. Windrim in Philadelphia. On May 1, 1919, following his service during World War I, he announced a reopening of his Philadelphia office at 901 Flanders Building, Fifteenth and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia. Prior to this, Muhlenberg had been operating independently since 1917. He is listed in the Philadelphia city directories as an architect in 1921, 1922 and 1923, with an office at 807 Flanders Building. Throughout this time, his residential address is given as Reading, Pennsylvania, with his offices at 1713 Sansom Street, room 232.

In 1920, at age 33, and following his service in the military during World War I, Muhlenberg founded the North Sixth Street firm of Frederick A. Muhlenberg, Architect, in Reading, Pennsylvania, presently known as Muhlenberg Greene Architects This second office was located in the Liberty Bank Building at Sixth and Court Streets, Reading. By the mid 1920s, the practice, now located exclusively in Reading, was thriving. The firm continued through several reorganizations to its present form as Muhlenberg Greene Architects.

During the intervening years, to accommodate the reorganizations, the Firm operated for various periods under the following names (dates, in some cases, are approximate):


 * Frederick A. Muhlenberg, Architect, 1920–1930
 * Muhlenberg, Yerkes, Muhlenberg, 1930–1954
 * (Partners were Simeon M. Yerkes, Charles Rick Muhlenberg, and Frederick H. Muhlenberg.


 * Muhlenberg and Yerkes, 1954–1959
 * Frederick A. Muhlenberg & Associates, 1959–1965
 * Muhlenberg-Greene-Veres, 1965–1972
 * (Partners were Lawrence A. Greene, Jr. and Elmer Veres)


 * Muhlenberg Greene Architects, 1972–1980
 * Muhlenberg Greene Architects, Ltd., 1980–present

Politics
In 1946, Frederick A. Muhlenberg was elected to the 80th Congress from Pennsylvania. He became the seventh member of his family to be elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served the House of Representatives from January 3, 1947 until January 3, 1949; but he lost a reelection bid in 1948, defeated by Democrat George M. Rhodes.

Retirement
In a personal biography he furnished to the Reading Eagle, Muhlenberg proudly listed the accomplishments of a "life built on service in four separate careers: architecture, military, social service and political."

Retiring officially from Muhlenberg Greene Architects in 1977, one week after his 90th birthday, Mr. Muhlenberg continued to appear at the office daily, in the firm's second-floor suite at the Wyomissing New Home Federal Savings building, until physical limitations prevented him from doing so about a year later. "You can't actually retire," he said at the time. "There really isn't any such thing." In a 1977 interview, he said, "I don't intend to sit on my fanny and do nothing. At 90 years old, you change and have physical limitations.  The pace may slow down, but the ideas are still there."

Frederick A. Muhlenberg died at 92 years of age in Reading, Pennsylvania on January 19, 1980. As a veteran, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

A collection of awards, military medals, paperwork and other items related to Representative Muhlenberg is held by the Historical Society of Berks County.

Associations
Frederick Muhlenberg was involved in many organizations, including those beyond those related to his profession as an architect. He was an active member of the T-Square Club while at University of Pennsylvania, serving as a director in 1914 and as secretary in 1915. During his years of architectural practice, he was a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, having joined in 1920.

He was elected to the Reading City Council from 1932-36 and he was a councilman for the Borough of Wernersville during the 1920s, where he lived in his later years. He became the Republican Party chairman for Berks County, Pennsylvania from 1935–40, and served as chairman for numerous civic and professional organizations, including the  Association of Schuylkill River Municipalities, Director of the American Red Cross Berks County Chapter (1929-), Chairman of the Red Cross Disaster Relief Commission (1935), the State Board of Examiners of Architects, President of the Social Welfare League (1922–1935),  Public Charities Association (1927-), the State Art Commission (1952–1963), and most notably, the Berks County Planning Commission, where he served as Chairman from its inception in 1954 until 1972 when he retired from the Commission. In addition, he was a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board.

Muhlenberg served as commander of Gregg Post, American Legion, in 1924, and a member of General Hunter Liggett Post, No. 38, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Reading Post, No. 10, Disabled American Veterans.


 * American Institute of Architects (AIA) Fellow
 * Philadelphia Chapter of the AIA
 * Philadelphia Cricket Club
 * T-Square Club

Awards
Listed in Who's Who in America, Muhlenberg was the recipient of scores of educational, civilian, military and social service awards.


 * Honorable Mention, Arthur Spayd Brook medal, University of Pennsylvania, 1912.
 * Distinguished Service Cross
 * Legion of Merit
 * Légion d’Honneur
 * Croix de guerre
 * Verdun Medal
 * Purple Heart with Palm
 * Man of the Year, Reading Chamber of Commerce, 1960
 * Community Service Award, Reading Chamber of Commerce, 1967
 * Good Citizenship Award, Gen. George G. Meade Camp No. 16 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1970
 * Silver Bowl, Manufacturers Association of Berks County, 1972; in recognition of "outstanding service to the community."
 * Man of the Year, Rotary Club of Reading, 1975