The Eagle Hotel in Robesonia

Isaac Daniel Lutz was born July 29, 1839, in North Heidelberg Township. He learned shoemaking, worked in truck farming, and later entered the hotel and liquor trades. By 1875, an early city directory identified him with the Eagle Hotel in Robesonia, at the southwest corner of Penn Avenue and Robeson Street. Historical accounts describe him as offering foreign and domestic wines, liquors and bar fixtures as well as hotel accommodations.

On April 13, 1876, the Reading Times reported that Lutz had taken charge of the Eagle Hotel, which had previously been conducted by I. D. Lutz & Brother. That notice points to a family business arrangement, although it does not by itself establish a change in ownership of the property. Levi M. Lutz was identified as proprietor by 1880, and the hotel passed through other operators in later decades.

This earlier career matters: Lutz was already experienced in selling alcoholic beverages long before the controversy that would later surround his time at the Berks County Prison.

A prison warden under scrutiny

On December 2, 1887, Isaac D. Lutz was elected warden of the Berks County Prison. The election followed a contentious meeting of the prison inspectors, who had reportedly been divided over the appointment. His wife, Sarah Ellen (Labe) Lutz, served as the prison's matron.

Lutz was re-elected in January 1890. A contemporary report described an institution where prisoners made carpets and stockings: during 1889, the prison reported production of 49,553 yards of carpet and 49,608 pairs of stockings.

Only months later, District Attorney Miller sought Lutz's removal, alleging that some prisoners had received alcohol and privileges contrary to prison rules. Lutz denied permitting unrestricted drinking and argued that small quantities of liquor had been provided in some cases for medicinal reasons. His attorneys challenged the proceedings and the court's authority to remove him.

On April 22, 1890, the Reading Times reported that Judges Ermentrout and Endlich had ordered the suspension. The court found shortcomings in the prison's administration and emphasized the warden's responsibility to enforce regulations. Deputy Warden W. W. Newcomet was assigned his duties during the suspension. A follow-up report placed the proceeding's expenses at approximately $40.

The episode presents a striking irony: within a year, Lutz was developing a prominent liquor store in Reading. But his earlier Eagle Hotel career shows that alcohol retailing was not a new pursuit brought about by the court case.

The building marked “1891”

In the spring of 1891, Lutz planned a substantial new building on Buttonwood Street above Ninth. A newspaper notice identified an architect named Focht as preparing plans. Another report stated that Lutz purchased a 25-by-100-foot property at 903 Buttonwood Street from John Freck for $2,600. A small two-story brick house then stood on the lot.

The ornate three-story building that followed displayed 1891 in its triangular pediment. Its decorative brickwork, arched windows, floral panels, balcony and central projecting bay made an emphatic statement on a street of more modest buildings. The new property served as both a commercial address and a residence. Boyd's 1891 directory listed Lutz as a wholesale and retail dealer in wines and liquors at 903 Buttonwood and recorded his home at the same address.

The storefront and dwelling were not simply the headquarters of a neighborhood retailer. The building became the public face of a liquor operation with branded products, storage rooms, packing activities and customers beyond Reading.

Inside Lutz's liquor store, 1907

Rare photographs from 1907 bring the establishment to life. They show a large, organized storeroom lined with tapped barrels and stocked shelves; packing rooms with wooden crates; and cellar storage for casks. The scenes reveal the work of storing, bottling, preparing and distributing merchandise at a scale far beyond a small counter-service shop.

One of the most memorable photographs places Lutz outside the storefront, while another shows him seated inside the storeroom. The photographs are also a record of family and working relationships: George N. Groff, Lutz's son-in-law, appears in the accounts, and Charles M. Smeck is tentatively identified in some images. The historic identifications are not equally certain.

Tragedy at 903 Buttonwood Street

Behind the imposing storefront was a household. Isaac and Sarah Ellen Lutz raised a family whose lives occasionally appeared in the newspaper columns. Their son William F. Lutz, age 22, worked for the United Traction Company. In November 1898, he was fatally injured while employees were returning a snow-clearing sweeper to the Third Street car barn. He died shortly after being taken to Reading Hospital.

William's funeral began at his parents' residence at 903 Buttonwood Street, before burial services at St. Daniel's Reformed Church near Womelsdorf. His coworkers attended together and contributed an especially memorable floral tribute: a trolley car made of natural flowers.

Reports named William's wife Sallie, an infant daughter, brothers Harry J. and Charles, and sister Ella P. Groff. The building's story is not only about commerce and decorative architecture; it is also the story of the people who called it home.

New operators, new uses, an enduring landmark

Around 1907, Lutz began withdrawing from the business and moved to 337 Schuylkill Avenue. A 1909 newspaper report named his son-in-law George N. Groff and Charles M. Smeck as operators under the name Smeck & Groff. Later accounts trace the business through Smeck and the firm of Stump & Lechner, with German Stomach Bitters production ending about 1914.

Isaac Daniel Lutz died in June 1913 at age 73, at the home of his son-in-law in Morgantown. His obituary recalled occupations ranging from shoemaking and hotelkeeping to his service as prison warden and nineteen years in the Buttonwood Street liquor trade. Sarah Ellen (Labe) Lutz had died several years before him.

In 1916, a newspaper advertisement offered the former liquor storefront and a second-floor apartment for rent. During the decades that followed, the building adapted to residential use. Yet its decorated front—especially the 1891 pediment, floral designs and central bay—remained recognizable.

Preservation recognition in 2023

The City of Reading recognized 903 Buttonwood Street in 2023 as one of seven properties honored for historic preservation. As reported by the Reading Eagle on September 1, 2023, owner Richard C. Bednar was commended for painting the facade to showcase its architectural details. The award was made through the city's Historical Architectural Review Board, chaired by Nigel Walker, in cooperation with city historic preservation specialist Amy Woldt Johnson.

The award did not describe a complete reconstruction of the property. Rather, it recognized work that brought attention to the building's surviving character-defining ornamentation. It is a fitting modern chapter in a story that began more than 130 years earlier.