Paul Chambers Reed and his son Richard Crandall Reed were architects in Carlisle from the 1930s until the late 1990s. During this time, they made their mark on Cumberland County through the many functional buildings they designed in addition to their dedication to serving the community.
Paul Chambers Reed was born in Jefferson Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 1897, the son of Francis M. and Jessie Reed. He graduated from a five-year program at Carnegie Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture in 1923, and shortly thereafter he married Mary Elizabeth Thomas in Cleveland, Ohio. Paul's career took him to Florida where he designed many residences in the Spanish Colonial style as well as other buildings, including hotels and the First Church of Christ, Scientist in St. Petersburg, until the Depression hit. During the Depression, the Reeds were forced to sell their home at a loss and return to Pennsylvania where Paul's father, Francis, (known as Frank), was a State Representative from Allegheny County. Frank Reed was able to find his son state employment designing State Department of Highways garages. During this time Paul Reed worked on designs for garages in Milford, Pike County; Tunkhannoch, Wyoming County; and Carlisle as part of the Works Progress Administration. He supplemented his work in Harrisburg by designing apartments and homes, and he eventually settled in Carlisle when his father bought him and his family a home on Orange Hill in 1939.
Paul Reed opened his architectural office in Carlisle at 32 West High Street Room 208; in 1942, his business moved to Room 210 at the same address. During the 1940s, he designed a number of buildings in the Carlisle area. In 1939, he began work on a design for the Carlisle Shoe Company factory annex building at North Bedford and Elm Streets, Carlisle. In 1944, Reed designed renovations to Penn Elementary, Wilson Elementary, and Lamberton High Schools in Carlisle. His work in 1947 included the Beauford Inn at Carlisle Pike and Country Club Road near Carlisle and a factory building in Newville for Uwana Wash Frocks, Inc. Throughout the 1940s, he worked on designs for an addition to Second Presbyterian Church at 109 South Hanover Street.
In the 1950s, Richard Reed joined his father in his Carlisle office. The two worked on designs for the YMCA at South West, Walnut, and Arch Streets; the Carlisle office of the Dauphin Deposit Trust Company at 2 West High Street; and an addition to First Presbyterian Church on the square. The Reeds also designed many buildings for Aircraft-Marine Products, Inc. (AMP), and the Giant Food store on the corner of West Louther and North Hanover Streets. In 1957, Paul Reed moved his office to 213 South Hanover Street, where he remained until his retirement.
Paul Reed remained active with his architectural design work until his retirement in 1969. He designed a warehouse for C.H. Masland and Sons at 50 Spring Road in 1964, continuing a relationship with the Maslands that included designing renovations to the Masland guesthouse at Kings Gap in 1951. Reed also remained active in the community, and in 1960 he served as the Secretary of the Parking Authority for the Borough of Carlisle. Other examples of Reed's community service are demonstrated by his design for the first permanent home of the Carlisle Band in 1948 and his donation of the Jim Thorpe monument located on the Square in Carlisle in 1951.
Paul Reed was known as an uncompromising man with a generous heart. He returned to Florida in the 1970s following his retirement and lived in Long Boat Key. Many friends from Carlisle spent their retirements in Florida as well. Paul's wife Mary died in 1975, and he remarried in the late 1970s. Paul Reed died in 1982.
Paul Reed's influence on Carlisle can be seen in the schools, churches, and public buildings he designed in addition to his community contributions. He passed on his positive attributes to his son, Richard. Richard Reed made his mark in Carlisle with his designs for many buildings and his work for the good of the community. He was committed to working for planning and zoning and securing proper parking and drainage.
Winters in New England are lengthy and bitter, and the college-age students at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Training School (Springfield College today) in Springfield, Massachusetts in the early 1890s could become somewhat boisterous when weather conditions prohibited their going outside to participate in sports.
When Post Masters received letters, they listed the names in the newspapers of those to whom the letters were addressed. If the letters were not picked up by a specified date, they went to the Dead Letter Office.