One of Pennsylvania’s greatest acoustical treasures, the historic WCR (Woman’s Club of Reading) Center for the Arts provides the setting and stage for the concerts of the Friends of Chamber Music of Reading.  The WCR Center for the Arts is located at 140 North Fifth St in the historic Callowhill District in the heart of downtown Reading.  Erected in the 19th Century on the site of Reading’s first Post Office, the former Wyomissing Club occupied the building until 1919, when it became the home of the Woman’s Club of Reading.

 

 

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From the outside, the building looks a bit larger than a stately city townhouse, with its new sign and carriage lights inviting the public inside to a wonderful facility, at the center of which is a 265-seat auditorium with an acoustical quality unmatched anywhere in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  In this spectacular setting is a superb vintage Steinway Grand Piano, purchased by the Woman’s Club and still in use for concerts today.  The facility also boasts a fine gallery and reception hall, and two spacious rental spaces on its second floor.

In the summer of 2004, several community leaders came together to form a new entity, “The WCR (Woman’s Club of Reading) Center for the Arts”.  The organization was formed for the purpose of helping the present members of the Woman’s Club save this historic building as a unique performance and exhibition venue for the community. The WCR Center for the Arts is a first class artistic venue, capable of serving the community in a variety of ways into the future.  With the recent renovations of the Sovereign Performing Arts Center and the GoggleWorks, and the new Miller Center for the Arts at Reading Area Community College, the WCR Center is taking its place in the center of a wonderfully revitalized Reading.