It is a rectangular two-story brick Renaissance Revival structure with a hip roof.

At the northeast corner, a wood-frame tower with Stick style decoration rises to a gable-over-hip roof.

[2] The town of Reading was incorporated in 1644, but this, its first purpose-built municipal building, was not constructed until 1883.

This building remained a fire station for many years, with its original round doorway openings combined into two rectangular openings to provide access for more modern fire equipment.

The building was in this configuration when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.