Since 1936, the Pottstown Historical Society has worked to promote interest in Pottstown’s historic background and to preserve materials illustrating that history. In 2000, it continued its commitment to historic preservation by purchasing as its headquarters the flower shop built in 1884 by Lloyd Keim. The property in 1916 included the Keim residence at 602 High Street, along with greenhouses and storage buildings at the rear and across the alley. In 1943, Oliver Lewis Christman, a well-known local landscape architect and antique dealer, bought the shop from Keim and added his distinctive touch to its facade and interior. Christman also introduced his favored ginko tree to Pottstown, planting the first one at the sidewalk in front of the shop, where it still stands. For nearly the first 100 years of its existence, the property remained a flower shop. As the Historical Society’s headquarters, the building houses offices, a library containing documents, books, periodicals, photographs, and artifacts, and a meeting room constructed of old barn timbers.