"The three-story and basement Hobart House was built in 1867 by Edward Roper. On the third floor was a ballroom. Hotel rooms were on the first and second floors and a kitchen and dining room in the basement. William Jahnke and later C.E. Fraley operated a livery stable on the alley. Later Charles Bradley ran a machine shop in a building along the lake. This building has since been used by Tucker Iron Works and other concerns. In the basement of the Hobart House at one time was a Chinese laundry. Manteuffel also had a saloon here. In the 1920s the Hobart House was no longer a hotel. In the early 1920s Hobart schools were so crowded first grades were taught in these rooms. During the Depression years the township trustee housed welfare families in the building. The building was condemned and razed and Ed Prusiecki built the Art Theatre in 1941."Images (links open in a new window):
♦ A then-and-now post showing the Hobart House around 1911 and linking to a slightly earlier view.
♦ This undated view of the Hobart House is probably about a decade earlier.
♦ Two side views of the Hobart House, circa 1905 and 1910.
♦ A collection of Hobart House images, mostly dating to the early 20th century.
"The next two-story brick housed the Masonic Lodge on the 2nd floor until 1925. Manteuffel shoe store was on the first floor and a residence in the rear. A gift shop and a loan office were there, and now the Hoosier Coffee Shop is here."