Images
of
Downtown Hobart
Indiana
Photos by Tim Arends
While several buildings in downtown Hobart
Indiana have been altered over the years, downtown Hobart still
retains much of its historic charm. The downtown area enjoys
a high occupancy rate, yet has a generally adequete supply of
parking.
While the downtown suffered for a while after
the establishment of large shopping malls nearby, downtown business
people learned that the key to survival is to specialize. In
downtown Hobart one will find such unusual businesses as a diver's
supply store and a magic shop, along with old standbys such as
furniture stores, jewelry stores and restaurants.
Apparently, many downtown businesses have
recently received tax credits for refurbishing their storefronts
as part of a general downtown Hobart rehabilitation, including
the rehabilitation of the lakefront park. The city poured more
than $2.5 million into transforming the eastern shoreline of
Lake George from a rocky eyesore to a waterfront park with a
walking path, picnic area and fishing pier.
Unfortunately, storefront owners were not
being given education in historically sensitive rehabilitation,
with the result that still more buildings were "modernized,"
with unfortunate results.
But possible good news came from the Hobart
Industrial Economic Development Corp., a private development
group, which has set aside $26,000 to help businesses pay for
architectural design.
Restoring the original facades of downtown
buildings would make the business district more attractive, says
architect Bob Collins, president of Fred Collins Architect Inc.,
who is working with HIEDC. "The true architecture of many
buildings including detailed brick work has been hidden for one
reason or other."
The facade project is the latest supported
by HIEDC to make the area more appealing to visitors and shoppers
drawn by the city's revamped downtown waterfront.
The city is spending more than $92,000 to
rebuild the business district's sidewalks and curbs, and install
decorative streetlights that match the lights along the lakefront.
"When downtown businesses are ready to
make improvements to their buildings, we would like to offer
them the services of an architect to work on their facades,"
said Sheila DeBonis, HIEDC executive director.
Collins said the facade program will make
downtown Hobart more pedestrian-friendly. He said that will be
accomplished by scaling back shop signs and uncovering the authentic
architecture of the buildings.
The historic section of downtown Hobart stretches about two
blocks. The former bank building (First State Bank) shown here
was built in 1888 and is of the Neoclassical style. Interestingly,
it was originally a red brick building. The stone facade was
added in 1922. It now houses a coin shop, while a similar building
right across the street is now a jewelry store. Both are good
examples of alternative uses of historic buildings.
The Colonial Revival Main St. Post Office boasts a WPA (Works
Progress Administration) mural created in 1938 by William Dolwick.
The Guyer Block building (1897), one of three charming bay-windowed
buildings, once housed the Hobart Post office. It is now a confectionery
shop (Third street). It is Italianate Commercial, marked by the
heavily-bracketed roof.
| The L.M. Friedrich building (1910) also
once housed the Hobart Post Office, as well as one of Hobart's
first dime stores, Thompson's 5 & 10. It is now home to an
insurance agency. Italianate Commercial. |
| Masonic Temple (1925), site of Hobart's first
schoolhouse (1845), boasts distinctive Colonial Revival-style
architecture. The Colonial Revival-style was an adaptation and
combination of Georgian and Colonial styles in the USA toward
the end of the 19th and into the 20th centuries. |
|
The First Unitarian Church, Hobart's oldest church building
(1874), is prominently located on Main St.
To visit downtown Hobart, from the Rt. 51 (Ripley) exit of
I-94, go south approximately 3.5 miles to Main.
|
(Five Images)
|
