Historic Oberlin Today

184 Woodland, Cowdery House

This house was built in the late 1880s. About 1900, the Cowdery family moved in and stayed for sixty years. Kirke Cowdery and his wife Mary had two sons, Lawrence and Karl. Kirke, originally from Wisconsin, was a professor of French, and later professor emeritus, at Oberlin College, and Mary, from Mt. Vernon, Ohio, was a tutor, and later assistant professor emeritus, also in French. Kirke taught at the college for thirty-one years, helped to establish Oberlin's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, served as a foyer (translator) for French troops in WWI, and worked for the Red Cross in Oberlin during WWII. Mary taught at both the college and the preparatory school for forty-five years. In 1946, Kirke died but Mary stayed on until about 1960. The house is now owned by the college and rented to students.

131 Groveland, Hallauer House

In the early days of Oberlin, many skilled artisans, both black and white, lived in the southeast section of town. Only a few of their home, such as this one, still stand. Jacob Hallauer, a Swiss stonecutter who had immigrated to the U.S. about ten years earlier, built this red brick cottage in 1862. He and his large family lived here through about 1880 and many generations of Hallauers went on to live in other parts of Oberlin. Though it is not the fanciest old house in town, its longevity speaks to Jacob's construction skills and it has been preserved without major alterations. It also provides an excellent example of the life of enterprising working family in early Oberlin.

271 Elm

This house has seen many residents since it was built circa 1895. Lyman and Henrietta Williams were the first known residents. Lyman was a local architect, carpenter, and contractor. During the early 20th century (1907-1908 at least) he had an office on the second floor of 15 S. Main Street. One of Lyman and Henrietta's children, Arthur, went on to become a professor of music education at the Conservatory, and was instrumental in establishing and strengthening many music educator organizations and resources. About 1948, Herman and Nina Worcester moved into this house. It appears that the Worcesters rented out part of it. Two such renters were Arthur and Nancy Dann. Arthur was a professor of piano at the Conservatory, who today has an award named in his honor. The Arthur Dann Award provides one pianist per year at the Conservatory the funding to perform concerts outside of Oberlin.

67 N. Park

This house was built sometime around 1891. Among its many residents were Raleigh and Fannie Godfrey. Raleigh was a local chauffeur and inventor. In 1909, he received a patent on a non-crank automobile starter. The Oberlin News at the time wrote that the starter was "a perfectly practical device" that not only started the car easily, but also served as an automatic tire inflator. Raleigh started a business, the Gas Engine Starter Co., to produce the device. He also received a patent on a continuous music record player in 1919. Some time later, Frank Parsons lived here. Frank owned and operated Parson's Jersey Dairy, which was located at 355 E. Lorain Street.

55 Union, Broadwell House

373 Edgemeer, Cerf House

19 E. College

The building complex that the Apollo Theater is a part of was built by William Hobbs in 1914. George Broadwell, the man who built the first modern gas station in Oberlin, was the first owner of the theater. 'Thor, Lord of the Jungle,' was the first motion picture shown here. After Broadwell sold the building to Ira West in 1917, there were several owners before the Steel family took over the theater in 1928. Jerry Steel, a Cleveland native, fought with the American Army in France during WWII, managed Alhambra Theater in Cleveland for a time, and worked as a distributor for Warner Bros. before coming to Oberlin. Under his direction, the theater flourished through the depression years, and was enlarged and modernized. In 1950, the theater gained its now famous neon, triangular sign. The Steel family continues to own the theater.

Soldier's Monument

The modern Soldiers' Monument on the corner of S. Main and Vine Streets is neither the first, nor the original war memorial in Oberlin. The marble slabs bearing the names of Oberlin soldiers who died in the Civil War were originally incorporated into a different monument, a Gothic Revival structure built in 1870 that used to stand where the Conservatory is now on the corner of College and Professor Streets. However, in the 1930s, when patriotism was running low and the general Oberlin populace was anti-war, the aging monument was dismantled and the marble tablets were put in storage. When World War II began, Oberlin viewed its veterans more favorably, and the tablets were reincorporated into the present monument in 1943, along with new tablets memorializing Oberlin soldiers from the Spanish Civil War, both World Wars, the Korean War, and the Vietnam Conflict. The monument has since been restored twice: in 1983 for Oberlin's sesquicentennial celebration, and also in 2004.

Arboretum

291 Forest, Moulton House