Thomas W. Hacker Block

The building at 324 S. Main was formerly numbered 330-332 S. Main. It was built in the summer of 1886 by Thomas W. Hacker to house his butcher shop, known as the Palace Meat Market, which he ran in partnership with Bert Mitchell. In 1890, when Charles A. Burr and his brother, Frank H. Burr, began building new business blocks just to the north of Hacker's location, there was one lot remaining between the Palace Meat Market and the Burr stores. Thomas W. Hacker tore down the small building that stood on the lot next to his store and built another new brick store to fill in the block. The Rochester Era reported:

"The Hacker brick building adjoining his meat market has been torn down to make room for a new one, which will be erected in connection with the Burr stores. When this full block is completed it will be an ornament and the pride of the village."

When the addition to the Hacker block was completed in the fall of 1890, the first tenant in the new north side of the building was the U.S. Post Office. The Rochester correspondent to the Utica Sentinel newspaper reported in the November 8, 1890 edition: "Report says that Mr. Theodor Dahlmann will move the post office into the Hacker building when it is completed." Then, on November 29, the correspondent reported: "The post office is nicely situated in the new block. The quarters are entirely satisfactory to Rochester and community."

Over the years, occupants of the Hacker building at 330 S. Main (south half of today's 324 S. Main) have been Wiley & Bitters Farm Implements, the T. E. Nichols Furniture & Undertaking business, Mrs. Funke's Style Shop from 1935-, Harold Bebout's restaurant, and Mitzelfeld's Department store. In 1923, the Rochester Clarion reported that an elevator was being installed in the Nichols store:

"T. E. Nichols, our genial undertaker - if forsooth the adjective in this connection be not a misnomer - at any rate our genial furniture man -- is installing an elevator, rear of his store, at an expense of $3,000, the work now very near completion. The job involved the erection of a brick enclosure from the bottom of the basement to some ten feet above the roof of the building, sufficiently massive to insure absolute safety in the operation of the necessary machinery. Power is furnished by electric motor of ample size for the work."

Occupants of the portion of the building once numbered 332 S. Main (north half of today's 324 S. Main) have included the post office, Nichols Furniture, Pixley Furniture and Mitzelfeld's.

Eventually, the Mitzelfeld block expanded to absorb the buildings at 330 and 332 S. Main, and those storefronts became part of the department store's facade and used its address number. After Mitzelfeld's closed, the buildings formerly known as 330-332 S. Main became 324 S. Main. In January 2005, Gus O'Connor's Pub, patterned after an authentic Irish pub of the same name in Ireland, moved into 324 S. Main. The business's name was later changed to O'Connor's Public House.

Charles A. Burr and Carrie Burr his wife to Thomas W. Hacker and Albert P. Mitchell, March 5, 1886, consideration $650, south 34 feet of lot 9, Original Plat of the Village of Rochester, Oakland County Record of Deeds, liber 154, p.9.

"Hacker & Mitchell, the enterprising meat-men, have purchased a strip of land on Main st., adjoining Stewart Bowman's place on the north, and will immediately commence the erection of a two-story brick building thereon, for business purposes," Rochester Era, March 12, 1886, p.1.

"J. W. Eastman will be here next Monday morning to commence work on Hacker and Mitchel's new brick block," Rochester Letter in the Utica Sentinel, April 24, 1886, p.8.

"J.W. Eastman of Coldwater, formerly of Rochester, having taken the contract for doing the mason work on Mitchell & Hacker's brick store...," Rochester Era, April 30, 1886, p.1.

"J. W. Eastman has commenced the foundation of Hacker & Mitchel's new brick block," Rochester Letter in the Utica Sentinel, May 1, 1886, p.8.

"The foundation of Hacker & Mitchel's new building is nearly ready for the brick. The lumber is already on the ground," Rochester Letter in the Utica Sentinel, May 15, 1886, p.4.

"In Their New Quarters," Rochester Era, August 6, 1886.

"Tom Hacker has purchased Bert Mitchell's interest in the meat market...," Rochester Letter in the Utica Sentinel, March 16, 1889.

"Thomas Hacker is taking down the small building adjoining his market, and making preparations to build his new store," Rochester Letter in the Utica Sentinel, May 3, 1890, p.1.

"The Hacker brick building adjoining his meat market has been torn down to make room for a new one...," Rochester Era, May 21, 1890.

"Report says that Mr. Theodor Dahlmann will move the post office into the Hacker building when it is completed," Rochester letter in the Utica Sentinel, November 8, 1890.

"The post office is nicely situated...," Rochester letter in the Utica Sentinel, November 29, 1890, p.1.

"Elevator Installed in T. E. Nichols Store," Rochester Clarion, July 13, 1923, p.4.

"Business Places Change Locations," Rochester Era, February 27, 1935, p.8.