Hofheinz, Walter, House

The Walter Hofheinz House reflects several of the beautiful features found in the home built for Hofheinz's mother a few blocks away. Also erected by the local Mead and Eastwood Lumber Company, the newer residence displays classical exterior details and a carefully finished interior with touches of the simple lines and honest interpretation of materials representing the Arts and Crafts movement.

Hofheinz was involved in real-estate development to an extent but is remembered primarily as the owner and proprietor of the confectionary on the east side of the square, near the hotel and bank. More than just a candy store, the shop dispensed refreshments of all sorts and served as a classy gathering spot for the town's young people. It is said that the pretty Hofheinz daughters were an added attraction.

Immediately after his mother's house was completed at 1104, Walter turned his attention to his own home at 819 West Hopkins. Rather than the elongated profile of the first house, this one was built along blocky lines softened by classical columns and two exquisite, oval, beveled-glass windows. Among the interior features are ceiling moldings and coffers, a stair rail of square posts, a plate rail with rectangular panels below, window seats, and hood molds that cap all the windows and doors. These features are interpreted in the simplest of lines, devoid of Victorian fancy, and executed in dark, polished wood that contrasts handsomely with the papered and painted surfaces between them. The brass and glass light fixtures in the dining room and entry are particularly interesting because of their geometric lines; they could have been designed 20 years later.

The Hofheinz House remained in the family until its purchase, in recent years, by Don and Betty Jack Rains.