This building, known as Carpenter Block, is the second key commercial location in downtown. Comprised of four storefronts built on separate lots, by H.G. Carpenter, it was designed by the Akron architectural firm of Weary and Kramer. After the fire, Mr. Carpenter was not able to purchase all the lots, so he built the structure on lots he owned and lots he leased. This explains why today ownership of the building is divided and why it took Mr. Carpenter 3 years to complete the structure.

The different brick used for each section of the structure is a visual record of the three years it took to complete it. All sections of the building use Weary and Kramer’s architectural styling, the ornate brickwork corbelling, and the arches over paired oriel windows with colored glass around an expanse of clear glass, but the brick color changes.

 
As one of commercial Oberlin’s few buildings designed by an architect, it is worth noting that Weary and Kramer also designed Oberlin College’s Baldwin Hall and Talcott, both in 1887, the year after the fire, and the year work began on the Carpenter Block.