Panel Information: A Corner Landmark on Huron and North Fourth

The Hamilton Block, later known as the Cornwell Building, was built in 1882 across from the Cook House Hotel. The first floor housed the Postal Telegraph Cable Co.in the 1890s, a bowling alley for a time, and later the Cornwell Coal Co. When Register Publishing Co. occupied space, it claimed to employ "more hands than all other printing establishments in Ann Arbor combined." Joe Parker opened a popular cafe there during Prohibition. For many years the third floor was a drill hall for Company A of the Michigan National Guard. It later housed an I.O.O.F. temple and a Greek Orthodox church. The building was torn down to make way for a gas station in 1936.