Historic 231 Main Street

The Hottenstein Block, 225-231 W. Main St., CA. 1905 AND CA. 1909-10.Dating to the 1860's, after the original residence at Nos. 225 (Fisher/Fister) and 231 (Jacob Esser) burned in August 1859, the three adjacent structures along the north side of W. Main east of Strausser Alley also served as the residence and offices for several of the many Hottensteins who were medical professionals around Kutztown from the 18th through the 20th centuries.

No. 231 was the borough's post office and postmasters' residence during the tenures of Jonathan S. and Clinton H. Bieber, whose subsequent terms spanned from April 1869 through April 1885. In 1985, Dr. Charles A. Hottenstein, shown sitting (at left) on the bench outside the building, opened his dentist's office at this address, which he maintained for many decades. In the 1930s, its back room served temporarily as the Jehovah's Witness Meeting Hall. Today the building is used as an apartment building to houses residents of the town and students from local Kutztown University.

Historical pictures and historical text © The Kutztown Area Historical Society