FOW Tour - The Foundry 3532 Jacob Street
by jcsullivan24
Friends of Wheeling toured The Foundry (3532 Jacob Street) on July 9, 2022. Currently owned by Jared Stone of 3526 Jacob Street.
3530 (and 3532) Jacob Street History
An 1890 map of South Wheeling shows a small, single-story building at 3530 Jacob Street, labeled B&S Makr (Boot and Show Maker). By the time of the 1896 Wheeling City Directory, O. H Auber, tinner, is listed at this address, with his residence shown as 3532 – most likely the street address for the upper floors of the building. Theo Auber, tinner; Miss Julia Auber, dressmaker; Miss Martha Auber, saleslady; and Henry Auber, shoemaker were also listed as residing at 3532 Jacob. This addition may suggest that the current building was constructed at some point in the mid 1890s.
Otto Henry Auber (1865-1939) was the son of German immigrants, Henry and Agatha Hoelsche Auber. Otto had married Amelia Briemson (the daughter of German immigrants) the same year – 1896. Their daughter, Clara, was born in 1900.
By the time of the 1904-05 City Directory, Otto Auber’s business had changed to a saloon, while he still apparently lived on an upper floor. Five-cent Wheeling Trade Tokens were apparently used by Auber, perhaps as advertising for his bar.
With prohibition causing the closing of saloons and bars, the Auber establishment was labeled a restaurant in the 1917-18 and 1928 directories.
The 1921 Sanborn Insurance map (which was updated in the 1950s) identifies the property as a “Club” in a three-story, brick building (as indicated by the pink color) with two-story frame additions on the rear (as indicated by the yellow color).
The change from being a tinner to being a bar owner may not have been a good idea – Otto
Auber died of cirrhosis of the liver, with alcoholism a contributing factor, according to his death certificate.
Following the death of Otto Auber in 1939, the property housed the Mayflower Grill, operated by Raymond L. McGlone (born c. 1915) and his wife Dorothy (born c. 1916). Subsequent occupants of the building included:
•Wood Brothers’ Delicatessen and Wood’s Café in the late 1940s to mid 1950s (Arthur Wood, Velma Wood (1904-1952), Harry Wood)
•The Beauty Lounge, operated by Mrs. Mildred Wood in the 1960s
•Alpha Finance Company, from the mid 1960s into the 1970s (E. G. Mehallis, Fanny Stambolis, Kiki Mehallis)
•Double-J Club, Ron’s Double-J Club, and Ron’s Club from the mid 1970s until the mid 2010s (Clyde Schau, Florence Schau, Ron Nixon).
The current owner, Jared Stone, purchased the property in the summer of 2018 from Carol Sue Nixon.
Video of tour: youtu.be/hCJmLuM0r_w
