Page 10 - HIWT Winter 2014 World of Welding

THE WORLD OF WELDING http://www.welding.org

MAIN STREET PLANT: THE END OF AN ERA

By Marty Baker
Editor, The World of Welding

The demolition of the Hobart Brothers Company building
on West Main Street in Troy marks the end of an era. Not
only was it an international manufacturing hub for Hobart
Brothers Company, it was also the birthplace of Hobart
Institute of Welding Technology that began in just four booths
in one corner of the facility.

Originally constructed during 1923-25, the “new” 500,000
square-foot factory was a Troy landmark, allowing for
expansion of the Hobart Brothers product line that included
a variety of electrical equipment designed to service
automobiles in the early years; such things as air compressors,
automatic car washers, grinders and motors, paint sprayers,
and electrical test equipment, many brought about by the
experimentation of Edward A. Hobart. The building was also
home to all of the company offices until a separate office Main Street plant with the garage on the left.
building at 600 West Main Street was built in 1940 that
connected to the plant by way of the “landmark” bridge, a
pedestrian walkway, above Adams Street.
Rather than subcontract construction, Hobart Brothers “took
a characteristically do-it-yourself approach and created
a construction department to design and build the plant,”
according to Peter C. Hobart in his book, The Industrial
Hobarts. “C.C. Hobart relished the chance to supervise a
project that dwarfed the homes he had built in Middletown.
A special challenge was building the plant over the old bed
of the Miami-Erie Canal, including one of its locks – [Miami
and Erie Canal Lock 12, constructed in 1836 and in use until
1912]. When complete, the new factory with its clean lines,
gold-colored brick, and huge windows resembled the efficient
buildings of the National Cash Register Company in Dayton.”

Carved in stone on the east end of the building were the words,
Canal Locks Square. Parts of the canal were damaged beyond
repair in the flood of 1913, a date that was also denoted on one
corner of the Hobart Brothers building.

“In order to showcase their products, Hobart Brothers built a
model service station on the northeast corner of West Main
and Elm next to their new factory [about 1928]. Nearly all the
equipment in use at the station was designed and built in the
factory next door. The station provided an ideal location to
demonstrate Hobart Brothers products to both visiting buyers
and passing motorists. Many out-of-state travelers frequented
the station since both West Main and North Elm Streets were
part of the Dixie Highway’s route through Troy. Completed in
1923, the Dixie Highway was the first paved two-lane road to
connect Ontario, Canada with Miami, Florida.”
(Continued on page 11)

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